A Robotically-Shaped Writing Career

Thinking back on it, I shouldn’t be surprised that I still hold Roboworm’s original straight tail worms in such high regard. They were critical elements in the first two Classics I covered, when I rode with two Hall of Famers – one of whom was effectively synonymous with Robo, and the other of whom was a western finesse pioneer.

So imagine this: I’m a young writer, attending my first Classic, a little bit starstruck, a little bit overwhelmed, more than a little bit excited. Then, through a combination of luck and a bit of foresight I got paired with Aaron Martens on Day One of the tournament.

As I’ve described before on podcasts and in writing, it was an eye-opener. He had Robos on a shakey head, a darter head and possibly a dropshot (I didn’t really know what a dropshot was yet – more on that later). He fished horsey heads and scroungers and all sorts of other things that no one except a lucky few had seen outside of California, or possibly since about 1974.

Aaron became my muse. I later worked with him a lot, fished with him a little, and relied on him to be unlike every other cookie cutter in the pro basser box.  

While he was good with everything, from cranking to flipping to topwater, if you had to choose one lure to identify with him it would be the Roboworm. He’d probably fight you on that, because he hated being pigeonholed as a “finesse guy.” But you only need to look at the Robo color lineup today to see the close connection – with all sorts of Aaron’s Magic and other eponymous colors. I still think of him when I fish one.

I also think of Gary Klein, with whom I was paired on Day One of the next year’s Classic, on Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers. It was the first time I saw dropshotting up close, and not coincidentally it was Aaron who’d given his fellow California native an initial tutorial. I remember the exact words Gary stated to Aaron after one butt-kicking: “Teach me!” 

I also remember the color Klein was predominantly throwing that day to the rivers’ smallmouths: Hologram Shad with the tail dipped chartreuse.

I’d remember the color no matter what, because those Classics are still seared in my mind two decades later, but the process is made easier because I still have a handful of Klein’s worms in a drawer. At the end of the day I asked for some of his dead soldiers and he agreed while looking at me like I was crazy. Now they’re old and dusty and torn, but I still can’t bear to get rid of them. I have packs upon packs of Roboworms in my boat and on my shelves, including in Hologram Shad and just about all of the A-Mart-themed colors, but those few old ones bring me back to some of my happiest and most meaningful days every time I look at them.