trust to give it to me. Sometimes, get-
ting too specific has cost me. And
sometimes practicing and getting on
fish too far in advance of the tourna-
ment has caused me to waste a lot of
competition time. It’s easy to get locked
into what the bass were doing rather
than focus on what they are doing. Until
you have some experience working
with information from other anglers,
that can create problems for you. It’s
one thing to have information – even
good information – but something else
to use it successfully.”
(Unexpected) Benefits
Andy Morgan: “Doing things on my
own and without a lot of outside infor-
mation has forced me to focus on what
wo rks for me rather than what works
for other guys. Anyone who knows me
can tell you that I rely on about four dif-
ferent techniques, but I can adapt
those four techniques to a lot of differ-
ent conditions just by moving shallower
or deeper or by speeding up or slowing
down. That makes it easier for me to
break down the fishing conditions as
quickly as possible.”
Scott Martin: “Working with other
anglers I trust has made me a more
versatile fisherman. When you talk
with an excellent angler and he tells
you that a certain pattern might be
strong, you either learn that method
or lose the benefit of that informa-
tion. Over time, you become more
well-rounded, and there are fewer
holes in your game. Tournament
preparation and working with others
has made me a lot better through the
years, and it keeps paying dividends
all the time.”
Advice
Andy Morgan: “I’m confident that my
way is better … for me. But that doesn’t
mean it’s best for everyone. Until you
know what your niches are and how
your mind works as a tournament
angler, you can’t really make a determi-
nation like that. I do believe that doing
everything on your own is becoming a
thing of the past, and that it’s an
increasingly difficult method to use.
Information is key, and it’s getting easi-
er to find good, reliable information
these days. There’s just too much infor-
mation out there.”
Scott Martin: “First, you need to
trust your instincts. Develop them and
know that they’re more valuable than
any outside source. Second, do your
research. Look at maps, check Google
and generally do all the homework you
can before you get to the water. Finally,
if you’re going to work with other peo-
ple, use one or two sources. Don’t try
to get a piece of information here and
another piece there. Find a handful of
trusted friends that you can look to, not
a bunch of random dudes you don’t
know well. And consider working with
someone else who’s fishing the event
with you.”
TALE OF THE TAPE
Though Andy Morgan and
Scott Martin have different
approaches to their tourna-
ment preparation, both have
experienced great success in
their careers. Here’s how their
stats stack up.
SCOTT
MARTIN
ANDY
MORGAN
Forrest Wood Cup wins
1 — 0
Forrest Wood Cup appearances
16 — 20
Angler of the Year titles
1 — 3
FLW earnings
$2,714,770 — $2,154,051
FLW top-10 finishes
38 — 64
JANUARY 2018 I FLWFISHING.COM
Tour-Level Wins
8 — 1
67