Our featured Angler for April is Virginia's National Federation Qualifier, Ray Tweedy

by Peter Robbins
(Who is Pete Robbins & what else has he written?)

EASTERN DIVISIONAL
In September, Ray Tweedy became the first active member of the Virginia Federation to win the Eastern Divisional, capitalizing on his home state advantage to take the crown on our own Buggs Island.

The lake was steadily falling, and proved to be tougher than usual for all of the competitors. Normally, at that time of year, Tweedy throws “spinnerbaits, rat-l-traps, even a topwater bait, but the fish were spooky, like tidal water fish.” They would briefly move up to feed, Tweedy notes, but then quickly move off to places where they could not be caught.

In practice, Tweedy was convinced that a carolina rig was the proper technique to win the tournament, and he went out the first day planning to fish that way. Unfortunately, on the first run of the morning, his motor fouled its plugs. “It was difficult just to get on pad,” he says. He got to midlake, but determined that it would not be prudent to go any further. This wasn’t entirely bad, he says, as the Rudd’s Creek area was receiving less pressure than many other areas of the lake, so he committed to fishing there.

On top of his boat problems, even though Tweedy had found a bunch of fish, he had not yet refined his presentation. He thought a carolina rig would be the ticket, but on Day 1 his rig produced only two bites, leaving him back in the pack. That night, the team met to discuss strategy, but Tweedy was not fully able to take advantage of the information being swapped — he still had to get his motor fixed and take it back to the lake to make sure it would run properly the next day.

Tweedy went out the next day, and with his boat running properly, he was able to figure the fish out. Rather than living and dying with his heavy carolina rig, he switched to a more subtle texas rig, pitched directly at stumps. With a strong second day catch, he was back in the running.

In 1990, at the Eastern Divisional on the Connecticut River, Tweedy had a strong tournament, but under the former qualifying system he did not make the Federation Nationals (under the current system he would have). Having been on the state team twice since then without making the national, Tweedy knew that being in the running going into the third day on his home water was a tremendous opportunity. Rather than feeling pressured, however, he felt good. “I just went out and fished my strengths,” he says simply.

Ray’s third day partner was from Massachusetts, and one of his teammates was leading the tournament. “He made it clear that he wasn’t gonna hurt me,” Tweedy says, “but he wasn’t gonna help me either. I just had to get a limit.”

The final day did not start out well. Tweedy lost a five pound plus fish right off the bat. “I thought I blew it,” he remembers. Fortunately, even though he wasn’t able to get a limit, he did catch 4 solid fish. Still, he wasn’t sure if he had qualified to go to Nationals, let alone win the tournament. In the end, however, while some other fishermen put down the carolina rig, they did it too late. Even those who caught good limits on the third day could not catch him. One angler who had been late on day one would have had a shot, but his penalty ruined his chances. The title that had seemingly eluded him since 1990 was firmly in his grasp. Ray Tweedy was ready to turn his attention to learning everything he could about fishing Louisiana’s Red River in the spring.

FALL CLASSIC
Even though Tweedy had the Red River on his mind, just over a month after the Eastern Divisional he was competing to get back on the state team. Federation President noted his accomplishments at Buggs Island during the pairings meeting at the Fall Classic at Smith Mountain, but did not openly predict that Tweedy would nearly make it back to the winner’s circle two days later.

“I don’t fish Smith Mountain much,” Tweedy says, “but going into the tournament I felt great, I had put my pattern together.” There was one particular section of the lake that was consistently producing quality fish for Ray and his regular team partner R.C. Carter. He really thought that they would finish first and second in the tournament.

While Ray’s prediction of a 1-2 finish for him and R.C. did not materialize, he himself had “a whole lotta luck,” and in another tough tournament he once again managed to qualify for the state team. On the second day, he made his movfe, fishing one stretch of 200 yards of bank back and forth, catching 9 keepers. His partner should also have had a limit, but instead managed to catch just 3 fish.

That whole second day Tweedy never put down his jig rod, and when the scales stopped spinning, they were fitting him for a 2002 state team shirt.

