Tuesday Tour Update: Catching up with FLW Tour pro Cody Meyer
California pro answers 10 questions ranging from his offseason exploits to his new sponsor deal to his current music playlist
(Editor’s note: Moving forward, FLWOutdoors.com will be unveiling a host of new editorial content focusing exclusively on FLW Tour pros. The latest in that effort is a feature entitled “10 Questions” where FLW editors will attempt to pick the minds of FLW Tour pros by posing questions ranging from the serious to the light-hearted. The ultimate goal is for readers to get to know the thoughts, opinions and personalities of some of the best anglers the sport has to offer).
10 Questions with Cody Meyer
FLWOutdoors.com: Just to catch up, how has this offseason gone for you so far?
Meyer: “It’s been great. The weather has been good this offseason and the holidays have been awesome as well. The one big perk with this sport is that you get to be home for the holidays – unlike some other sports. Other than that, I’ve been fishing some tournaments, doing a lot of fishing in general and taking care of a ton of yard work. But honestly, I can’t wait for the season to start.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What are the thoughts on your newest sponsor team deal with Repel?
Meyer: “It’s great. It’s unbelievable. It’s awesome. And I think it’s really going to help me out this year. Now I can fish with no (financial) worries. And my longtime sponsor, Jackall, is really excited as well because of the increased exposure. I’m just really thankful for everything.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What’s your take on the 2014 Walmart FLW Tour schedule?
Meyer: “I really like it. I’m looking forward to it – especially that first trip to Lake Okeechobee. Last year there I had my worst-ever tournament on Tour (118th-place finish) – it really was the worst tournament of my whole career – so I’m looking for a little bit of redemption. But now that I have some experience fishing that lake I’m really looking forward to trying to conquer it.
The rest of the schedule is great. I’m looking forward to fishing Lake Hartwell and I love Beaver Lake and the TVA river system (venues). Overall, the schedule couldn’t be better. It would also be great to qualify for the (2014 Forrest Wood) Cup and get to fish Lake Murray. I’ve never had a chance to fish that lake before but from what I’ve heard, it fishes a lot like Clear Lake. It’s got a lot of shallow grass and I really like how that lake sets up. So overall, I’m pretty excited. The whole year looks really cool.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What are some of the advantages of growing up out West as an angler?
Meyer: “I’ve said this for years that being from California, and out West in general, you basically can pull up to one lake and fish huge swimbaits and then drive a short distance and fish a lake using only 4-pound test line. You just have so many different options so close together that you really learn how to fish a wide variety of ways. And to be good out here, you have to be good at everything; and I think that’s really helped me on Tour. Living out West forces you to be extremely versatile and that’s been a big plus.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What are some of the disadvantages of hailing from the western part of the U.S.
Meyer: “The lakes out East are entirely different from what we have out here. We really don’t have river systems like the TVA where they pull water – and that takes some getting used to. Lake Okeechobee is a completely different body of water than anything you’ll find out here so it takes some time to figure out bodies of water like that as well. When I first got to Lake Okeechobee, it was so big I was like, `Where do I even begin?’ A lot of guys have been fishing these eastern lakes for years and they have a bunch of spots they can fall back on. But for me, I’ve had to figure things out more on the fly. It’s just the little things like where to practice and which parts of each lake hold the best fish.
Travel is also another big (disadvantage). Getting back and forth for pre-fishing is difficult sometimes because I have to travel some pretty big distances.”
FLWOutdoors.com: Now that you’re entering your fifth season on the FLW Tour, what is the one technique, if any, that you’d like to improve upon?
Meyer: “I think it definitely would have to be deep cranking. I’ve never been good at it so that’s something I’d really like to improve upon. I’m really going to have to get better at it because there are going to be tournaments where you’re going to need to be (competent) with that technique. But right now I feel like when I have one (deep cranking setup) in my hand I’m just going through the motions.”
FLWOutdoors.com: Once you realize you’re not in a position to win an FLW Tour event, who do you root for?
Meyer: “I’ll definitely root for friends of mine like Brett Hite and Stetson Blaylock – guys like that. But if none of them are in contention, I’ll root for the underdog – the guy who is furthest down the in the standings.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What’s the most overused or annoying cliche in bass fishing?
Meyer: “It seems like every tournament somebody has to tell you that they’re `really on them’ or that it’s going to take like 100 pounds to win the tournament. And then it turns out they’re not really `on them’ and in reality somebody wins the tournament with 60 pounds. I’ve never understood why, if you’re catching them that good, you have to say anything at all.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What music are you listening to these days?
Meyer: “I listen to pretty much everything – rock-and-roll, rap, country and even some techno music at times. You get so bored driving all over the country that you need to keep changing radio stations just so you don’t fall asleep.”
FLWOutdoors.com: What’s the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you first started out on the Tour?
Meyer: “Geez, there are a lot of things. I guess I wished I’d known how to practice better and wished I’d known a lot more about the lakes I was fishing. But probably the main thing is how hard of a toll traveling takes on you. Since I was 5 years old I’d dreamed of becoming a professional bass angler. I knew it was one of the greatest jobs in the world. But I never realized how much travel was involved. It’s also knowing where to stop on the road, knowing which hotels are good – all of that kind of stuff. At the end of the season, I’m usually so exhausted I can’t wait to get home.”