Go east young man

Western standout Cody Meyer making a name in FLW competition

With Walmart FLW Tour competition heavily weighted on the right side of the U.S. map, a young angler hauling a boat all the way from California had better have plenty of confidence and a solid skill set to back it up. Mark that check and check for Grass Valley’s Cody Meyer.

The inherent diversity of his home state waters has taught the 28-year-old Golden State pro the value of an open-minded approach. He definitely has his favorite tactics (more on that shortly), but you won’t often see Cody Meyer painting himself into a corner.

“In California, you can fish Clear Lake and flip with 65-pound braid, fish frogs and throw swimbaits and then go an hour north (to Shasta Lake) and you have to fish 70 feet deep with 4-pound-test,” he said. “I feel comfortable fishing any situation.

“On the FLW Tour, the key is versatility. You’re going to have to fish bodies of water you’re not familiar with and techniques you’re not familiar with. On the West Coast, you’re faced with so many obstacles from deep, clear water to shallow, muddy water. I’ve been fortunate growing up out here and getting to know how to fish in every situation.”

Without question, Meyer prefers finesse fishing and his signature rig is the drop-shot. With leaders ranging from a few inches to a few feet, depending on depth and fish positioning, he’s typically hanging a Jackall Crosstail Shad or a Roboworm on a hook that absolutely must stand out perfectly straight. (He’s a real stickler about running Palomar knot tag ends back through the hook eye before tying the weight on the leader.)

Admittedly obsessive about flawless tackle and rigging, Meyer said that such perfectionism has bred a tactical precision that translates well to waters far from home.

“Finesse fishing definitely helps get five and in a lot of places we fish, that style of fishing has helped me tremendously,” he said. “Some of the lakes we fish out east are really tough, so getting five every time is going to keep you consistent and get you those paychecks.”

With a career dating back to 2002, Meyer has been a consistent performer in the Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL), EverStart Series and FLW Series Western Division. An FLW Tour pro since 2010, he’s won over $450,000 in FLW competition. Most impressively, Meyer not only qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup each year since 2009, but he finished in the top 10 each time.

In 2010, Meyer placed second at Georgia’s Lake Lanier, after a third-place finish in his first Cup appearance at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers in 2009 – the same year he won the EverStart Western Division Angler of the Year title. This year, a seventh-place finish on Lake Ouachita cemented his growing reputation as one to watch.

On the side

Between tournaments, Meyer still dabbles in auto sales – mostly passenger vehicles, but also the occasional commercial truck and a boat here and there. Auctions account for most of his business, which ranges nationwide.

“I’m not quite a used car salesman – I sell to the guys who sell them,” Meyer joked. “Sometimes I’m practicing for an FLW Tour event and I’ll get a call to buy a car. I’ll hang up; make another call to sell it, and then I’ll make another call to arrange the transportation.”

Elsewhere, another of Meyer’s side ventures has to rank near the top of the odd jobs list for tournament anglers. A few years ago, a family friend recruited him to assist in seasonal pollen collection. Apparently, the raw plant power fetches a handsome price from pharmaceutical companies that turn it into allergy medication.

Interesting tale of the road not taken: Shortly before the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup, a financially thin Meyer considered foregoing his championship berth for a guaranteed $7,000 pollen collection gig. Long story short, choosing to fish yielded a much greater reward – $75,000 to be exact.

“The money I won at the Forrest Wood Cup enabled me to launch my FLW Tour career the next season,” Meyer said.



Early influence

Cody Meyer traces his fishing interest back to his parent’s farm pond, where he discovered how cool it was when a bass grabbed his bait and went airborne. From then on, regular trips to the water and a steady diet of fishing shows featuring Hank Parker, Roland Martin, Rick Clunn and Kevin Van Dam stoked the fire that now burns white hot.

Meyer got his first taste of competition at age 15 when his mom drove him to a tournament at Lake Oroville. About 8 hours of spinnerbaits and dartheads later, he was holding the first-place trophy.

“I won like $500 and from the point on, I was hooked,” Meyer said.

Through his high school years, Meyer honed his skills by fishing local team tournaments. Although he spent some time selling used cars at his father’s lot after graduation, he decided that professional fishing was his course in life.

“The reason I do it is because I just love to fish,” Meyer said. “I love being competitive in tournaments but just going out and fishing – whether it’s a tournament or just fun fishing – I just absolutely love to fish. I don’t see how that’s ever going to change.”

Life on the big stage

Meyer is no whippersnapper, but he’s certainly on the younger end of the FLW Tour field. Nevertheless, he exudes a laidback confidence well beyond his years. Much of that, he said, grew from staring down the daunting challenges of big-time competition in some nerve-racking scenarios like the sparse bite at his first Cup.

“The first year I fished the Forrest Wood Cup, I had never fished the tour at that time and I didn’t know how I was going to do,” he recalled. “Seeing guys like Mike Iaconelli, Greg Hackney and all the FLW pros, I was very nervous. Mentally, that experience made me a lot stronger because now I know I can deal with my nerves a lot more and take that attitude that if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.

“The last two years, I’ve gone out there and just fished the moment and I’ve not had to deal with nerves as much. That’s been huge for me. I can go into every tournament and just focus on fishing.”

Meyer said he’s thrilled to have a trio of Forrest Wood Cup top-10s under his belt, but make no mistake – this young angler has no intention of growing old without standing in the confetti rain.

“To even make it (to the Cup) my first couple of years (on the Tour) was just huge,” he said. “To be honest, when you go out there for your first time, you don’t really know how you’re going to do. To fish against those big names – the guys you fish against your whole life and to do well is just amazing.

“That gives me a lot of confidence and something to strive for every year. My goal now is to qualify again and eventually win one. Because the Forrest Wood Cup is held during the summer, when the bite gets a lot tougher and the fish start to suspend, that gives me a lot of confidence because it allows me to fish to my strengths with light line and finesse tactics. The tougher the bite the better it is for me.”

Meyer at a Glance

Turned pro: 2007 (EverStart)

Top Finish: 2nd place Forrest Wood Cup, 2010

Alternate career: Take away the fishing career and Meyer could see himself as a professional football – specifically a Rams linebacker.

Spouse: Kari

Pet: Rat Terrier, Ranger

Where he chills: Between tournament travel, Meyer and his wife like hanging out in Napa, Calif. or Lake Tahoe.

Dream destination: Germany – his grandparents’ homeland.

Gotta have it: On the road, Meyer keeps his iPad handy and uses the Navionics software and Google Earth to research lakes. Even more important is his toothbrush.

“My wife is a dental hygienist so I have to brush twice a day or I get in trouble.”