Weyer’s worldElite Series pro Charlie Weyer is joining the growing list of Elite Series anglers to make the move to Del Rio, Texas – specifically for the incredible fishing on Lake Amistad, site of the first-ever CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series tournament and the first scheduled stop on the Elite Series in 2007.
Weyer, 36, received confirmation of his two-acre plot of land last week and plans to be in his new home by March 2007. He hopes to be in the house in time for the kick-off event. Other West Coast Elite Series pros who have purchased land there include Byron Velvick and Skeet Reese. Like many Elite Series anglers, Weyer fell in love with Lake Amistad while practicing for the season opener.
“I didn’t consider living there prior to the (Battle on the Border) tournament,” said Weyer. “I went there one month before the off-limits period and practiced there. I’ve never been to a lake where you can catch 100 keeper bass that are 5 pounds or larger.
“I’ve got southern California roots, but I’m going to uproot them.” Weyer is known as “Hollywood” among his fellow Elite Series pros because he’s rubbed elbows with some of Tinseltown’s A-list producers and celebrities.
When not fishing the Elite Series, Weyer is a subcontractor for a craft services company, which caters to many of Hollywood’s movie, TV and music productions.
“I’m kind of like a mom and pop to the stars,” Weyer said. “I take care of all of their food needs. That’s why they call me ‘Hollywood.’ I’ve got it on my boat, and I’m the only Elite Series pro that works in Hollywood.”
Weyer, his wife Mary Ann and his foster son Jack all work in the industry. Weyer prepares food for cast and crew as long as they are on the set, arriving two hours before production begins and staying an hour after they wrap.
He’s done spreads for blockbuster movies such as Forrest Gump and Constantine as well as hit television shows including Mad About You, Seinfield, Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, West Wing, Cold Case, Grounded for Life, The Drew Carey Show and others.
So, what’s the most ridiculous request Weyer had to fulfill?
“Whoopi Goldberg asked for 20 bottles of Dom Perignon champagne at 1 a.m. and $1,000 worth of Roscoe’s House of Chicken n’ Waffles for her cast and crew.”
Weyer said the most interesting person he’s met is actor Brendan Fraser. “He’s very personable,” Weyer said. “He found out I liked to fish and was a pro, and he would come to talk to me about it everyday.”
When not fishing for money or feeding the stars, Weyer and Mary Ann also provide foster care to children in Southern California.
The Weyers are part of an organization called Child SHARE – a foster home program founded by Dr. Mary Rotzien in 1985. The organization’s core is through local churches and faith ministries. Today, Child SHARE works with more than 400 congregations, representing 30 denominations.
The Weyers specifically participate as a respite home, providing temporary foster care for children in need until they are placed in permanent homes. In three years, they have provided care for three children and one infant.
“We’ve taken in kids and mothered and fathered them,” said Weyer. “Most of them are abandoned. We’ve taken in both teenagers and babies and provided them a home.”
The Weyers haven’t permanently adopted any of the children they’ve housed but 19-year-old Jack VanSimpson has been with Charlie and Mary Ann since the age of 17.
Bugle boys
As soon as his last bass hits the scales at The Rock presented by TheraSeed at Table Rock Lake in Kimberling City, Mo., Elite Series pro Joe Thomas will have his eyes set on a new target.
He won’t be fishing. Instead, he’ll listen for the bugle of bull elks and stalk the massive animals on a bow hunt near Pinon, N.M., along with fellow Elite Series pro Kelly Jordon.
“I’m an avid bow hunter,” said Thomas. “And I’m definitely looking forward to the hunting season.”
Four-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic qualifier Thomas, 44, and three-time BASS winner Jordon, 35, planned the bow hunting adventure following the Battle on the Border tournament on Lake Amistad in south Texas.
Jordon fished with a co-angler who talked about successful hunting trips he’d had in New Mexico with a local outfitter. A few phone calls later, the two pros were booked on a trip of their own.
“If it wasn’t for the amateur partner Kelly had at Amistad, we wouldn’t be going hunting together,” said Thomas. “And, ironically enough, the guides taking us are avid fisherman. They know who we are and they follow the trail on TV.”
The trip will mark Thomas and Jordan’s first hunt together, and while the competition will be over for the 2006 Elite Series season, Thomas expects a little friendly competition during the hunt.
“It should be interesting and enjoyable, but there will probably be a little competition going on to see who can get the biggest elk,” Thomas said. “It’s a very challenging thing. I think that’s why I like it so much.”
Seeing Double
Fans of the Mercury Marine Women’s Bassmaster Tour presented by Triton Boats event on Lake Norman near Charlotte, N.C., recently may have believed they were seeing double. That’s because twin sisters Terri Neal and Keri Schieber of Cumming, Ga., were part of the field. The 52-year-olds are identical twins, have the same hair cut and color and dressed in the same tournament jerseys during competition, where Neal was an angler and Schieber was a co-angler. “We get that a lot,” said Neal.
BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation Nation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.
BASS stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and culminates with the CITGO Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and support to its nearly 530,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208. To join BASS, call 1-877-BASS-USA or visit http://www.bassmaster.com.
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