APALACHICOLA, Fla. – Fred Myers’s family means the world to him, and he knows them pretty well.
Asked if his wife and parents were pulling for him or his 16-year-old son, Carter, Myers was pretty sure who they wanted to win the fourth Bassmaster Yamaha Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter.
“None of my family is rooting for me,” Fred, 48, said rather definitively. “They’re all rooting for Carter … Am I right?”
Well, almost.
Wearing personalized jerseys matching those of Fred and Carter, the Myers of Panama City, Fla., were among the Day 1 weigh-in crowd at Scipio Creek Marina. Fred’s parents, Frazier and Deborah, were quick to state their preference.
“It sure would be nice if Carter could pull it out,” his mom said.
“We rooting for Carter,” said dad, adding his grandson was a big part of why they got to the Redfish Cup as Power-Pole National Redfish Tour Team of the Year.
Myers’ wife, Laura, was torn. Her husband and Cody Chivas returned to the Redfish Cup as defending champs, leaving Carter to fish with James Drysdale.
Who to pick, who to pick? Laura said making a choice was tough.
“Oh, absolutely,” she said. “I’m a nervous wreck as it is. This just makes it twice as hard. My stomach is in knots, and Sunday will be terrible.”
She should certainly be given a pass, right? Not here.
C’mon, she was pressed. You won’t choose one over the other?
“I can’t do that,” she said. “Everybody says I automatically pull for my son, but I’ve always pulled for my husband, so it’s hard. I want them both to win.”
Great sentiment, but Fred wasn’t buying it.
“Well, I’ll tell you, she’ll lie. She’ll definitely pick Carter,” he said, making them all laugh.
Fred has a leg up after Day 1 of the three-day event. With 11 pounds on two fish, he and Chivas stand second, four ounces behind leaders Ryan Rickard and Patrick Marsonek. Carter and Drysdale are tied for sixth with 8-6.
The younger Myers’ team had the upper hand much of the day before dad’s team landed a pair of 5-pound-plus fish in the final hour. Earlier in the day, Carter lost a fish that might have had them tied.
“I lost a big one on a spoon,” he said. “It went into some reeds and broke off. I think it was probably a 7 or 8.”
Both teams started in the same area, not too worried about cannibalizing each other.
“We work together. We do everything together,” said Fred, who’s fished for 40 years. “We feel like we know where the best fish are. They may not cooperate, they might get beat up a little bit with pressure, but I know this system very, very well.”
Carter said his father taught him everything, and that there is no better teacher. The lessons began with Fred casting his young son’s lure and letting him reel it in. Carter now serves as president of his high school’s fishing club, allowing him time off for tournaments. Fred said Carter, who turned 16 in March, can do everything he can and displays great concentration for any age.
“It’s like Tiger Woods putting on the 18th hole with a million people watching,” he said. “He blocks all that out.”
Carter said he would like nothing more than to beat his dad this week, adding, “He wants to beat me as bad as I want to beat him.”
Carter might not have fully assessed his father’s innermost feelings. Fred is proud of the man Carter is becoming, so he wouldn’t necessarily mind taking one for the team, er, family.
“I’ve had my time,” Fred said. “Cody and I have been very successful. Of course, I want to win as bad as anybody, but I’d love to stand up here and cheer my son on, in an event of this caliber, this size. Yeah, I’m rooting for Carter.”
