Martha lives in Simpsonville, SC.  She and Don have been married 35 years and  have been blessed with a wonderful family; a son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and two grandchildren.  Martha says It was her Mom who loved to fish and taught us how.  Most of our trips, we’d go trout fishing on our favorite lakes in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains, in California.  Mom was an awesome angler.  She’d routinely out-fish all of us, including my Dad. 

When I met Don, I taught him what I knew of trout fishing.  At one point, Don developed an interest in bass fishing.  Next thing I knew, our one trout rod each was being replaced with a line-up of all of the “needed” bass rods. 

About 25 years ago, Don asked me if I’d fish in a bass tournament with him.  I wasn’t comfortable with the idea.  At the time, tournaments were all guys.  I decided, yes, I’d do it.  We’ve been fishing as a team since and have met many life-long friends.   

In 2009, I once again thought about fishing WBT.  After talking with other lady anglers (Heather Broom, Michele Gunderman, & Monica Altman) that had fished with WBT, I decided it was time to “just do it.”  
When asked to identify her most memorable moment, Martha had two that topped the list.
As a young girl, sitting on an old log, in a light rain, fishing for bluegill with my Mom. 

As a co-angler, winning the WBT tournament on Lake Maumelle, June 2009...  I fished with three awesome boaters, Sandi Karnes, Lisa Johnson, and Melinda Mize.  After day two, I was 1-1/2 lbs behind the leader.   On day three, I managed to catch three nice keepers.  Melinda kept saying that I might have just won…  I learned after my first tournament to not get my hopes up.  Standing in line for the weigh-in, Melinda and her Mom, Lucy Mize, kept saying, “Hey, you just won a boat.”  Each tank that brought me closer I didn’t know what to think.  There was only one co-angler behind me and she had one fish.  Each tank that took me closer to weighing my fish made me wonder more but, I was committed to not planning on a win until it was official.  The closer I came, my feet felt heavier and more unreal.  Walking up the steps to the scale, are steps I’ll never forget.

LBAA is about doing what we all love to do, staying connected with anglers/friends, fishing new and different types of water, and learning more about fishing.  There are plenty of trails to fish but, LBAA is so special.  Fishing in a women’s trail last year has given me confidence and experience. For 2010, I fished as a co-angler in a “dominantly male trail”.  I would never have considered doing that before.  LBAA is a great opportunity to promote and develop lady anglers.  It is up to us, the anglers, to help promote & grow LBAA.

Martha's Sponsors are: The Fishing Hole, Port-Tronics Fishing World, Strickland Marine, and Truck Luggage

To contact Martha or learn more about her you may go to her Webpage – www.GoodFishin.weebly.com
or through her E-mail – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it