RED RIVER
When I spoke to Ray, he had just returned from the one week pre-practice period for the Federation National on the Red River. He came back from his week in Shreveport full of cautious optimism and newfound respect for a water unlike any other he’s ever seen.

The Red River “comes by its name honestly, and it was getting redder when I left.” He said the Red fishes differently than any of our local waters; once you leave the channel, you have to pick your way back through the trees to the backwaters. Even though it was different, he is confident that it will be a great tournament. “There are going to be quite a few fish caught. It will probably take 45 or 50 pounds to win, and there’s a good chance they could break some records down there,” he reported.

While he was loathe to reveal his strategies for the tournament, Tweedy did note that some fish have already moved up onto their beds, while others are getting ready to make that move. He’s confident that the river will “fish to my strengths, since all of the fishing is basically from zero to ten feet.”

Right now, the tournament is just about all Ray can think about, and he has diligently done his homework. He has contacted several experienced fishermen from Texas and Louisiana, and has also consulted frequently with Virginia angler Jerry Skinner, who previously qualified for a National on the Red River. He also thought about contacting former state team member Bill Roberts, who fished the National on the Red River in 1997, but decided that he would cash in with Roberts, a Connecticut native, when he goes with the state team to the Connecticut River this Fall.

Now that he has done his homework, Tweedy is remarkably calm. “Whatever happens, happens,” he says, “and I’m going into this with the same no pressure attititude I have every time I fish.” He recognizes that the other Eastern anglers against whom he will be competing will be tough, and that they’ve all had good practices, but he has worked for this for a long time and knows he is capable of going even one step further.

CONNECTICUT RIVER AND OTHER OBLIGATIONS
While the Red River is foremost on his mind, Tweedy said he can’t help but have this Fall’s Eastern Divisional on the Connecticut River “cross my mind pretty often.”

He acknowledges that he has already pulled out his Connecticut River maps to “try to bring back my memories.” Still, he is trying to keep everything in perspective, and only after the Red River will he “settle down” and focus on the next big tournament.

When asked whether the Red River tournament has detracted from his other fishing endeavors, Tweedy said “yes and no.” He hasn’t put in his usual heavy spring effort on Buggs Island, but he has been doing well so far. He and Carter finished 3rd out of 94 boats in a recent region tournament on the lake.

Tweedy says that for the past five years, he has worked 4 days a week, 10 hours a day. That schedule alone has benefitted his tournament efforts. Additionally, he credits his wife’s support with allowing him to compete at a high level. “She knows that I’m fishing Friday, Saturday, Sunday every week.”

MAKING TRANSITIONS
Despite strong earlier efforts, prior to last year multiple state team qualifier Ray Tweedy had not been able to get to the next step, the National Championship. When asked if there was a critical change in strategy or technique that allowed him to achieve this accomplishment, he made it clear that the totality of the circumstances enabled him to break out, rather than any single factor.

“It was my time to go,” Tweedy says matter-of-factly. “I had knowledge of my home water, and it was a team effort.” Each night, the Virginia team members got together. Tweedy’s previous experience had been that team members, competing against one another, tended to hold back a little. “This group of guys made the difference,” he says, “they helped me from day 1.”

With over 2,000 members in our Federation, the odds of landing one of the coveted 12 state team slots are thin. The odds of qualifying more than once, let alone four or five times, are astronomically small. Yet Tweedy has bucked those odds. Certainly, many members of our Federation would love to know his secret. Tweedy makes it clear that there is no magic potion or simple step to qualifying. “Time is the key, he says, adding that confidence also plays a key role. He gained his confidence when he first qualified for the state team, beating top notch fishermen “like Jerry Elder and Carlos Sellers. I knew then that I could compete.” Since that achievement over a decade ago, Tweedy has followed his own advice, spending as much time on the water as possible, and every time he wins another tournament, he earns the right to spend more time on different waters, under circumstances and conditions that continue to make him virtually unbeatable in the Virginia Federation.

Copyright 2002 Peter Robbins All Rights Reserved
robbins@vabass.com