I don’t recall when I first became aware of Evergreen — it was probably their squid jigs — but my eyes really opened when I first went to the Osaka Tackle Show in Japan in 2014 and saw the pandemonium around their booth. In terms of popularity and people trying to get onto a booth, it was Shimano, Daiwa and Evergreen that were the top three.
I learned while I was over there, and have learned since, that they are widely regarded as one of the GOAT brands in Japan. It’s an extremely influential brand when it comes to rods, with Evergreen early leaders in the big bait rod scene as well as widely being accepted as the founders of slow pitch jigging. Any rod you’ve ever bought or seen designed for casting big swimbaits, glidebaits or slow pitch jigging has been directly influenced by Evergreen. Their lures fall into the same level of adulation.
Their company motto is that “form follows function” — that means it has to work and catch fish before they make it look cool. They don’t follow trends, they set them. They don’t play around with gimmicks, and everything is meticulously field tested before release. It’s all killer, no filler, and our time spent using their products has undoubtedly reflected that.
Their rods (if you can get one) are phenomenal. I own two, and I would send myself broke if they were more accessible. They really focus on the “DM” in JDM and remain a small company, so global access is limited. Their lures are much easier to come by, and they are outstanding. Over the years we have tested lures that have become classics such as the ES Flat, ES Drive, Seadrive, Noisy Dachs and the Stream Demon.
A great thing for keen dusky flathead anglers is that they have a huge range of seabass lures, which Australian anglers have recognised as being deadly effective on flathead. We’ve been testing some of their new range and the Wide Seeker has been a standout. Before we go into the review, we can safely say this — Evergreen don’t make bad products. They’re renowned for it. They don’t release product often, so when they do, you know it’s going to be good.
COLOUR RANGE
The colour range in the Wide Seeker is exactly what you’d expect from Evergreen. Rather than overloading anglers with options, the focus is on 10 colours that actually catch fish while still looking exceptional. Out of the 10, there is something for almost any species that would eat a lure of this profile in any water conditions.
Many brands have tried to replicate Evergreen finishes (Duo is a prime example), but none quite pull it off. Subtle tones, layered hues and reflective underlays all come together to create something that looks incredibly natural in the water.
We were sent four colours to test, with Matte Mullet and Matte Purple Pearl doing most of the damage in clear, shallow conditions. These colours imitate common prey like mullet, whiting and small tailor exceptionally well — in fact, better than anything else I’ve ever used.
When the wind picked up and the water dirtied slightly, Big Bite Chart came into its own, with a translucent body and strong chartreuse highlights that also made it easier to track during the retrieve. Across the test period I landed over 50 dusky flathead from 45cm through to 77cm, all in gin-clear water averaging around 50cm deep. As you’d expect, I also landed a heap of big tailor and, surprisingly, a large whiting that had no issues having a crack at the 14.5cm Wide Seeker.
BUILD
The build quality is outstanding. The lure is constructed from high-quality ABS plastic with a clean, solid finish, and the paintwork holds up extremely well against the teeth of flathead and tailor. It features through-wire construction, size 5 split rings and size 2 trebles, giving you confidence to target much larger species as well. While designed for seabass, it’s more than capable of handling big flathead, and will handle kingfish to 1m and even school tuna thanks to its strong internals and medium-gauge hardware.
CASTING
Casting is where the Wide Seeker really shines and where it got its name. An aerodynamic bib and profile, combined with two large tungsten balls that work with a magnetic weight transfer system, allow for serious distance. I was consistently hitting around 70 metres, with longer casts pushing beyond 80 metres when conditions allowed. That extra distance is a huge advantage in shallow water, letting you work well away from the boat, avoid spooking fish and cover a “wide” area.
Through testing, shorter rods proved best for working this style of lure. Around 6’8” to 7’ in PE1.5–2 seems ideal, allowing for aggressive downward jerks without the rod tip hitting the water. It’s an area where the Australian market is still catching up, with most soft plastic rods not quite suited to this technique. Hopefully we see more purpose-built boat seabass-style rods make their way here.
ACTION
The action is excellent. At a slow retrieve, the lure produces an exceptional and unique roll and wriggle, with the sides flashing naturally as it moves. Increase the speed and you get a much wider tail kick, making it effective for more aggressive species. Where it really excels, though, is under a hard downward jerk. It darts wide, rolls and kicks, then floats back up on the pause.
While this is a lure you could slow roll, give minor twitch work and catch fish, or burn at speed and catch fish, I really love the way it reacts to aggressive downward jerks, and the flathead respond accordingly. However, if I was casting it for tuna, I could burn it back at high speed and it doesn’t blow out — the bib and body design hold it in so it tracks extremely well. No blowouts, no skipping.
It’s a floating lure and in saltwater it really wants to rise. That buoyancy can be a trigger, but I’ve started experimenting with slightly heavier trebles and small stick-on weights to slow the rise when fish are a bit more cautious. It’s not essential, but it does add another layer of versatility.
HOOK UPS
Hook-up rates were excellent. The two saltwater-ready trebles are sharp and strong, and while I missed a couple of strikes, I didn’t drop a fish once it was connected. That’s not always the case with lures in this category, where upgrading hooks is often needed straight out of the box.
This is one of the best jerkbaits I’ve used, full stop. It’s a standout for big dusky flathead, but it’ll also be right at home chasing mulloway, big trout and even school tuna. Like most Evergreen gear, it sits at the premium end of the market, but in this case you absolutely get what you pay for.
