What Keeps Me Busy Between Bass Tournaments
Edwin Evers 04.24.17
These past 2 weeks at home have been extra busy at the E2 orchard, where we’ve got 2,800 trees in different stages of maturity—but all devoted to producing the best-tasting pecans in the world.
We recently finished transplanting all the trees we planned to this year. Then, it was on to broadcasting granular fertilizer to keep them well supplied with nutrients. This is also the time of year when we apply a zinc solution to the foliage, which is essential for good leaf growth, plus we knock down the ground cover from around the trees so it can’t compete for water and vital nutrients.
On top of that, we’re in the middle of the grafting season. The process is a little like splicing a fluoro leader to a braided main line. You take the top part of a seedling that’s of an improved variety—like Pawnee or Lakota—and using a special procedure, connect it to the stem of a hardy, native variety seedling.
When the grafted seedling matures, you have a tree with a trunk that’s well suited to the climate and soil in this part of Oklahoma, and a top section that produces pecans that are bigger and more delicious than the nuts the native tree could ever grow on its own.
Like I said, we’ve been hustling around the orchard; but that’s how I like things to be because I’m the type of person who can’t sit still very long. I love being outdoors, and I’m not content unless I’m doing something constructive or valuable with my time—whether it’s working in the orchard, spending time with my wife, Tuesday, and children, Kylee and Kade, or fishing the B.A.S.S. Elite Series.
Right now, I’m preparing for the fourth tournament of the 2017 season—this one on Ross Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi. The boat and gear are all set; I’ve got a game plan in mind; and I’m ready to go.
Some people might call this a hectic lifestyle. I just call it a fun time of the year!
P.S. You might enjoy the Facebook Live video below. This is what happened when I snagged one of my favorite spinnerbaits while casting from shore on my home pond. That lure might be my winning ticket on Ross Barnett, so I HAD to get it back.
