When it became a reality a few years ago that I would get the chance to fish the Walmart FLW Tour bass tournament circuit, it really was a dream come true for me.
Competing on a big stage against the best bass anglers in the world was something I had wanted to do for a long time and, thankfully, great sponsor support has allowed me to get to do it.
While there certainly has been some sacrifice in travelling around the U.S. all year to fish in bass tournaments, the opportunities that have come from my doing this—and the friends that I’ve made—have been a blessing, for sure.
One of the anglers I’ve met and become friends with is Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla. Scott has had an incredible career fishing the FLW Tour and is second all-time in career winnings, nearly approaching $3 million!
He is the son of arguably the most famous bass angler ever, Roland Martin, who has tournament records that never will be broken, including nine Angler of the Year awards on the Bassmaster circuit.
He also is the host of the long-running TV program “Fishing with Roland Martin,” which I can remember watching when I was a little kid.
While Roland continues to stay busy in the fishing industry, Scott has become a superstar with his TV program, “The Scott Martin Challenge.” It is one of the top viewed fishing shows in the U.S., airing on NBC Sports, and it also can be found online on YouTube.
Each episode usually consists of Scott in some sort of competitive challenge against another angler. It’s an entertaining format that has proven successful.
Last week, Scott travelled up to Rainy Lake to film a couple of episodes of his show and brought along a crew of his friends, including his dad, Roland. I was invited to tag along so I spent a few days on Rainy with these guys.
They had lined up a couple of houseboats to stay on out on the lake, so it was really a lot of fun. We had little cell service and no Internet, so it was a relaxing few days in a remote part of the lake.
We ended up filming two episodes of Scott’s show on Rainy Lake and caught a bunch of nice smallmouth bass. The first featured Scott and I teaming up to fish against his dad and Minnesota angler Andy Young, who also is a competitor on the FLW Tour.
Viewers are going to see some big smallmouths hooked up on this show!
We then filmed a second episode where Scott, Roland, and I each team up with a younger angler and compete against each other for the day.
These shows will air early in 2017 so you’ll have to watch for them to see who wins each challenge (I believe Scott’s show also airs on WFN so they are available for Canadians to watch, as well).
It’s always fun for me to show visiting anglers around when they come to our area. I am so proud of the natural beauty that we have on our lakes, as well as the exceptional fishing, especially on Rainy Lake.
Getting to spend some time with Roland Martin was priceless, as well. Some of the stories he told at night from his years in the fishing industry were hilarious.
After spending a few days around home over the weekend, I’m headed back to Rainy Lake this week to compete in the annual International Falls Bass Championship.
It is a unique two-day event that has anglers fish one day on Rainy Lake and one day on the Rainy River.
Scott Dingwall and I have teamed up for this tournament since it started in 2005 and have had success there over the years, so we’re looking forward to the weekend.
The tournament features a full 60-boat field, with a first place prize of $10,000 on the line.
Look for my report on the tournament next week.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
