YUM Bait Company has added three of the hottest young sticks on tour for the upcoming BASS Elite Series season. Edwin Evers, Terry Scoggins and David Wolak have all joined a pro staff that already included Zell Rowland, Alton Jones and Tim Horton.
Oklahoma pro Edwin Evers has quickly established himself as one of the most consistent anglers on tour and a serious threat to win anywhere. He notched half a dozen Top 10 finishes in 2006 alone and in fact has finished in the Top 10 in 25 percent of the BASS tournaments he has ever fished. Only 32 years old, he has already amassed more than $800,000 in career earnings and has notched three BASS wins, three 2nd place finishes and three 3rds.
Terry "Big Show" Scroggins, who is moving into his fifth full season as a pro, has likewise delivered a huge impact since moving to the highest level. He has already won three BASS events, along with scoring three seconds and a third. Before joining the pro ranks, Scroggins dominated North Florida tournaments for many years.
Scroggins is well known among his peers for his prowess at sight-fishing and flipping grass and YUM intends to lean heavily on that expertise for developing baits specifically for fishing matted vegetation. Big Show isn’t strictly a soft-plastic fisherman, though.
"I’ve won more money on my home waters of the St. Johns River on a Bomber 2A and 6A than on any other bait," he said.
Dave Wolak, the 2005 Toyota Rookie of the Year, earned his first top-level win last season and did so in grand style by winning a Bassmaster Major – the Bassmaster American at Lake Wylie. The North Carolina pro (recently moved from Pennsylvania) cashed checks in 10 events during his sophomore season and in fact has done so in 29 of 39 BASS events he has fished in his young career.
"The YUM line of baits covers everything -- no matter what style of fishing I’m going to be doing," Wolak said. "From flippin’ to finesse tactics, there’s something well suited for the task. There are very traditional baits like Ribbontails and unique baits like the Craw Papi with its great swimming action."
The new pro staff signings began with YUM consulting Tulsa-based Dynamic Sponsorships to collaborate on identifying Elite-level anglers with proven track records and assess the sponsorship opportunities therein. Dave Wolak, Edwin Evers and Terry Scroggins are consummate professionals Dynamic had experience working with and recommended to endorse the YUM brand, enhancing an already formidable staff to develop one of strongest teams endemic to the fishing industry.
Evers and Scroggins will compete in the Bassmaster Classic Feb. 23-25 in Birmingham (as will YUM pros Rowland, Jones and Horton). It will be Evers seventh Classic and his sixth in a row. Scroggins will be competing in his third Bassmaster Classic.