When Scott Martin takes off from C. Scott Driver Park Feb. 20, he’ll be focused on finding the fattest Florida bass Lake Okeechobee has to offer. No doubt, the goal of winning the second Bassmaster Elite event of the 2025 season requires no exterior motivation, but how about a priceless shot of inspiration?
If you’re thinking about Martin’s wire-to-wire victory in the 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee, you’re not wrong. However, Martin’s also carrying something much deeper into this event taking place on his home waters.
“This year marks three generations of Martins who have competed on Lake Okeechobee,” Martin said. “My dad started with (B.A.S.S. founder) Ray Scott, driving all over the country in the Bluebird bus and promoting the organization. I grew up as his namesake and now I fish the Bassmaster Elites, and the last week of January, my daughter Hilary fished the Bassmaster College Series at Lake Okeechobee.
“Hilary actually competed in the College Series event at the Harris Chain the previous week, but her competing on Lake Okeechobee was really special for our family. Ray Scott trusted my father to be a big part of growing Bassmaster into what it is today. Who would have thought all those years ago that we would be sitting here today with three generations.”
Hilary and her University of Alabama partner Jack Wilson fared better at the Harris Chain, but competing on her family’s home waters formed an indelible memory.
“It honestly made me emotional when I was there,” Hilary said. “I definitely shed a few tears while I was fishing that body of water, because there’s a lot of history on it, and a lot of history that has to do with my family.
“That (College Series tournament) was literally the most important tournament of my career so far. Unfortunately, we didn’t do all that great, but I definitely had a sense of accomplishment and achievement, simply because I was on that stage. Being able to say that I stood on that stage (at my home lake) means the absolute world to me.”
A vision unfolding
Putting things into perspective, Scott Martin said: “My dad and Ray Scott had the vision of where this sport can go. That’s why it was such a proud moment for me to see Hilary participate in a Bassmaster tournament. Of all my kids, early on we identified that Hilary was the one that had the true passion for competing.
“I think I understand now how my dad felt the first time he saw me standing on the Bassmaster stage. My dad’s just as proud of Hilary. He always brags on her, and he’s always been so impressed with her passion for the sport.”
Seeing his daughter at the start of her fishing career, Scott said it reminds him of the perpetual learning process he has experienced over his 30 years of tournament fishing. Even at this stage, he can see family traits emerging.
“I think Hilary shares some of our better qualities,” Scott said. “She shares my father’s determination and my will to win. My father’s very focused; he’s very smart and I just claw and fight as hard as I can to try and do good. I think she has the best of both worlds. She doesn’t give up.”
Example: Scott recalled a day when he, his father and Hilary endured grueling 100-degree heat on Lake Okeechobee with more sweating than catching. Out of water and snacks by noon, they stuck it out until sunset and headed back with little to show for their effort.
“Hilary was sunburnt, tired and deflated because she didn’t catch any fish that day,” Scott said. “The first thing she said before we took off to go home was, ‘Can we go back tomorrow?’ I was worried that I had ruined her and she wouldn’t ever want to do this again, but it was the complete opposite. She wanted to go back the next day.”
Nodding to what she considers a solid foundation from which to build her own reality, Hilary said, “A lot of who I am is because of my family and the support they gave me. “
Common thread
Bass fishing’s in their blood. No need to overstate the obvious, but the Martins’ straightforward bond took different courses.
The early years of Bassmaster’s infancy required much from foundational members like nine-time Angler of the Year Roland Martin. That left little time for mentoring a son who quickly caught the fishing bug.
Scott harbors no resentment; if anything, he appreciates how his father’s achievements motivated him to pursue his own. On the other hand, he treasures the time he’s been able to spend with a fishing-addicted daughter.
“My dad was always gone when I was growing up, and I didn’t get a chance to spend time with him in a boat,” Scott said. “My dad never sat down and groomed me to be a tournament angler. I kind of figured it out on my own.
“Hilary is the same; she really wants to figure it out on her own. I respect that. We have all independently honed our craft. Fishing is such an individual sport. It’s mental, it’s physical, it’s a science and an art.”
Instruction and advice have freely flowed at a comfortable pace, but Hilary said a moment of simple encouragement exemplifies her father’s influence.
“I remember back in high school, I was really nervous about a tournament at Okeechobee,” she said. “I was going through a lot in my head about people expecting a lot out of me and how that made me very nervous.
“My dad sat me down and told me, ‘You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna do good. Every fisherman goes through what you’re going through.’ When I get into a space in my head where I’m nervous and scared, he will help me calm down.”
What lies ahead
Following her father and grandfather’s paths to a professional fishing career intrigues Hilary, but with three years to go in Business Marketing program, that’s a back burner topic.
“I can see it, but I haven’t made the decision yet to really pursue it,” she said. “It’s definitely something that has sparked in me on multiple occasions where I’m just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to do that.
“Especially when my dad won the Open at Okeechobee. I said, ‘I want to be up there someday.’”
Whether or not that happens is a chapter yet unwritten. Regardless, Hilary sees herself pursuing a course that’s big on uplifting others.
“I’m establishing my brand and creating a name for myself with the platform that I have, and I want to grow that into a business based on advocating for women and young kids in fishing,” she said. “It’s about teaching and sharing my experience as a woman in a male-dominated sport.
“I really want to encourage women to get into the sport and not be intimidated. I want to base my brand around that.”
Family and faith
Notwithstanding his eagerness to help, Scott knows it’s much more important to let his daughter spread her wings.
“What I see (for her future) as a father is probably different than what she sees,” Scott said. “I see her value in this industry because of her passion and her love for the outdoors, especially for women. She wants to see women on an equal playing field in this sport, and she wants to show women around the world that fishing is an awesome way to spend time in the outdoors.
“I don’t think tournaments are her main goal. Do I want her to fish on the Elites one day and win the Bassmaster Classic? Absolutely, that would be great, but I’m OK whatever she does. She has an opportunity to go in whatever direction she wants and as long as her passion is there, she’ll do well.”
However her vision develops, Hilary knows the path will require a blend of her effort, her family’s support and divine guidance.
“I’m still trying to figure it out, because I have a lot of other goals that I want to meet, as well,” Hilary said. “That whole path of going the professional angler route, whether it happens or it doesn’t, I’m just going to trust God’s plan.”
