Bass Fishing Jul 2018 | Page 41

“i have a good gig on the hunting side of things, but i want the fishing side to be funded by my winnings and spon- sorship deals,” notes Weaver. “this year i signed an agreement with abu Garcia that hopefully i can build on, and my deal with Zoom gets better every year. Mostly, though, my sponsors are in mid- dle Georgia. i’ve got work to do attract- ing more industry sponsors.” since frazier is fishing the Bassmaster elite series these days, Weaver now trav- els to tour events with his brother or for- mer co-angler standout Jason Johnson, who’s now a tour pro. Weaver also has been befriended by a diverse collection of anglers with various skills such as andy Morgan, cody Meyer, John cox, and brothers chris and cory Johnston, and he’s benefitting from other connections he made during his co-angler days. at lake harris in late february, he notched a respectable 23rd-place showing that temporarily boosted him JULY 2018 I FLWFISHING.COM to within cup qualification range. no surprise; florida lakes suit his style of fishing. he prefers to cast to grass with Rat-l-traps, chatterBaits and frogs. Yet he also knows that versatility – espe- cially offshore in the tennessee valley and other regions – is the key to long- range success. there, his game needs work, as his performances at smith lake (160th place) and Kentucky lake (155th) indicate. “You can never really be satisfied with your abilities. You’ve got some guys who are phenomenal at one tech- nique or another, in a certain type of fishing situation, but the really success- ful ones can do a lot of things well,” he says. “so i’m learning as much about different techniques as i can. this stage in my career is more about learning than anything else. i want to make a name for myself as one of the future greats – that’s the kind of reputation i’m trying to build.” Weaver has a number of trophy buck racks he’s taken through the years, but now his sights are set on tournament trophy hardware. it seems reasonable to compare deer hunting with fishing, given that either sport requires a certain amount of expertise and an understanding of the quarry, but the Georgia pro doesn’t see it that way. “i don’t think that just because you’re a good hunter you probably would be a good fisherman,” observes Weaver. “hunting has taught me to be patient and understand that every- thing’s not going to go my way every time i get in a stand. that’s the same as when i get in my boat for a day of fish- ing. either way, determination is the most important thing, and i have a lot of that.” enough determination, perhaps, to have a long and successful career as an flW tour pro. 39