Martin’s Final Prep for the 2019 Tour
How to get ready for another bass fishing season
This time of year, my attention is focused on two things. The most important one is spending time with my family. We’re traveling for softball games and trying to squeeze in as much time together during the holidays as we can before the 2019 FLW Tour season gets started. My career as a professional angler takes me away from home quite a bit, but family will always be my No. 1 priority. So we’re spending every possible minute together during what’s left of the offseason.
The other place I’m directing my attention is toward my preparation for the Tour. It’s a big job.
Getting mentally prepared is the biggest thing for me. There’s a process, and it has to be done. Everything has to be ready so when I roll into Texas to start practice for Sam Rayburn on Jan. 6 I know exactly where every piece of tackle is stowed and exactly how every piece of equipment works and exactly what I need to accomplish to support my sponsors and keep my own media projects on schedule. Sometimes the preparation goes into panic mode, like I’m in hyperventilate mode or something, but that’s just part of it.
When it comes to tackle and equipment, I always try to take the variables out of the equation. So I’ve been spending time getting my Ranger and Evinrude set up and my electronics tuned just the way I like them. I’m sorting through my rods and reels and taking inventory of crankbaits and everything else, down to making sure I’m stocked up on the proper hooks. I’m almost to the point now where I know exactly where everything is in my boat and truck. It takes a while, but I like to physically see it all in place in advance to know it’s ready.
Once that’s out of the way I’ll really start thinking about the actual fishing and getting my head into the game. Right now I know nothing about Sam Rayburn. I haven’t been checking conditions or looking at lake maps because I was still getting my stuff set up. To move on to the next step would be doing it in the wrong order. And a lot could change before the tournament anyway.
I’ll really begin dialing in on Sam Rayburn in the next couple weeks, and then I’ll be ready once practice begins.
Lucky for me, I’m traveling with a great group of guys, so we already have our arrangements made for the season. I’m traveling with Tom Redington and Andrew Upshaw, plus Brian Latimer for some events. I’ll also have Brandon Gordon along producing the video content we put online, and my buddy Billy Messer, who’s going to help with all sorts of production tasks.
Having a crew like that is really helpful because we all have a lot to get done. We rent houses for the tournaments, which takes a lot of planning. We have to make sure it has good Wi-Fi, and make sure it’s comfortable because we’ll be spreading camera gear everywhere. It’s all important because what we’re trying to accomplish that week is, No. 1, how to win a tournament. And No. 2, how to do good work for our sponsors and capture it all on film in a way that people want to watch. It’s a nonstop process to get it all organized.
As far as the video and social media projects go, I’m brainstorming a lot of it now and will continue to do so along the way. I organizing the game plan as far as what each day entails, what we’re going to film, what fishing tips to share and who to film each day.
This year, we’re also working on some new projects that could really take the fan experience to a new level. We’re not ready to announce those just yet, but keep watching, because it’s going to be a lot of fun.
There’s still a lot to get done before the FLW Tour kicks off on Sam Rayburn Jan. 10, but no matter how much work it takes I still love it. I really do, because I have several passions. One, obviously, is tournament fishing, and my other passion is the creative process. I think there’s a need for that in our sport, and I kind of recognized that early on. Now, I truly enjoy just capturing the whole experience, and I think it’s really growing the sport by showing people around the world why we love bass fishing so much.
If you want to follow along throughout the tournament season, check out youtube.com/scottmartinbass, or follow me at facebook.com/ScottMartinChallengeTV and instagram.com/scottmartinchallenge.