After a second-place showing at Stage One of the Bass Pro Tour, Edwin Evers didn’t have to wait long for redemption. He was able to pull out the victory two weeks later at Lake Conroe in the Huk Stage Two Presented by Favorite Fishing. He did it by finding a backwater area with plenty of cover, but the real key to Evers’ area was bass coming in like a highway on their way to spawning grounds.
“It was a shallow backwater canal, and it was protected from the wind,” Evers said of his event-winning area. “The fish were coming in to spawn back there, and it had a nice mix of cover. I fished some steeper banks, grass, laydowns, and off of the bank.”
Three techniques accounted for his winning weight: flipping and pitching a creature bait, casting a vibrating jig, and utilizing a drop-shot.
When flipping and pitching to shallow cover, Evers rigged a Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss in two colors, depending on the water clarity: “I used Black Blue if it was stained and California if the water was a little more clear.”
His rod of choice was a 7-foot-6 heavy-action Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series Platinum with an 8.3:1 reel in the same series, which he spooled with 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS Fluorocarbon line.
Evers rigged the Pit Boss on a 3/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook and rounded out the presentation with a 3/8-ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS Tungsten weight.
When moving quickly, Evers was able to cover water with a 1/2-ounce Green Pumpkin vibrating jig tipped with a matching baitfish trailer.
Evers fished the vibrating jig on a 7-1 medium-heavy Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series Platinum and a 6.8:1 reel of the same model. He again spooled his reel with a 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS Fluorocarbon line.
Evers was in control most of the final day, but second-place finisher Jeff Sprague stayed in the hunt. That was until Evers came through with a dagger. He hooked an 8-pound, 1-ounce on a drop-shot near the end of the round to seal the deal.
While it didn’t account for many fish, his drop-shot catch was the loudest statement of the day. His lure of choice was a Texas-rigged, 6-inch Green Pumpkin Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper on a 1/0 straight shank hook connected to a 3/16-ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS Tungsten Finesse Dropshot Weight.
His drop-shot rod was a 6-9 medium Bass Pros Shops Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Spinning Rod and spinning reel from the same lineup. He spooled that with 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS Hyper Braid 8 with a leader of 8-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS Fluorocarbon line.
How He Got There
Evers finished in second place during Group B’s Elimination Round and then finished third in the Knockout Round. He was near the top of the standings for most of the event once he made a move and entered his winning area midday of the Elimination Round.
He relied on the same baits as he did during the Championship Round except for the drop-shot rig. He also mixed in a finesse jig, which helped him advance to the final round.
