Prior to the tournament’s start, Scott Martin said he needed to find a “sneak spot” — a strategic location that’s high on fish attraction, but low on angler attraction. Somewhere he could catch a big limit without any company.
Sounds like the dream scenario, but on Lake Guntersville — largely considered the nation’s most pressured bass fishery — you typically file that notion under “good luck with that.” However, the decorated Florida pro fishing his first Elite season has accomplished that rare feat of sacking in solitude.
Leveraging a sneak spot this morning, Bass Trakk’s unofficial standings showed Martin with a limit of 20 pounds, 2 ounces — the day’s largest catch so far. Martin’s bag, which includes a 6-2 — currently leading the daily Phoenix Boats Big Bass standings — lifted him from 80th place on Day 1 into today’s top-10.
Catching that limit in under an hour this morning, Martin targeted a shell bed outside a spawning bay. He started off catching spotted bass, but his confidence that bigger largemouth would also be moving out to this subtle postspawn area proved rewarding.
If Martin’s strategy of leveraging sneak spots holds up, he may find himself in contention for the win. Lots of fishing left between now and Championship Sunday, but for the moment, Scott Martin’s moving in the right direction.
He’s just being sneaky about it.