St. Croix Bassmaster Opens

Day on the Lake: Clay Dyer

Spend a "Day on the Lake" with inspiring Bassmaster Opens angler Clay Dyer.

Posted on
<p><em>Bassmaster</em>’s reality series challenges Bassmaster Elite Series pros to locate and catch bass on a small lake within seven hours. This month a very special bass angler takes our challenge: Clay Dyer. Although he was born with no legs, no left arm and only a partial right arm, Dyer (www.teamdyer.com) has carved out an inspiring career as a professional bass angler and motivational speaker. The Hamilton, Ala., resident began fishing at age 5 and was drawn to the challenge of bass tournament competition as a teenager. Dyer has won some 200 state and regional tournaments and currently competes on the B.A.S.S. Southern Opens circuit. His philosophy is emblazoned on his fishing jersey: “If I Can, You Can!” Here, Dyer launches his boat on June 12, 2012, on Lake C (which is connected by a river to Lake D), one of two North Country smallmouth venues. Dyer removes his rods from storage. He accomplishes this and other fishing tasks by using his partial right arm, mouth and shoulder.</p>
Bassmaster’s reality series challenges Bassmaster Elite Series pros to locate and catch bass on a small lake within seven hours. This month a very special bass angler takes our challenge: Clay Dyer. Although he was born with no legs, no left arm and only a partial right arm, Dyer (www.teamdyer.com) has carved out an inspiring career as a professional bass angler and motivational speaker. The Hamilton, Ala., resident began fishing at age 5 and was drawn to the challenge of bass tournament competition as a teenager. Dyer has won some 200 state and regional tournaments and currently competes on the B.A.S.S. Southern Opens circuit. His philosophy is emblazoned on his fishing jersey: “If I Can, You Can!” Here, Dyer launches his boat on June 12, 2012, on Lake C (which is connected by a river to Lake D), one of two North Country smallmouth venues. Dyer removes his rods from storage. He accomplishes this and other fishing tasks by using his partial right arm, mouth and shoulder.
<p>7:06 a.m. Dyer arranges his rods on the front deck of his boat. Many of his sticks are 8-footers; Dyer finds their added length facilitates longer and more accurate casts.</p>
7:06 a.m. Dyer arranges his rods on the front deck of his boat. Many of his sticks are 8-footers; Dyer finds their added length facilitates longer and more accurate casts.
<p>7:09 a.m. Dyer runs to Lake C’s northwest corner, where deep water runs close to potential smallmouth spawning flats.</p>
7:09 a.m. Dyer runs to Lake C’s northwest corner, where deep water runs close to potential smallmouth spawning flats.
<p>7:12 a.m. Dyer prepares to make his first cast of the day with a soft jerkbait. He casts by holding the rod handle between his chin and shoulder, twisting his body quickly to load up the rod, then feathering the line with his lower lip.</p>
7:12 a.m. Dyer prepares to make his first cast of the day with a soft jerkbait. He casts by holding the rod handle between his chin and shoulder, twisting his body quickly to load up the rod, then feathering the line with his lower lip.
<p>7:30 a.m. Using his mouth and partial right arm, Dyer Texas rigs a Jackall Sasuteki Craw.</p>
7:30 a.m. Using his mouth and partial right arm, Dyer Texas rigs a Jackall Sasuteki Craw.
<p>7:35 a.m. Dyer casts a Texas rigged craw to a swim ladder on Lake C.</p>
7:35 a.m. Dyer casts a Texas rigged craw to a swim ladder on Lake C.
<p>7:43 a.m. Dyer prepares to cast a jerkbait to scattered weed patches on Lake C.</p>
7:43 a.m. Dyer prepares to cast a jerkbait to scattered weed patches on Lake C.
<p>7:44 a.m. Dyer continues working the jerkbait on the weed patches.</p>
7:44 a.m. Dyer continues working the jerkbait on the weed patches.
<p>7:50 a.m. Dyer opens a utility box filled with jerkbaits.</p>
7:50 a.m. Dyer opens a utility box filled with jerkbaits.
<p>7:50 a.m. Dyer changes jerkbait colors from gold to Table Rock shad to meet changing sky conditions.</p>
7:50 a.m. Dyer changes jerkbait colors from gold to Table Rock shad to meet changing sky conditions.
<p>9:12 a.m. Dyer casts a jerkbait to a point in Lake D.</p>
9:12 a.m. Dyer casts a jerkbait to a point in Lake D.
<p>9:43 a.m. Dyer opts to try a creature bait on a deep point.</p>
9:43 a.m. Dyer opts to try a creature bait on a deep point.
<p>10:14 a.m. Dyer ties on a chartreuse-and-white spinnerbait to fish a breakline on Lake D.</p>
10:14 a.m. Dyer ties on a chartreuse-and-white spinnerbait to fish a breakline on Lake D.
<p>10:23 a.m. Dyer catches a big rock bass on a tube bait. “The darn thing hit just like a big smallmouth!”</p>
10:23 a.m. Dyer catches a big rock bass on a tube bait. “The darn thing hit just like a big smallmouth!”
<p>10:41 a.m. Dyer tries a chartreuse tube around a boat dock on Lake D.</p>
10:41 a.m. Dyer tries a chartreuse tube around a boat dock on Lake D.
<p>11:15 a.m. Still looking for his first keeper fish, Dyer runs downlake in Lake D to hunt for scattered cover. “I’m not discouraged because I know how moody smallmouth are — they can turn on in an instant!”</p>
11:15 a.m. Still looking for his first keeper fish, Dyer runs downlake in Lake D to hunt for scattered cover. “I’m not discouraged because I know how moody smallmouth are — they can turn on in an instant!”
<p>12:41 p.m. Dyer reels in a fish from the superclear waters of Lake D. Unfortunately it’s a rock bass, not a smallmouth.</p>
12:41 p.m. Dyer reels in a fish from the superclear waters of Lake D. Unfortunately it’s a rock bass, not a smallmouth.
<p>12:41 p.m. Dyer uses pliers to remove his tube bait’s hook from the mouth of a big rock bass.</p>
12:41 p.m. Dyer uses pliers to remove his tube bait’s hook from the mouth of a big rock bass.
<p>1:01 p.m. With his time running out, Dyer fishes a dropoff on Lake D with a plastic craw. He summarizes his day on the lake: “When the sun came out, it turned into a beautiful day, but the cold front really shut them down,” Dyer told <em>Bassmaster. </em>“I could make a bunch of excuses, but I believe I fished the right kinds of areas with the right kinds of lures given the conditions dealt to me. There are some good smallmouth in these lakes; I had several hits but couldn’t put anything in the boat except a couple of rock bass. If I were to fish here tomorrow, I’d probably return to some of the same areas I tried today in Lake D and fish really fast with a spinnerbait, trying to trigger a reaction strike from a big fish. Sooner or later, those big smallies are going to get active, and I’d sure like to be here when they do!”</p>
1:01 p.m. With his time running out, Dyer fishes a dropoff on Lake D with a plastic craw. He summarizes his day on the lake: “When the sun came out, it turned into a beautiful day, but the cold front really shut them down,” Dyer told Bassmaster. “I could make a bunch of excuses, but I believe I fished the right kinds of areas with the right kinds of lures given the conditions dealt to me. There are some good smallmouth in these lakes; I had several hits but couldn’t put anything in the boat except a couple of rock bass. If I were to fish here tomorrow, I’d probably return to some of the same areas I tried today in Lake D and fish really fast with a spinnerbait, trying to trigger a reaction strike from a big fish. Sooner or later, those big smallies are going to get active, and I’d sure like to be here when they do!”

Related