Jacob Powroznik and Luke Clausen

It seems impossible that it's been a year since Aaron Martens passed away, but here we are, a couple of weeks after the anniversary of his passing. In the days and weeks immediately after we lost Aaron to cancer in November of 2021, I had planned to publish this piece of audio from an interview that I did with him a handful of years prior - it was a really interesting conversation where he talked about his earliest childhood memory of catching fish (trout, by the way), of his first bass tournament with his mom Carol, and of random things that made Aaron Martens who he was. I remember thinking at the time "Man, this is SO COOL listening to him talk about this stuff!" I figured you might think it's cool, too. This is brief - it's just shy of 15 minutes - but it's nothing but Aaron's voice, talking about things that I know you'll find interesting. In his own words, here is Aaron Martens.

MLF Editor-in-Chief Joel Shangle and scribe Tyler Brinks paid a visit to Matt Lee's boat barn in Cullman, Alabama during an off day at the Smith Lake Bass Pro Tour event for a special on-the-spot No Limits chat with Lee and fellow North Alabamian Jesse Wiggins. We learned about some fishing history between Lee and Wiggins, found out how Wiggins earned his nickname "Crank" and heard their thoughts about how badly they'd both like to win on their local pond. It's a special behind-the-scenes visit with Cullman High Bearcat Matt Lee and Addison High School Bulldog Jesse Wiggins!

Icy conditions have pushed the Championship Round of Bass Pro Tour Stage Two at Lake Fork back a day. Both Casey Ashley and Jonathon VanDam will fish for the trophy and $100,000 payday, but they had a day to rest up and warm their bones. We hit them up for a quick chat about their week in East Texas. In this episode of the No Limits podcast, Ashley and VanDam talk about their fondness for "tough" tournaments with big fish, and describe just how brutally cold the Knockout Round was. Their prediction for what it'll take to win the Lake Fork trophy: "Somewhere north of 50 pounds."

He's one of the Top 5 leading money-winners of all time, but we connected with Skeet Reese just after he was "a dollar short" (his words not mine!) at Lake Fork. Listen to what Skeet had to say about "18 pretty intense minutes", Heavy Hitters, and how to make the best smoked meatloaf in the world.

We took a little break from the action at Lake Okeechobee to connect with Blue Eye, Missouri pro Mike McClelland, one of the OGs of Major League Fishing. In this podcast, McClelland talks about his resurgence after a tough 2019 season on the Bass Pro Tour, shares a few secrets about crankbait design, and gives some insight into the Ozark Mountains fisheries that he calls home.

When you're in Okeechobee, Florida, you do two things: you talk about bass fishing and you stop for lunch at Lightsey's. Fortunately, MLF pro Chris Lane is an expert at both! Settle in as we chat with Chris about growing up in the ultra-competitive Lane household, his affinity for Lake Okeechobee, and how high he ranks frog legs on his list of favorite foods (high ... as in HIGH high).

David Dudley stopped by the mobile "No Limits" studio - set up this week at Lightsay's Seafood in Okeechobee, FL - to slurp some oysters, make some bold predictions about Jordan Lee, and give some fascinating insight into his career. Dudley fishes the Knockout Round on Tuesday, we got him in between action for this exclusive!

What does Jordan Lee do better than catch bass? Locate the best gas-station biscuits in the South! And why does Alton Jones, Jr., feel so comfortable with a giant glide bait in his hands? Because he's from Texas, and everything is bigger in Texas! We welcomed Jordan and Junior to the traveling "No Limits" studio in Eufaula, Alabama for an hour-long chat about the 2020 Bass Pro Tour season opener. Great conversation with two of the sport's young guns, check it out!

We caught up with Bryan Thrift on a rare two-day mid-week break: Thrift was the first-ever automatic qualifier into the Championship Round of Bass Pro Tour Stage One on Lake Eufaula. Listen in to what Thrift has to say as he prepares for the Championship Round!