Canadians Cory Johnston 2nd & Chris Johnston 6th
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Last day heroics give Weidler his first Elite win!
(Photo: BASS)
A random moment during practice led Bill Weidler to a most unexpected victory, as the Helena, Ala., angler amassed a four-day total of 86 pounds, 7 ounces to win the YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.
Weidler earned $100,500 and nearly doubled his career earnings with B.A.S.S. to $204,350.
“I just stumbled across a great area in Anchor Bay, and that was my primary spot,” Weidler said. “I went through it one day in practice; it was cold and I’m an old man so I decided to pull over instead of freezing running down the lake.
“I drifted through an area and caught a limit of 26 pounds in about two hours. I had two 6-pounders, and I was like, ‘I might have found something here.’ That’s where I camped out all week.”
Focusing on a 1,000-yard area of Anchor Bay, Weidler found his bass on the hard edges of grasslines in 14 to 15 feet. Watching his Humminbird 360 for clusters of baitfish helped focus his search.
After two hours of fruitless effort, Day 4 saw Weidler catch three of his best fish between 9 and 10 a.m. He caught fish throughout the day, but two big afternoon bites — a 4-4 and his second of two 5-plus-pounders — pushed him across the finish line.
“This is incredible,” the third-year Elite Series pro said of his first career victory. “I fought and fought; I had a (bad) start to the season, and I knew I had to get some work done. I was on my knees this morning praying that I could catch them.”
