Performance Profile: Lendell Martin Jr.
As he approached 50, Lendell Martin Jr. was in a good place.
His career as a pro bass angler was humming along, while ranching duties and a passel of young grandchildren kept him happy and busy when he wasn’t on the road.
It wasn’t exactly a good time for a major career move, but that didn’t stop the resident of Nacogdoches, Texas, from making a huge decision late in 2002.
Rather than wear a patch promoting beer, as dictated by BASS, the devout Baptist quit the tournament trail.
The move cost him significant sponsorship deals, but Martin didn’t lose his work ethic or his fishing prowess. He rolled up his sleeves, lined up new sponsors and signed up for the lucrative EverStart Series as a way into the $6.8 million 2004 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
Anchored by top-10 finishes at the Red River and Kentucky Lake, he ended the season 10th in the 2003 EverStart Series Central Division points standings and earned a coveted spot on the FLW Tour, where he can fish for the sport’s top award of $500,000 should he advance to the FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., late this summer.
Back in the big leagues, Martin has high hopes for the FLW Tour season, but that doesn’t surprise the people who know him best.
“He’s the original blue-collar fisherman,” said Jerry “Bubba” Puckett of Gary Yamamoto Baits, who has known the Texan for about nine years.
Martin never goes half-speed, except maybe when it comes to his genteel Southern drawl.
His work ethic helped him build a successful air-conditioning business even as he honed his fishing skills in weekend tournaments. It helped him find success as a full-time pro angler after he sold the business in the mid-1980s. And it helps him keep things rolling at his family’s 15,000-acre ranch near Del Rio, Texas.
Martin’s wife of more than 30 years, Diane, deserves plenty of credit. Not only has she supported his many endeavors, but as a gift she paid his first bass-tournament entry fee.
“I don’t think I won a check,” Martin said. “But I was hooked.”
The thrill of competition and the unpredictability of bass fishing are a big part of why he’s still hooked.
“In bass fishing you never really know what’s going to happen day to day,” he said. “I don’t care how good you get. You can’t get bored.”
Martin’s life has had its challenges. In his 20s he fought alcohol abuse.
“It got to a point where I thought I had to have a buzz every night,” Martin said. “I was fixing to lose my family and my life.”
Martin credits God for helping him turn things around, and he doesn’t fault others for endorsing certain products.
“I know it’s all business,” said Martin, who will continue his focus on the EverStart Series and the FLW Tour in 2004 while also spending time with his grandchildren.
“I’m still not an old man,” he said wryly. “I’m just 50 years old, so I’ve still got a few good years left.”
Martin cites versatility as key to tourney success
Veteran tournament angler Lendell Martin Jr. believes versatility is a key to making it through elimination-style bass tournaments.
That trait is also important for a lure, which is why Martin has a soft spot for the Gary Yamamoto Senko.
“I’ve caught fish all kinds of ways with it,” said Martin, a longtime member of the Yamamoto pro staff. “You can Carolina-rig it. You can Texas-rig it. You can drop-shot it. I’ve even caught them dead-sticking it.”
Martin, who typically fishes Senkos on a 6-foot rod with a casting reel loaded with 16-pound-test fluorocarbon line, said Senkos are especially effective in cool water.
“My favorite way to fish them is in the spring during the prespawn and the spawn,” Martin said. “When the fish are reluctant, it’s deadly.”
During that season Martin will often fish a Senko Texas-rigged and weightless, casting it toward shoreline laydowns and brush. He likes to work the lure within a couple feet of the surface where he can often keep the bait within sight – until it disappears in the mouth of a bass.
How does Martin decide what Senko tactic to employ? He doesn’t.
“I let the fish tell me what to do,” he said.