Special to The Post-Searchlight

Professional angler Pam Martin-Wells, of Bainbridge, claimed her second straight Lady Bass Anglers Association (LBAA) tournament victory today on Tennessee’s Old Hickory Lake on Friday, Aug. 26.

Martin-Wells also pulled off a come-from-behind win in the Angler of the Year race to capture the LBAA’s first pro division Angler of the Year (AOY) title.

Martin-Wells only brought three bass to the scales, but they weighed a hefty 9.23 pounds and pumped her two-day total at Old Hickory to 17.63 pounds.

“I’ve always said I liked tough tournaments,” she said. “For that is when the luck factor is taken out of the equation and I really put my head down and get to it. I pre-fished from daylight until dark and told Steven (husband) this tournament would be similar to Guntersville in that you could not sit in any one place and win it. I tried to stay just like I did at Guntersville – stay open minded and be versatile.”

Martin-Wells calculated that she ran her Legend 69 miles on Old Hickory on day one alone.

Finishing behind Martin-Wells in second was Centre, Alabama’s Lisa Johnson who had a two-day total of 15.87 pounds. Rounding out the pro division’s “Super Seven” at Old Hickory was Plano, Texas’s Cheryl Bowden in third with 15.69; Greenville, Texas’ Judith Hart with 15.47 was fourth; Lynda Gessner of Foristell, Missouri was fifth with 13.93, Murchison, Texas resident Pam Ridgle was sixth with 13.54, and Dayton, Tennessee’s Jenny Nevans was seventh with 13.11.

In the AOY races, Martin-Wells, with her victory at Old Hickory, overtook Kim Bain-Moore to claim the LBAA Pro Division AOY title with 1,170 points. Martin-Wells and Bain-Moore went into the final day of competition at Old Hickory tied for the AOY lead.

“This is totally awesome,” Martin-Wells. said “To win this title in the inaugural year of this organization is fantastic. They can never take this away from me — I was the first! It is neat that I now have won AOY in every woman’s circuit that I have competed in. The Good Lord has definitely shined on me!”

Bain-Moore finished second with 1,140 points and Pam Ridgle was in third with 1,095.