Scott Martin....

Scott Martin is headed to the BASS Opens. No more FLW for him. Says he wants to chase the Classic Championship. Good luck to him.

He made a statement last year that he wanted to stay at FLW because it allowed him the most free time. Apparently he has a lot of things going on outside being on the water for tournaments. Not sure if this still holds true but I bet it has something to do with it.

The TFF's very own Scott Martin. Good for him. Hopefully Thrift goes also.

I'm still amazed that guys like Martin and Thrift got left out of both the MLF and BASS invites last yr. How in the world did BASS not offer an invite to these guys? BASS has some really good sticks but they lack recognizable star power. Both of those guys bring that......With that said I guess this whole deal may work out for BASS really well. I mean they have guys like Martin fishing the Opens trying to qualify. I haven't looked at the scheduling, but I suspect there may be some big MLF and FLW names fishing the Opens this year as well. Preparing for the end of the MLF contract. The Elites may once again be truly elite before long.

I think they turned the invites down

I have no idea on Thrift, but I was told that Martin did not get an invite to BASS last year. That he would have accepted if offered.

I am surprised that BASS hasn’t approached a few of the long term major stars in the FLW such as Thrift and Martin with extra spots added to the Elites if they come. Or for that matter why they apparently didn’t offer them spots for this year.Keep the field size the same so the current qualifying applies. Few would argue that these two have proven Elite status. For my money Thrifts a perennial top 10, arguably top 5 in the game.

It seems to me like it would be a major coup for BASS and add more credibility to the strength of the field. With the limited Opens it’s hard too qualify as even a single poor tournament can push you to next year.

I see a bunch coming back to BASS once their 3 year commitment to BPT is over. I bet in the final year a bunch fish the Opens to re-qualify.

Well FLW/MLFLW just lost their bell cow. Let's see if some of their other well knowns do the same.

"cow bell",......that's great,

You said MLF or BASS and I believe they both got an invite to MLF and both declined.

Lol

wish him the best of luck & hope Thrift goes to bass also.

I’m pretty sure Thrift is fishing the FLW pro tour.

I guess I missed the funny part.

Martin mentioned in a video that he didn't get an invite so MLF was never a concern.

Gold jacket, green jacket!?!? Who gives a $()!7?

The funny part is saying they lost their bell cow. With all the big names in MLF. I wouldn't call Martin their bell cow

Doesn't appear Martin or FLW/MLF care. Nobody is losing sleep over 1 angler. B.A.S.S. will be happy to have him I am sure with the legacy and storeis they can tie back to Roland no matter how short lived.

I rarely comment on things like this but this one bugs me. This seems pretty clear to me. Scott wasn't offered a spot in MLF and then made a video about some really hard decision which he really never had to make since he didn't get said offer. Now, the tour he fishes has been purchased by the same organization that didn't make him an offer so he's moving to the only option left - BASS. Just like the spin of the "tough decision" video, this spin about wanting to win a Classic works in this narrative perfectly. The sad part is I side with him on this. He had to be mad he wasn't offered a spot in MLF before and then he overnight becomes a part of the JV/qualifying circuit without any choice about it. I just wish he would have been more honest and said I am not going to support and be a part of an organization who didn't want me in the beginning instead of creating this spin about his Dad and never winning the Classic. If that were all true, he could have joined BASS at any time and gone after that goal. I wish him luck and respect the heck out of his fishing ability, but the constant spin factor drives me nuts.

That goes back to the topic the guy has about promoting only sponsor baits while using other companies. Its just what they do to appease their cash cows. Personally I agree I would love to hear him say "I'm just not supporting MLF"

I was specifically referring to the FLW Pro Tour, not the BPT. Based on the qualification system to move from FLW to BPT I find it interesting that he chose what he did. Seeing that he has been one of the most, if not the most, marketable and successful anglers for FLW for 20+ years I do not think "bell cow" is out of line. He has garnered a large amount of respect from the FLW anglers over the years. It will be interesting to see who follows his lead.

