The final Bassmaster Classic qualifier was determined last weekend via the Team Championship Fish-Off held on Lake Guntersville. Claiming the last slot was Thomas Martens of Texas, a doctor by trade, but self-described bass nut like the rest of us.
In March, Martens will travel to Grand Lake for the biggest bass fishing event of his life. That alone is worthy of an interview, but it was the circumstance in which Martens claimed the title – fishing against his full-time team tournament partner – that really intrigued me.
I asked a few tough questions, and got answers right on course with what I had been thinking all along. While Martens won’t argue with the Classic invite, he’s not sure he deserves it.
To back up a bit, let’s investigate this bizarre tournament format; one which, I hope, ends up modified like other recent organized-fishing inventions.
Anglers form across the country qualify for the Bassmaster Team Championship and continue to fish as a team. But, after crowning the overall team champions and Top 3 places, those six anglers take to the lake for a mano-y-mano fish-off that culminates with only one receiving an invite to the Big Show.
From the first time this format was introduced, I questioned the logic. Team anglers fish together all year – achieving a goal together that is unlikely in the highest regard – and then are asked to put that feeling of accomplishment and genuine companionship aside for the final event and play cut-throat.
In this, the only legitimate version of team sports in pro fishing, we do the unthinkable: split the team up at the moment of truth. How in the world does this benefit anything?
The likely answer is that current Classic formatting allocates only one slot for this type of qualification. But why? And how in the world are these guys supposed to fish against one another?
I spoke with this year’s winner and posed these exact questions.
Martens was cool and collected, a product of being a “real-world” guy with a successful career, rather than a pro fishing desperado. But I occasionally caught him blending in the thought process of a junkie.
“It was a hobby that just turned into something bigger” he said. “I just can’t get enough of it.”
Martens explained that he still remembers his first tournament a handful of years ago. Watching the sun come up and hearing the National Anthem; the crisp morning air giving pause to a day that would be filled with exhilaration. “It was just awesome.”
Later, Martens would perform solidly, even earning a sponsorship spot with Texas Boat World. His alternate life in pro bass was going well; it was fun. That being said, Martens is understandably pumped about being Classic-bound.
But it all comes with a bit of an asterisk in his mind.
“It’s definitely bittersweet” he said. “The only negative is that I’m going, and Dean’s not”.
He was referring to Dean Alexander, his tournament partner in the team events that led up to the final day fish-off. And Dean ain’t no slouch.
Alexander qualified for, and fished, the Elite Series in 2011, cashing checks in three events. His tournament history, according to his Classic-bound partner Martens, dates back 20 years. Martens feels Alexander’s the best fisherman on the team, by far.
“If we go fishing together, nine times out of ten, Dean will beat me,” Martens added.
So why is Martens the Classic -ound member of the team? Well, like on any given tournament day, he made the better decisions, stuck with his game plan, and came out on top. That’s tournament fishing. Unfortunately, however, he did so at the expense of one his mentors.
When asked about his overall thought on being the Classic representative for his amateur brethren, rather than his uber-experienced partner, Martens reflected, “It’s almost embarrassing.”
Every hardcore fan of pro fishing has their take on who deserves to be in the Classic. Rewarding team anglers may very well be necessary, as that demographic represents more tournament fishermen than any other facet of the sport.
The problem lies in dismissing the single greatest selling point of this type of competition, right at its most important moment.
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
