Preparation Was Key For Evans

Monday, June 19, 2006

Evans, a 48-year-old owner of a construction company from Southpoint, Ohio, notched the biggest victory of his career at the circuit's opener in Henderson, N.C. He snatched the final position in the first cut (20th on day 2), and was one of three anglers who were tied for the lead after day 3.

He caught 13-12 on day 4 and won by 14 ounces over Vermont's Curt Tindall. Here's how he did it.

Practice

Evans' practice was better than he could've expected. He gave himself 8 days, but the first 5 were so productive that he didn't wet a line on the final 3.

He found fish on boat ramps. He found them on grassbeds. He found them on stumps. And no matter the type of structure they were using, he could catch them by flipping or pitching a jig.

"Everything was 7 feet or shallower," he said. "Some of the stuff was as shallow as a foot. I was flipping most of the time, and I don't think I ever threw anything farther than about 30 feet."

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 13-10
> Day 2: 4, 9-09
> Day 3: 5, 15-10
> Day 4: 5, 13-12

Evans opted to start with his boat-ramp pattern. The metal poles that support the walkways on the sides of the ramp had attracted a lot of bluegill, and the bass showed up for an easy feast.

"There was a school of bass on every piece of concrete," he said. "The only problem was that other guys were onto it. By the time the tournament started, that'd been beaten down."

He then moved to one of the lake's few grassbeds, but that didn't produce either. So he switched his focus to rocky areas, and that's where he spent the first 2 days.

His day-1 limit left him in 15th place. He caught only four fish on day 2 and dropped five positions, but still managed to squeak into the cut.

It was not an enjoyable day on the water.

"I don't like to say this, but I just clashed with the (co-angler) I drew out with," he said. "He was a pro who wanted to fish out of his own boat, but he'd missed the (entry) deadline.

"Everything throughout the whole day was negative, and it almost made me miss the cut. His attitude just mentally beat me up all day long. It was obvious that he wanted to be fishing out of his own boat, and it was like he was holding it against the rest of the field."

His mood was a lot better on day 3, when he moved to the stumps he'd been saving. A more congenial back-seater helped, and so did a school of large fish he saw swim into the area like a gift from the fish gods.

"I saw 12 or 14 of them coming down the bank toward me, and they were all 4- and 5-pounders," he said. "I caught one, and then they all scattered. I figured some of them had to stay there in the stumps."

He was right, and his 15-10 bag put him in a tie for the lead with tour pros Jacob Powroznik and Tim McDonald.

He was in a different stump field in the same general area on day 4 when he witnessed the same phenomenon. "This time I saw 20 or 24 of them, and some of them were 6-and 7-pounders – huge fish."

His final-day bag was nearly 2 pounds lighter than his day-3 haul, but it was bested by only one other. That one belonged to Tindall, who came up a little less than a pound short.

Pattern Notes

> He's pretty sure that the fish he saw cruising the bank were searching for herring. "They were looking for something to eat and the herring weren't up – it wasn't warm enough," he said. "I've heard they need (water temperatures of) 78 to 80 degrees, and when we left it was 76.

"If you could get something in front of (those bass), they were definitely hungry."

> The stump fish were hiding in holes in the roots. "Most of the bites came on the first fall. If they didn't take it, I'd hop it up and hit the stump, then let it fall down the other side."

Winning Gear Notes

> Jig gear: 7-0 heavy-action Shimano Centurion flipping stick, Shimano Curado casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 20-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Bass Pro Shops Stacey King Casting Jig (hamburger), 3" NetBait Paca Craw trailer (green-pumpkin).

> Hamburger is a combination of black, brown and green strands.

Notable

> Main factor in his success – "Just going fishing and changing things up every day."

> He's looking forward to the next Northeastern event, which starts July 19. "Lake Erie is my home lake, so I'm not done yet."