Bill Weidler Wins FLW Lake Chickamauga Costa Series
"It's been a long time coming," the Bessemer, Ala., resident said. "I've been fishing a lot over the years, but I've decided to take a more serious approach and it's been working out good." He knew he was up against a stacked field, including some of the best local anglers from around Chickamauga. Beating them, albeit in a two-day event, means a lot to Weidler. After catching 22-15 last Friday, he tacked on 22-03 Saturday to finish with 45-02. Weidler edged current FLW Tour angler and former high school classmate Barry Wilson by 1-07. "Absolutely it's the best win of my career," he said. "It was an unbelievable field with a bunch of FLW pros. I've had a couple top 12s in the Southern Opens, but without a doubt this was the best. "After fishing the Open, I went back with two high school anglers and watched how things were progressing. The kids caught 20-plus pounds. I knew the (post-spawn) bite would be getting stronger. I knew I was up against some hammers, too, like Michael Neal, Buddy Gross and Rogne Brown. I was a little concerned I couldn't pull it off, but I put my head down and grinded it out for 2 days. I said, 'I came to do one thing and I'm gonna stick to it.'" Here are some additional details about how Weidler conquered Chickamauga.
Serious Business:
Weidler competed in the Bassmaster Southern Opens in 2013, 2015 and 2016 and was among the Open anglers to participate in the first BASSFest at Lake Chickamauga in 2014. His best finish prior to this year was a 12th at the Logan Martin Southern Opn in 2013. This year, he's invested more time into becoming a better an all-around angler and it's led to him being more competitive on the tournament trails. "I'm taking a more serious approach," he said. "I've been fishing since I was 16 and I'm now 47. I've fished some B.A.S.S. Opens, but this year I decided to focus more and take it more serious. I've eliminated distractions and put in more time on the water. I'm paying more attention to my equipment and I'm fishing events cleaner." Another factor that's helped is he's adjusted his expectations of himself. "Fishing the Opens, I always put pressure to win on myself because of the (automatic) Classic (berth)," he said. "This year, I'm not worrying about the Classic. I know that will come if I make the Elites. I'm shooting for top-20s. Talk about the pressure coming off my shoulders. "I told myself, 'If I'm around the fish to get a top-20, potentially I could win one. I was 26th at the Harris Chain and 6th at Chickamauga, but lost a few big ones. It's just my mindset is totally different and it helps me make better decisions on the water."
Same Approach:
After the high school event, Weidler hadn't intended on coming back to southeast Tennessee for a third time for the FLW Series. He didn't register until the Tuesday before the tournament started and didn't arrive until Wednesday. With Thursday's competition day cancelled he didn't get on the water until Friday. He said the lake had changed, but in some ways, it was very similar to how it fished during the Open. "I fished same pattern from the Open," he said. "The only difference was there were spawners (in the Open). When they get done spawning, they protect fry and don't eat. They need to recover so they sit under mats and then start feeding." The timing of last week's event seemed to coincide with that feeding frenzy.
He was boat 8 in the first flight on Friday, but he figured the early part of the day would be slow with the cold front moving through. "I had found that the bigger fish start biting around 10 a.m.," he said. "I never lost focus or got rattled. I went to my first hole and started fishing and caught some small ones. I didn't get concerned. I kept moving." Once the clock hit 10 and the sun got higher, he noticed a distinct uptick in activity. He had 20 pounds in the boat by 10:30 a.m. "They'd position under those mats and once they got there it was easier for me to get them to bite," he said, adding the water was rising during the tournament, which pulled more bass up shallow. He had three primary areas, but held back on visiting his best area. Once he got there, he boated two 6-pounders within 75 yards of each other. Both were grass related. "With the type of grass I was looking for, it made a hard edge that they could use as a roadway to deeper water," he said. "It also provided something for them to rest in in those spawning bays." His 22-15 put him in 6th place following day 1, about 4 pounds behind the leader.
Being in the later flight on day 2 played into Weidler's hands as it gave him more time to seize upon the fish that started to bite under the overcast and windy conditions. It was a slow morning as he only about 11 pounds at 1:30 p.m. "I knew that on Friday when it was overcast and blowing those fish were feeding heavier," he said. "Late in the day on day 2, the clouds rolled in with some wind and it made the conditions almost perfect for what I was doing." He rotated through the same areas and targeted water no deeper than 18 inches around long stretches of reeds or cattails. He hauled in 22-03 to edge Wilson for the win. "I was struggling, but I felt confident it would turn around," he said. "Knowing I had to check in at 4:45, I had time with my history of swimming a jig on some of these lakes. It can happen quick if you just stay focused." Focus and patience were other key elements to his success. "When I find an area with fish in it now, I'm extremely patient," he added. "I don't leave after 30 minutes. I kept running my sweet spots. Where I caught the fish was in an area where I'd caught them before, but they were staged on the opposite bank better than they had been. It was one of those deals where I had 3 hours before I had to check in. I ran the stretch I liked and didn't know what to do. There were a lot of locals around so I went across to the other bank and said, 'I'll fish it out,' and I'm glad I did. I caught all of my weight in a 200-yard stretch."
Winning Pattern:
Weidler said boat positioning and casting angles were crucial to luring fish out of the grass at Chickamauga. "I had boat positioned to cast parallel to bank," he said. "I was about 4 feet off the grass line and I threw the bait to parallel the grass. They'd come out of the grass and get it."
Winning Gear:
Swimjig gear: 7'1" medium-heavy G. Loomis IMX casting rod, Shimano Chronarch Ci4+ casting reel (7.0:1 ratio), 65-pound PowerPro braided line, 1/2-oz. Dirty Jigs No-Jack swimjig (black & blue), H&H Lures Swamp Frog trailer (black/white legs).
Main factor: "The post-spawn timing. I knew those fish after the spawn weren't going right to the deep water. They were going to still be shallow. In three more weeks, I'd be leery of being able to do what I did."
Performance edge: "A couple things about my jig made the difference. With the black and blue in those conditions, it was lower light and those colors create a better silhouette in the water. I also dyed the legs of the trailer blue and they almost looked electric blue in the water. Sometimes that triggers them to bite when another color won't."
Lake Chickamauga Winning Profile BassFan 5/9/17 (Todd Ceisner)
