In her youth, she often dropped her fishing line in the lazy waters of the Sac River and, years later, she not only launched a women’s bass fishing club in the Ozarks but also competed well nationally.
All in all, Springfield native Julie Martin was instrumental in bringing awareness to women’s bass fishing in the state of Missouri from the early 1970s through the late 1990s.
Even better, her career is being remembered thanks to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which will recognize Martin with a Wynn Award during its Women’s Sports Luncheon presented by the Bee Payne-Stewart Foundation.
The luncheon is set for 11 a.m. March 23 at the University Plaza Convention Center. Individual tickets are only $40, tables of eight are $400 and can be purchased by calling 417-889-3100.
“In some ways, I felt like I helped open the doors for women to be anglers,” Martin said. “And it’s important now that fishing is reaching out to high school students as a real sport. I feel like I helped build a foundation for what is happening now and having females accepted as anglers.”
The inaugural Wynn Awards, named in honor of Missouri State University’s pioneer of women’s athletics Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, will recognize six other high school, college and pro athletes who made notable contributions in athletics.
The awards will be in addition to the inductions of College of the Ozarks’ Dora Quinn Arney Meikle, Drury University’s Barbara Cowherd, Mizzou volleyball coaches Wayne and Susan Kreklow and the 1975 Licking High School volleyball team that won the first volleyball state tournament.
Martin began tournament fishing in 1972 and became one of the state’s most successful women on the water. In 1976, she was the only woman to compete in the National Bass Casters Association (BCA) Pro-Am circuit, finishing fifth overall in the amateur division, and caught the largest bass of the tournament.
In 1978, she and Francis Knox co-founded Missouri’s first women’s bass club. Martin went on to fish professionally in Bass N’ Gals, Lady Bass and the Women’s Bass Fishing Association (WBFA). Over 22 years, Martin qualified for each organization’s national Classic 20 times and finished 15th or better in each.
Martin became the most successful women’s angler in any open competition when, in 1983, she finished 40th out of 287 anglers in the U.S. Open tournament at Lake Mead near Las Vegas. Martin, who paid a $1,500 entry fee, elected to compete as a “non-boater” – meaning she shared a boat with other competitors – and was one of only three women in the tournament.
From 1984 through 1986, Martin fished several Missouri-based Redman Tournaments. She also won the 1989 Kentucky Invitational on Kentucky Lake with 21 bass weighing 50 pounds and a 5.09 lunker, and she finished second in the Angler of the Year standings.
She also was the Angler of the Year four of seven years in the Ozarks Anglerettes as well as Angler of the Year of the Ozark Mountain Bass N’ Gals in 1988 and 1989. In recent years, she has led the Julie Martin Fishing Event through Life’s Journey, which raises scholarship dollars for children of military veterans, law enforcement and firefighters.
When asked about the secret to her success, Martin laughed like a true angler – one who can tell fishing stories with the best of them.
“When I would fish, I’d have my finger on the line as soon as the bait hit the water. Sometimes, I could feel when a fish was just looking at my lure,” Martin said.
Martin got her start in fishing by traveling with her grandfather and dad to local rivers and lakes. Her career then took off after she married Bob Martin, who was part of the early years of B.A.S.S. They fished in pro-ams. Soon, the women’s bass club was formed, and Martin went on to enjoy tons of success.
Along the way, women would approach Martin and express appreciation for her unintended role as a trailblazer.
“Many felt like they could compete, that it wasn’t just a man’s sport,” Martin said. “I hope I helped them realize that they could compete.”
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Women’s Sports Luncheon presented by the Bee Payne-Stewart Foundation
When: 11 a.m. March 23
Where: University Plaza Convention Center, Springfield
Inductees: College of the Ozarks’ Dora Quinn Arney Meikle, Drury University’s Barbara Cowherd, Mizzou volleyball coaches Wayne and Susan Kreklow and the 1975 Licking High School volleyball team that won the first volleyball state tournament.
Wynn Awards: Missouri State field hockey standout Marjorie (DeMarino) Bankovich; Camdenton High School soccer standout Monique (Willcut) Begley; Springfield Catholic High School hurdles champion Angie (Bullock) Homeyer; Monett High School basketball and track standout Angela (Beckett) Johnson; Springfield angler Julie Martin; Lebanon High School/Mizzou golfer Kerry (Speaker) North; and Jamie Vest, a cross country standout from Stoutland and Missouri State University.
Tickets: An individual ticket is $40. A head table ticket is $100. A table of eight is $400 and includes associate sponsor recognition in the printed program. Sponsorships also are available. Call the Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.
