He can fish big-time, but can he tell time?

AARON MARTENS has become one of the Southland’s top professional anglers, despite himself. He finished third in the 2000 CITGO Bassmasters Classic but was demoted to eighth after arriving late to the weigh-in, claiming his watch had broken. He redeemed himself two years later with a second-place showing, his best yet, in the sport’s most prestigious event.

Last year, he was cited by an Alabama warden for fishing without a license on the last day of an FLW Tour event, but the tour had no rule requiring possession of a license.

So Martens, 32, won the tournament, collected a tidy $200,000 and apologized for his forgetfulness.

This year, the former gas station attendant from Castaic is back in the spotlight as one of only eight anglers to qualify for both the Classic and the FLW Tour Championship.

Nobody has won both the same year. Martens is the lone Southland entry in both championships.

Martens’ chances are good, insiders say, if he can keep his flakiness in check.

“He is spacey at times,” concedes FLW Tour spokesman Dave Washburn. “But that’s not to take anything away from him. He just marches to his own drum.”

Fellow pro Skeet Reese says Martens is too carefree for his own good, at times openly sharing secrets, but adds that he’s also “one of the best fisherman I’ve seen in the last 10 years.”

Martens’ drop-shotting technique with plastic worms has been copied by others. Same with his sight-fishing methods.

His techniques have earned him nearly $1 million in prize money. He and his wife, Lesley, have bought a second home in Alabama, close to Logan Martin Lake, site of the FLW Tour Championship that will be held Aug. 11-14.

Lesley helps keep Martens on track by making sure her husband wears two watches. She and their 10-month-old daughter, Jordan, accompany Martens in a customized motor home.

“Aaron has always totally just focused on fishing, and all the other stuff he doesn’t even want to think about,” says Carol Martens, Aaron’s mother and a reputable pro.

When Martens finally gets around to returning a call, he’s on the water at North Carolina’s Lake Wylie, site of the Bassmasters Classic from July 30 to Aug. 1. “I’ve just been fishing my brains out. I haven’t had a break since I don’t know when,” he says, fumbling with the cellphone as he gets another strike. “Hold on! I just stuck a fish. Uh-oh!” He plays it briefly and then reports that it’s only a 3-pound catfish.

He did exceptionally well last week. A few of his five-fish limits have pushed 17 pounds. He won’t reveal his technique this time and says others are watching closely, trying to figure it out.

“It’s another secret I’m trying to keep at least until the Classic,” Martens says, sounding hopeful. “I can definitely win with it. I wish the Classic was tomorrow.”

Martens says he’s learned from his past gaffes and won’t repeat them.

“That [broken watch] could have cost me, so it’ll never happen again,” he says, adding that he is aware that licenses are required on the Bassmasters Tour and that he already has one for North Carolina.

But will he remember to bring it?