Pam Martin - Wells - Bass fishing

Glenn: Hi, I'm Glenn May with BassResource.com and I'm here with Pam Martin-Wells, one of the top female professional anglers of, well, boy, of all time, I've got to say. Good to have you here with us today, Pam. Pam Martin-Wells: Thank you, I'm glad to be here. Glenn: Now, Pam, you've been fishing for, gosh, how many years now? Pam: 22 years and I'm only 23. Glenn: Okay. Pam: Haven't got anybody to fall for that yet. Glenn: In all those years of fishing, what has been arguably the most memorable bass that you ever caught? Pam: The most memorable bass I've ever caught was probably one a little over 5 pounds I caught on Lake Mitchell, which is the lake below here, during the women's championship. That was the decisive fish that declared me the winner, so ... Glenn: And when was that? Pam: That was two years ago, so it was, I think it was 2007 or 2008. I can't remember. Glenn: So, I'm curious. For big bass techniques, a lot of people are curious about, you know, how to catch really big bass. What would be your most unusual big bass technique, or the most productive one? Pam: Wow. I don't know. That's a tough one. That depends on the body of water you're on, really. Because if you're on Falcon, you're going to throw 12-inch worms and giant crankbaits and swimbaits, and that kind of thing. So, that's kind of a ... you stumped me there. That's kind of a tough question. Glenn: Okay. What would be your favorite technique for catching big bass? Pam: Probably a jig. That's what I caught that big one on. I've actually caught a 10-5.3 in a tournament. I caught that fish on a jig. So, I'd probably have to say a jig. Glenn: Is that, so pitching, flipping or are you more of a deep water type? Pam: All of the above. I prefer to pitch and flip. I'm from Lake Seminole, it's basically a swamp, so we don't have to have but 10 feet of line on our rod. Glenn: Okay. Now, for the common angler out there, someone who's just a weekend warrior, what would be the most common mistake that you see them make? Pam: Not believing in themselves. Glenn: Really? So what would you say to them to maybe coach them into having more confidence? Pam: You just got to have faith in what you're doing, and in yourself. Otherwise you're beat, you know? If you're doubting everything you do, every cast you make, every lure you put on your line, then you're beat from the get-go. So you've got to believe in yourself and your gut instincts. Glenn: So if you're fishing a lure and you're thinking to yourself, "Uh, I don't think this one's going to really work today," then maybe you ought to put a different lure on? Pam: You ought to change it, because if you've got doubt, then you're not going to present it effectively. You're not going to fish it effectively. Therefore you're hurting yourself. Glenn: Well, let me ask you a couple of more personal questions about you. If you could fish with anybody, past or current, who might that be? Pam: Oh, man. There again ... I honestly could not narrow that down, I don't think, to one person because there's so many great anglers out here, you know? Glenn: This could be, I mean, Theodore Roosevelt, anybody in history or current events. Pam: Well in that respect, I'd have to say my grandfather. My grandfather and my grandmother, they fished right up until they were 83 years old, and it was in their blood, and he knew more about fishing in Lake Seminole than I will ever know. And so that would be a great opportunity to be able to get back in the boat with him. Glenn: Now, is he the one who got you involved in fishing? Pam: Well, that's actually my whole family. I mean, my parents used to take my sister and I fishing when we were three, four, five years old, so it's kind of a family thing. Glenn: Now, besides fishing, what else do you like to do? Pam: I love to hunt. I love to do fish and hunt. Anything that keeps me in the outdoors to enjoy all the good things the good Lord's given us. Glenn: Any particular species you like to go after? Pam: I love to bowhunt, so I do that pretty passionately. But my husband and I, he's a guide, duck guide, quail guide, turkey hunt, deer hunt, you name it. Like I said, if it gets me outdoors, that's the place to be. Glenn: So what would be your dream vacation? Pam: Right now, I would love to be able to go catch some peacock bass. I think that'd just be awesome. Glenn: Down on the Amazon, or anywhere in particular? Pam: I don't care. I'm not picky. Glenn: So what's the one thing that your fans don't know about you, that you'd like to share? Pam: I don't know. Probably ... not necessarily that I would like to share, but they probably don't know that I used to race motocross before I started bass fishing. Glenn: No kidding! Really, how did you do? Pam: That was probably the one thing I was good at. Glenn: Well, I'd say you're pretty good at what you're doing now. Pam: Well, I enjoyed it, and I was pretty successful at it. But I got old enough, it started hurting more and more, so ... Glenn: Well, Pam, thank you so much for being with us today. I really do appreciate it. Pam: Thank you. Glenn: And we're looking forward to seeing you out on the water. Pam: Thank you very much, I appreciate it.