It gets old. I guess there are new fans coming in frequently that haven't experienced it enough to annoy them.

Probably doesn’t want to be in the minor leagues which is what my understanding is of how mlf views flw. I don’t get how his ties to Johnny allow him to not be part of it. Dad, basspro, ranger.

Scott Martin and Bryan Thrift were both offered invitations to fish the Bass Pro Tour. Personally, I think they'd have been crazy to leave FLW last year. After some of the FLW hammers went to the BPT, both of their odds of winning tournaments and money on the FLW side were too hard to walk away from.

I believe he and Thrift were offered spots by MFL in the inaugural year of the BPT.

So the biggest decision of his career was deciding to fish the bass opens and not declining the BPT invite?

dont think FLW Pro Circuit is a minor league to the BPT. You can make as much winning an FLW Pro and a BPT event. Advantage of choosing to fish BOT after you qualify is no entry fees.

This is just my 2 cents not trying to start a argument I don't think so either but I do think it will in the near future I don't think they would have bought if not.

By definition when you feed into a perceived organization you are a minor league, jv, farm team, feeder, anything you choose to call it. That is not a knock on the guys over there, there are some very good anglers, but it is a reality. It is no different than the Opens you are feeding into the Elites. Now you can argue money, prestige and things like that, but at the end of the day some very, very good anglers were made minor league'rs with the sign of a pen. And suppose something happens and a guy that you would suspect will be Top 10 in two seasons falls to 11th ? Guess what you are still in the minors. It is what it is. It is the reality in an imperfect situation. You also have to look at it, as you over two seasons you are paying $80,000 in entry fees for 10 spots. While you can argue and probably rightfully so , that it is harder to qualify through the Opens, you could make the argument that for say 24 slots over the two seasons you are paying a little under $30,000 in entry fees. This being based on you have say 5 slots from each series, that is 20 in two years and a few of those guys may double qualify which opens up a couple of slots.

Um yep

I'm going to go ahead and apologize now...

Bell Cow... Cash Cow... What this thread needs is More Cow Bell !!!

By the way, are we to believe a Martin would put a spin on something? He was raised by the master. Remember the Helicopter Lure. It's 4 lures in one. The reaction action is just like a cat pouncing on a mouse. Oh son... The part I liked best: The most important reason why fish bite it is a reason we can all understand at one time or another, Anger! It dives the fish mad. Wham, real em in son... https://youtu.be/4ptxWmyt5GI

Lordy, lordy, lordy.... He never had a decision on MLF vs. FLW.

For everyone who thinks that Scott Martin got an invite to the BPT, hear it from the horses mouth... this is the video that Chris G above was talking about where Scott talked about all of this "fake decision" business. It's from last year when the MLF BPT was getting formed.

The link starts at 2:25, the relevant part:

https://youtu.be/quV2oivMIh8?t=145

Can’t argue with you that it is a “feeder system” for the BPT. IMO the FLW Pro Circuit is still the equivalent to the Elite Series as it has always been. Only difference now is that you can switch to the BPT if you qualify and chose to do so. My opinion is Martin and others are switching to the opens in an effort to qualify for the Elites because they want no part of MLF. That of course is understandable. Many believe 5 fish is and always will be true bass fishing.

This is all stupid and starting to sound like a professional wrestling skit.

Drop the mic! Perfectly said.

The truth is Scott Martin doesn’t even need to fish tournaments. He comes from money and has plenty of side businesses that pay way better than tournaments.
He always liked fishing FLW because it was fewer tournaments (in addition to his loyalty to his Godfather, Forest Wood) so the fact that he if fishing 2 Opens divisions means he wants this.

I just hope it's more of a "time with family" and to capture "the one tournament his dad wasn't able to win, family business" decision versus who's offering the most $$$ decision. Great guy and angler!!!

Bradley Hallman is a bit more direct.

https://m.bassmaster.com/news/i-want-be-bassmaster-elite-series-angler-again

Yeah he doesn’t make his money on tournament winnings!