Peace Of Mind At Core Of Strader’s Success

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Wesley Strader ambled into the offseason on the heels of two top-10 finishes in the here-today-gone-tomorrow FLW Tour Invitational tournaments, punctuating another remarkably solid season in Strader-like fashion.

It wasn’t by accident that Strader’s peers last year voted him the most underrated angler from either major pro circuit and also one of the best anglers without an Angler of the Year or Bassmaster Classic or Forrest Wood Cup title to his name. For the better part of two decades now, Strader has built a reputation as one of the most consistent performers on either trail and 2016 served as the latest chapter in his career anthology of consistency.

He collected two top-10s during the FLW Tour season, finished 14th in the AOY race to extend his streak of top-25 finishes in points to eight seasons and qualified for his eighth straight Cup (and 16th overall).

“I think I pretty much had the same season as I’ve had over my career,” he said recently after finishing 5th at the Norris Lake FLW Tour Invitational. “No wins, but consistent finishes.”

At 45, Strader has been a pro angler since his late 20s. Asked whether he feels as though he’s in the prime of his career, he said he thinks so, but he’s learned not to take anything for granted.

“I think about that a lot – am I peaked out or right where I need to be,” he said. “As far as my mental state of mind, I don’t get rattled like I used to. In my mind, I still think I’m going to catch ‘em even if I’m not catching them. I’ve been at it so long, I know things can change on the next cast or next two casts.

“I just keep it basic. A lot of guys are, ‘I have to do this or that,’ but a bass is a bass no matter where we go.”

For several years, Strader was a mainstay on the Walmart FLW team, but he got shuffled out of the team program three years ago and had to seek additional sponsor support. He couldn’t be happier with the situation he’s created for himself. The addition of Hellas Construction, a Texas-based firm that builds sports complexes, athletic fields and stadiums, along with Don Ledford Automotive has allowed Strader to focus solely on fishing and not fishing for a paycheck.

“Over the last two years, I think I’ve been more consistent because I haven’t had to worry about the financial aspect of it, like ‘if I don’t win enough money am I gonna be able to keep going,’” he said. “That’s probably the biggest component of the equation. There are lots of guys who can fish, but being able to fish stress-free. You don’t get tied up with making the decision between trying to win or trying to get a check to get to the next one. That’s not as important now as it was when I first started.”

One Stinker

For all of Strader’s successes and his ability to log money finish after money finish, there always seems to be one tournament each season that throws him for a loop. This year, that event was at Kentucky Lake in June. In his last three Tour events at the massive TVA lake, he hadn’t finished worse than 40th.

“I’m still trying to get over the hump of having one bad event that knocks me out of the AOY chase,” he said. “If I ever get over that, I’ll win AOY. I’m not bragging or boasting, but that’s usually what happens. The one I struggle in is usually the one I think I’m going to do well in. I don’t know why that is, but at Kentucky Lake, I really thought I’d do well there.”

He caught a 12-03 limit on day 1, but didn’t improve much on day 2 and wound up 85th, his lowest finish since a triple-digit outcome at Sam Rayburn in 2014.

“Looking back, I probably couldn’t have won AOY because Andy Morgan was fishing,” he said with a mixed tone of sarcasm and reflection. “At Kentucky, the fish were moving so much. We were there when they were moving out and I got caught up in bouncing back and forth between shallow and deep. If I’d have focused more shallow, I’d have had a much better finish. I never found a school offshore that would benefit me. That never materialized until the last day of practice. I felt confident in what I was doing. It wasn’t anything I was doing. They just moved.”

Classic 2.0

Strader shorted himself earlier by not mentioning his victory at the Lake Toho Southern Open in January, a critical win as it clinched him a spot in the 2017 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Conroe. It’ll be his second career appearance in the Classic. By the time late March rolls around, he’ll have already competed in three FLW Tour events so he should be sharp and battle-tested.

“I have to guard against getting too excited,” he said.

He finished 40th at the Louisiana Delta in 2003 in his first Classic appearance.

“Last time I was there, I got caught up in the whole show,” he recalled. “I really didn’t prepare like I should’ve. This time, I’ll be more ready for what’s fixing to go down.”

He competed in two Toyota Texas Bass Classics at Conroe, but those were both in the fall.

“I really like that lake,” he said. “It has a lot of docks and it has a lot of shallow-water targets. That suits me more than another body of water.”