2019 REDCREST champion Edwin Evers leads the field of 20 into the final leg of the tournament. Photo by Garrick Dixon.
Jody White
BASS PRO TOUR
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Through the first two days of Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by Shore Lunch, Lake Norman has proven to be a confusing playing field. Local aces Bryan Thrift and Andy Montgomery made it through the Qualifying Round by the skin of their teeth, we’ve seen big bags of spotted bass, some big largemouth, and some of the big hitters really back off.
Case in point, Dustin Connell and Jacob Wheeler were first and fourth on Day 1, and finished the round in fourth and 18th, with both spending their afternoon scouting far up the river.
Winning the round with 29 pounds, 15 ounces, Edwin Evers is looking for his second REDCREST trophy and seems to have practiced his way into back-to-back impressive days on the Carolina lake. Ending the round in second with 28-8, Casey Ashley has been strikingly consistent fishing exactly how he wants to fish, and practicing for the latter half of Day 2.
With $300,000 and a trophy on the line, the next three days are sure to be interesting. Weights won’t zero, the local favorites are in the hunt, and the weather is about to get rowdy.
Evers eyeing more Norman success
The winner of a 2005 Bassmaster Tour event and a 2010 PAA event on Norman, Evers has fished a nearly perfect tournament so far – at least, as things traditionally go on Norman. A 6-pound largemouth on Day 1 keyed his weight and is the biggest fish of the event by far. Though he’s starting from scratch now, the Oklahoma pro sure sounds like he has a good idea of how to be successful.
“This is one of those lakes where you try to duplicate your patterns, and I’m just trying to really narrow down where the bites are coming from,” Evers said. “It’s been pretty random, from the back of a pocket to a point and everything in between.
