In his August 25th column, Scott Martin spoke candidly about the frustrations he’s experienced this year. Namely, a plague of lost fish.
This week, Martin’s committed to two points: First, put everything in the boat. Second, don’t dwell on any losses that may occur.
As he explained, Martin believes he’s done well in finding fish and making good decisions on the water; he just hasn’t executed well enough on putting fish in the boat. Several key losses — including a legitimate game-changer that slipped his grasp on camera during the second Elite on Florida’s Harris Chain — have torpedoed several of his events.
Last week’s 60th place finish on Lake Oahe painfully exemplified his premise, as key fish came unbuttoned and threatened the dreaded spin out.
Martin stated in his column that his Day 1 meltdown at Oahe reinforced his personal rule: “You will never improve a bad day by getting mad.”
Martin entered this week’s season-ending event in 45th place in the Progressive Elite Series Angler of the Year standings. While the AOY title is out of reach, Martin’s gunning for the bonus prize that only this final Elite event offers: A berth in the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic, to be held in Knoxville, Tenn., March 24-26.
Martin enjoyed a strong Day-1 start on the Mississippi River, with a limit of 11-14 by 8:30. As of 9 o’clock, Martin sat in fifth place, about 2 pounds off the lead shared by Drew Benton and Matt Herren. (Weights unofficial until weigh-ins.)
The biggest takeaway from Martin’s first morning of the year’s last event is this: He found that coveted 3-pound bite and put the fish in the boat.
