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Establishing a game plan

Long before he launches his boat at any of the particular Bassmaster Elite tournament lakes, Edwin Evers knows what he wants to fish. The Oklahoma pro usually doesn’t know exactly where he’ll find his targets or if they’re even holding fish; he simply has a mental list of places he wants to check.

They’re not specifically places. They’re options, and his full list of options nearly always involves a variety of presentation techniques that he likes to use. In short, Evers formulates a game plan of how he will spend his first practice day on the water and he is not the only pro who does this.

“We have to find our bass just the way other fishermen do,” Evers points out, “but we usually have to do it faster, and we have to find enough of them to last for several days. I personally create a mental list of ways or places I want to fish according to the lake I’m on, and while it varies from venue to venue, I always include ways I want to catch fish.

“You always try to fish to your strengths, whatever they might be. For instance, most bass fishermen, myself included, like to fish vegetation, so that’s on my mental list of places to check that very first day, and from there I may look at the backs of creeks, channel bends, standing timber or whatever.

“This mental list provides an organized way to begin looking for bass. It saves time, and it helps us eliminate water and establish patterns very quickly.”

The key to making this plan work is fishing enough of a certain type of cover or structure to effectively eliminate it from the list if bass aren’t biting there. This, says Evers, comes from experience as well as observation. If you’ve put “backs of creeks” on your list and after fishing perhaps two different creeks without success, it’s probably time to move to the next option.

“When we’re eliminating these options, we’re generally fishing pretty fast,” Evers explains, “because we are trying to cover a lot of water. Basically, we’re just looking for one strike that tells us bass are present, that the water is alive.

“Once I get that strike, I automatically analyze where I am and what I was doing. Maybe I’ll change lures to cover that spot more effectively, or I’ll try a slower retrieve, or cast from a different angle. After years of tournament competition, most of us do this automatically without consciously thinking about it, but there was a time when I did write out a list of places and ways I wanted to fish, and some pros still write out their game plans as a way to stay organized and focused.”

With those thoughts in mind, here are three of the places and techniques Evers includes on his daily mental lists as he competes on the pro circuit. At the beginning of each tournament practice, his game plan normally includes numerous other options, but these three are on every checklist he has. They provide a basic starting point on practically every lake in the country, too.

Vegetation

“If the lake I’m fishing has hydrilla, milfoil or any other type of dominating vegetation, it will always be at the top of my list, the first place I check,” Evers emphasizes.

“In the summer, I’ll start fishing with either a ½-ounce spinnerbait or a lipless crankbait, working the outside edge where the water is slightly deeper. I’ll work a long stretch, then hop-scotch up and try another long stretch, and I may do this three or four times in different areas. Everything depends on whether or not I’m catching any fish, but trust me, if a lake has a lot of vegetation, that’s where virtually every pro I know will start fishing the very first morning of practice for a tournament.”



Main lake points

Evers likes to fish long, main lake points because they provide both shallow and deep water that makes them productive throughout the year. Initially, he Carolina rigs them with a creature bait, starting at around 20 feet and gradually working his way up the point; he’s casting shallow and bringing his lure down the slope and using the big sinker to help him find rocks, brush or other cover.

“Before I begin fishing, I’ll usually idle back and forth across the point several times to see how wide it is and what kind of drops it has on each side. As I work my way up the point, I’m not only fan casting across the top of the point but also moving from side to side and covering the edges, as well.

“On some lakes, points are the primary structure, so it’s important to fish them thoroughly and learn where bass are on them. Very often, there will be a secondary type of cover or structure on the point, such as timber, that actually holds the bass.

“That’s another reason I recommend using a Carolina rig. It will cover the deeper water faster and more effectively than a crankbait, jig or a Texas rig. Once you actually pinpoint the depth or the area bass are using, you can fine-tune your presentation.”

Bridges

Bridges are among the most overlooked of all structure on lakes, but Evers regularly includes them in his game plan because he knows how productive they can be, especially in the heat of the summer.

“The upstream side of bridges usually have debris around the pilings that will attract bass you can often catch with a crankbait, especially if current is flowing. Then, you can run a buzzbait or a spinnerbait along the pilings in the shade and catch suspended bass. And you can fish the downstream side of the pilings with a plastic worm or even a drop shot, and pick up still other bass.

“The best bridges in summer are those that cross the main lake and pinch the lake into a narrow slot. That just means the bass don’t have as much cover to use and you don’t have as much water to search.

“Even if bridges are not your primary option, you should always include them in your game plan.”

That’s how one of the best pros in the business prepares for a national tournament. As he said, even the pros have to find bass, but when you utilize a game plan that organizes your search the way Evers does, finding bass gets a lot easier.