Evers, Lintner’s Solid Days Not Enough to Overtake Lee
FELLSMERE, Fla. – For much of the day, it looked like Jared Lintner was going to become the champion of the first-ever Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One Presented by Power-Pole. Lintner was comfortably in first place going into the final period of the Championship Round.
He even caught the biggest bass of the day: a 5-5 in Period 2. However, Lintner’s lead slipped away in the third period.
“When the wind and the clouds came that’s what did me in,” Lintner recapped. “I thought some more females would come in to spawn and they just didn’t.”
Lee would go on to win the Championship Round thanks to a flurry of fish in the final period. Lintner was able to catch some bass in the third period – six fish for 8-9 – but his biggest fish during that time was only a 2-pounder. While he caught a 4-1 and a 5-5 earlier in the day, the bigger bites eluded him when it mattered the most.
“That SCORETRACKER gets in your head if you let it. I just kept saying to my official, ‘Please don’t tell me Jordan Lee, please don’t tell me Jordan Lee,’” Lintner joked. “I found myself fishing faster than normal when I was behind and it just got to my head.”
While Lintner’s day slowed, MLF veteran Edwin Evers’ day picked up. Evers had 19-14 heading into the final period of the week and was in second place. The Oklahoma native hauled in 16 bass for 24-1 to get into a shootout with Lee in the final 30 minutes. In the end, his fast and furious third period wasn’t enough to push him past the red-hot Lee. Evers lost by 10-14.
“I was just trying to keep it within one fish,” Evers explained. “I would get a bite and it would be 1-8 and (Lee) would get a bite and it would be 3-6. I did what I could I just didn’t have enough.”
Two anglers, both with different experiences in the MLF format, just missed out on a $100,000 pay day in Stage One. However, Stage Two begins on Lake Conroe near Houston, Tex., in just over a week. Both anglers now know what it takes to beat out a stacked field of anglers, and they are ready for that challenge.
“It was a great week for me considering I had the lead with only two-and-a-half hours to go,” Lintner said with a smile. “To start the year like this with a third-place finish in a new format, I’m excited about it.”
“I don’t like losing,” Evers said. “But, I’m happy for the points and excited for the next event.”
The MLF Bass Pro Tour Stage Two from Lake Conroe begins with the Shotgun Round on Tuesday, Feb. 12.