Willert Wins Co-Angler Title by 3 Ounces
Minnesota co-angler hopes back-of-the-boat success will lead to a pro career
Joel Willert has two objectives for his co-angler fishing career: to improve his skills and qualify for the chance to fish in the front of the boat.
The Minnesota co-angler’s performance this week should do nothing but help him achieve his goals. He weighed in limits of 11-8 and 12-10 to win the co-angler title at the FLW Tour event presented by General Tire on Lake Cumberland by a slim 3-ounce margin. He’s now $20,000 richer and moves to second place in the Co-angler of the Year standings.
“Coming into this event I felt good about it, but I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. But I got a couple of good draws,” Willert says.
Willert fished with Bill Hutchison on Thursday and Taylor Ashley today. They took him in two different directions to fish two very different patterns.
“Yesterday we were out in deep water,” Willert says. “The back of the boat was in 87 feet of water. I caught them on a bluff wall. Today we were up real shallow.”
Willert used a small swimbait to catch his fish up the river from takeoff yesterday and weighed in three smallmouths and two largemouths. He opted for a spinnerbait down the lake today for a limit of largemouths.
The check, the notoriety and the experience gained on a new fishery are all valuable assets for an aspiring pro.
“That’s really why I fish as a co-angler is to get to the front,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to all of them [the Tour events]. It’s all new water for me. That’s another reason I fish them is to see these lakes and hopefully prepare myself for a pro career.”