Meyer to Weyer

California native Charlie Weyer leapfrogs day-one leader Clayton Meyer to grab first place overall after conclusion of day-two FLW Series action on Columbia River

TRI-CITIES, Wash. – Buoyed by the largest stringer of the day, a healthy 15-pound, 2-ounce sack, Charlie Weyer of West Hills, Calif., jumped from ninth place to first overall during the second day of Wal-Mart FLW Series Western Division competition on the Columbia River.

“I feel awesome right now,” said Weyer of his rise up the leaderboard. “I’m pumped up, jazzed and ready to go.”

However, while Weyer believes he is on the fish to win this event, his travel schedule is definitely not for the faint of heart.

“I’m heading downriver about 50 miles one way toward the Boardman area, and I have to lock through,” said Weyer, who now boasts a two-day limit of 29 pounds, 1 ounce. “I timed it today, and it took me 56 minutes to get back, so I don’t have a lot of room for error. And I don’t have a whole lot of fishing time. But I have one spot there that’s really been working out well for me. I know if I can get there tomorrow, I’ll have another big bag of fish. But the wind is definitely going to be a factor. If it’s too windy, I probably will have a tough time locking through.”

Weyer said that today’s long run definitely paid off as he landed a limit by 10 a.m.

“I had about eight or nine keepers today and had a 4-pounder on my second cast and another 3-pounder a few casts later,” he said. “I’ve mostly been dragging a Carolina rig with a Zoom lizard in between grass patches and rocks and ripping a tube bait out of the grass. Basically, I found a rock pile that nobody else has found yet – I think it’s part of an old road bed – and that area is really working out well.”

Fishing in anywhere from 16 to 25 feet of water, Weyer is targeting smallmouth bass as they come in to feed on perch in the early morning hours.

“That bite is totally wide open in the morning,” he said. “Bass are coming in and just feeding on those perch. Then, as the fishing pressure increases throughout the day, I’m moving out a little deeper than some of the other guys.”

So, what exactly is the game plan for tomorrow?

“I’m going to go to that same spot tomorrow no matter what, because that’s my only chance to get a win,” he said. “I’m just hoping the weather stays like it is.”

Meyer falls to second place

Heading into the Columbia River event, Clayton Meyer of San Diego found himself in third place overall in the National Guard Western Division standings. However, if things keep going his way, Meyer just might find himself unseating current Angler of the Year leader Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., as early as Saturday afternoon.

“This whole year has just been phenomenal for me,” said Meyer, who landed a two-day total of 26 pounds, 12 ounces, good enough for second place. “This is a brand-new circuit, and everything is working out perfectly. Every year over the last three years I’ve gotten better, so I’m pretty happy with the way things are going.”

Ironically, Meyer came to the Columbia River event merely searching for a top-50 finish. Obviously, barring a major meltdown in Friday’s competition, Meyer is poised to do much better than that.

“I only came to this tournament looking for a top-50, not a top-10 or a win,” he said. “So if I do better than that, I’ll have no complaints.”

While Weyer and Meyer share the top two spots on the leaderboard, they also share something just as important.

“We’re both pretty much fishing the same area,” said Meyer. “I kind of dropped off today a little bit, and (Weyer) is definitely on some fish. So it should be interesting to see what happens.”

Meyer said that he is throwing a combination of Carolina rigs and shaky heads, targeting outside breaks in about 8 to 12 feet of water.

Rest of the best

Ken Wick of Star, Idaho, used a two-day catch of 26 pounds, 5 ounces to move up from fourth place in yesterday’s competition to third place at the end of Thursday’s weigh-in.

Meanwhile, Mitch Ratchford of Kennewick, Wash., shot up from 35th place to fourth after hauling in the day’s second-biggest bag at 14 pounds, 4 ounces. Ratchford now boasts a two-day total of 25 pounds, 4 ounces.

Jason Hickey of Weiser, Idaho, and Kelly Vineyard of Bend, Ore., tied for fifth place with identical two-day totals of 24 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 pros at the Columbia River event:

7th: Leon Knight of Tehachapi, Calif., 24-5

8th: Robert Lee of Angels Camp, Calif., 23-11

9th: Marc Lippincott of Spokane, Wash., 23-9

10th: Gary Howell of Stockton, Calif., 23-6

John Neudorfer of Spokane, Wash., won the day’s Snicker’s Big Bass award in the Pro Division after netting a 5-pound, 7-ounce smallmouth. The award was worth $428.

Stafford grabs co-angler lead

Brian Stafford of Fairfield, Calif., used a two-day catch of 25 pounds, 3 ounces to take over the lead with just one day remaining in co-angler competition.

“It went really well today,” said Stafford, who now is within striking distance of the first-place prize of $25,000. “I wound up catching four fish early on, and when the cloud cover came in, I pulled out a Zara Spook and caught a 3 1/2-pounder. That really made my day.”

Stafford, who boated a total of 12 keepers in today’s competition, said he targeted bass by drifting a Carolina rig and Sweet Beaver over rocks in heavy current in 10 to 20 feet of water.

However, although Stafford now owns nearly a 3-pound lead over his closest competitor, he wasn’t ready to start popping the cork on champagne bottles just yet.

“It feels really good right now,” he said. “But I have to do it one more day. I’m just going to get a good rest tonight, work hard tomorrow and see what happens.”

Lucas lands in second

Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., used a two-day catch of 22 pounds, 4 ounces to grab the runner-up position heading into tomorrow’s co-angler finals – and he couldn’t have been happier.

“It’s been a lot of fun. It’s the best smallmouth fishing I’ve ever had,” he said. “Just to have a chance to win this tournament is a great feeling. This whole year I’ve started out slow and had to play catch-up. But finally, this tournament, I’m starting out ahead and that’s a nice feeling.”

Lucas said that he is targeting rock piles in approximately 23 to 30 feet of water.

“All I’ve been throwing this whole week is a `dragging’ setup,” he said. “And it seems to be working everywhere I go, whether it’s upriver or downriver. Basically, once I can feel those rock piles, I slow it way down. I’m making a lot of casts and covering a lot of water, and so far it’s working out.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top five co-anglers at the Columbia River event:

3rd: Dung (Ume) Van Vu of Los Angeles, 20-9

4th: Wade Headrick of Draper, Utah, 20-1

5th: George Roth of Weiser, Idaho, 19-14

Mike Marsh of Vale, Ore., took home the day’s Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division with a mammoth 7-pound, 5-ounce largemouth. For his efforts, Marsh won $269.

FLW Series competition on the Columbia River resumes Friday at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time at Columbia Point Marina, located at 660 Columbia Point Drive in Richland, Wash.