Two years ago FLW Tour pro Cody Meyer got in to J.R. Wright’s cell phone and changed the voicemail greeting. In his best Keith Alan voice Cody announces, BIG SHOW.

It doesn’t mean what you think. Wright is not a front man like the OG Big Show, Terry Scroggins. Nor a technical wiz. “Cody got my phone password and changed my greeting” he chuckles. “I don’t know how to change it back”

He lives in the small California mountain town of Truckee. Close, but nothing like it’s flashier neighbor Reno, Nevada. He wears 30 dollar sunglasses.Not the 200 to 300 dollar pairs you will see blocking UV’s on many a serious fishermen’s face.

"Eye-Surrenders. Great product and a better price” states Wright. He takes care of the laundry and does the cooking when he is on the road with his practice partner Meyer, and their travel partner, FLW Co-angler star turned pro, Justin Lucas. “ I drive 80 percent of the time” said Wright.” It helps Cody be more comfortable so he can concentrate on fishing” He is the last one to prep his tackle though he will usually have seven rods rigged and ready for a day on the water. “I’m just a redneck junk fisherman that has not even been to Los Angeles” laughs Wright. He is not the front man. He is the guy that can get on the back deck of a Tour Pro and flat out fish them on their spot.

The 47 year old father of three and grandfather of one works as a foreman for his uncle Butch Hall’s excavation company. He fished ponds for years but never competed in a fishing contest until a trip to Lake Shasta approximately ten years ago. “A kid I coached, Paul Tilton, and his father invited me to fish for bass at Lake Shasta” said Wright. As most activities in Wrights life, the trip turned in to a contest. The group decided to fish against each other for the biggest limit each of the three days. The first two days the Tiltons beat Wright handily. By the third day Wright had caught on to the drill and not only beat the younger Tilton, he beat the father as well. Wright was hooked on competitive fishing. The next year he teamed up with uncle Butch to fish an American Bass team series on Oroville. They won the Angler of the year title. He teamed up with his son Shane and claimed a second AOY over the young gun Meyer. Soon Wright and Meyer were fishing together. In one year they fished over 30 team events on Northern California waters. In 2006 FLW brought a new competitive series to the west. The individual weight formatted Everstart Series. Wright and Meyer split their team show on the big waters with a similar outcome. In their first year Wright finished 14th in the standings while his young practice partner finished second overall on the pointy end. Wright and Meyer racked up a profit over their entry expenses every year they have fished with FLW.

In only 40 events Wright has logged 16 top tens, two wins and banked over 120,000 dollars. Pretty amazing stats considering 6 of those events were all or nothing championships that netted two checks. In the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup Wright finished second by a slim 6 ounces. Actually Wright won the tournament by weight. An 8 ounce dead fish penalty took the Cup and $40,000 out of Wright’s hands and placed it in Champion Dearal Rodger’s hands. Unfortunately second is familiar territory for Wright. In addition to the Cup finish, Wright ended the year ranked number two in 3 of the 4 years the FLW Series visited the West. While second may be considered a fantastic finish to the majority, it does not make Wright happy.

This is how we do it

After Meyer finished 3rd at the Forrest Wood Cup in 2009 the duo decided they were ready to take on the best. It was time to take a road trip back east and join the FLW Tour. When they got there the first impression was this place was way different. Way bigger. As well the fishermen had a much different approach to these waters than Wright. 14 pound test and big worms carried many of the eastern anglers to the tanks. Meyer and Wright made pre-practice trips to future Tour venues and soon Wright gleaned his western roots were comfortable in the eastern waters. “A lot of those waters fish just like our western lakes so I just loaded my spinning rod with 8 pound test and went to work.” Fishing behind the best anglers in the world means you will have few chances to get a bite. Wright always set his daily goal to boat 5 fish a day.”If you can catch a limit every day, you will cash a check” said Wright. “I can get more bites with 8 pound than 12 any day.” Wright’s plan worked. He cashed a check in 4 out of 5 events and finished 7th overall in points his first year on the Tour.

Though Wright may make it sound easy, don’t let him fool you. Hours of research, dark to dark practice days and a top level practice partner all contribute to Wright’s success. “Many Co-anglers fly in, attend the pairings meeting and fish the event” said Wright. “Research before the event and practice with a quality pro is a huge advantage fishing at this level” FLW Tour boaters do not leave too many opportunities for the Back Deck angler to exploit. One thing Wright found was the Tour Pros opened up their water and gave him more opportunities to catch fish after he showed respect for their water by not casting at their best water. “Tour pros are used to more aggressive Co-anglers. When they see somebody respect their water they get more comfortable.” Wright has found a pattern that has paid dividends. In his usual manner he makes it sound simple but that is one of the marks of a true professional.

Co Going Pro?

So with all the success Wright has had off the back deck you may expect the next step would be to follow other Back deck dominators to the front of the boat.

Not so with Wright. The pressures of fishing for a living is not something Wright feels compelled to experience. Wright also realizes he does not have the quick thinking skills possessed by Meyer. With only ten years of experience on the water Wright recognizes the difference in his ability to locate fish and more importantly determine how the fish change locations during a tournament is a skill he has not honed. Still Wright’s own talents have not been overlooked by some of the companies in the fishing world.

Wright added Jackall lures to his sponsor line up this year. “ I have used a lot of their products as Cody has been on their Pro-Staff for quite a while. They make many different soft and hard baits that the Co-angler can use to boat that important limit” said Wright. Another long time sponsor is Powell rods. “Keith Bryan (owner of Powell Rods) has helped me a lot over the years. They make a great affordable rod”. Another product Wright represents is Eye-surrender. All of these companies help to offset some of the expenses involved in fishing so far from home. Wright shares travel expenses with Meyer and housing expenses with Meyer and Lucas to soften the costs of fishing as a Tour Co-angler. Though entry fees are lower for the Tour Co-angler versus the Tour Pro, so is the payback. Anything an angler can get to offset these expenses helps with the bottom line.

So what will next year bring for Big Show?

“I am fishing the first FLW Everstart event on Shasta as a boater then getting ready for the six Tour majors” said Wright. Shasta lake will be like home for Wright as he is a spotted bass expert. Last year he finished 3rd as a Co-angler in the FLW Series opener and can be expected to tally another top ten as a boater to start 2011. He will skip the FLW Tour open events as they will conflict with his limited work schedule with the excavating company. Wright says he hopes to make enough next year to continue his FLW Tour campaign in the future. Yeah, right. Hope. Be sure Big Show and Meyer will be making the trek back east to whip up on those Tour events for many years to come. How can you say that the FLW Tour has the best anglers in the world without JR Wright?