Florida’s Scott Martin, son of the world-famous (and probably the best bass angler ever) Roland Martin has recently moved over from the FLW tournament series to take a shot at the BASS events. His goal is to start in the Open Tournament category and hopefully make it to the Elite Series (anglers cannot simply enter the Elites, they must qualify via the Open’s) and finally, a Bassmaster Classic win. Scott’s reason to jump over to BASS is that his dad Roland never won a Classic. It’s that competitive Martin family blood that pushes Scott towards this title.
FIRST EVENT
Open tournament #1 for the 2020 season took place on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain of lakes on January 15-17. Scott being a Floridian surely must have felt good going into the competition but does realize that the tournament fields nowadays are more knowledgeable and tougher to beat than ever. Often the hometown advantage isn’t so much an advantage.
Scott finished a very respectable 5th place with a total weight of 41lb – 1oz earning him $13,050 (US). He bettered big names like Gerald Swindle, fellow Garmin pro (Scott too is on the Garmin staff) Jason Christie, Randy Blaukat, Chad Morgenthaler, Buddy Gross, and Brandon Palaniuk. With a field of 223 anglers, 5th is a great finish and a huge step towards making the Elites.
HOW TO BECOME AN ELITE
In order to make the Elite series, each Open division has four tournaments and there are now three ways to qualify for the 12 available Elite Series invitations. The Top 4 from the Central and Eastern Divisions get invites, along with the Top 4 overall anglers in the point standings.
REST OF THE SCHEDULE
2020 Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Opens Division
- May 7 – 9, 2020 Cherokee Lake Dandridge, TN
- August 6 – 8, 2020 Oneida Lake Syracuse, NY
- September 24 – 26, 2020 Lake Hartwell Anderson, SC
2020 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Opens Division
- April 9 – 11, 2020 Lewisville Lake Lewisville, TX
- May 21 – 23, 2020 Neely Henry Lake Gadsden, AL
- June 18 – 20, 2020 Arkansas River Muskogee, OK
- September 10 – 12, 2020 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Jasper, TX
We wish Scott all the best in his quest for the Classic.