Edwin Evers at Friday's weigh-in at Decatur, Ill.
BASS/Courtesy
Ott DeFoe at Friday's weigh-in.
BASS/Courtesy
Edwin Evers showed his skill and tenacity as the Talala bass pro was the only one of 12 top anglers in the Bassmaster Elite Series 2012 All-Star Semi-Final to catch a limit of fish Thursday and today on an incredibly tough Shelbyville, Lake, near Decatur, Ill.
Evers was clearly elated coming in at the top of the list, especially since he bested 2011 All-Star champion Ott Defoe of Tennessee, who edged out Evers for the win last year.
“I want to get him back,” Evers said. “That was an event I should have won.” He said he remembers losing a 2 ½- or 3-pound fish at the end of last year’s contest “like it was today.”
Evers plucked a rose from the thicket of ugliness that was Shelbyville, but the All-Star Week lead only sets him up for a weekend jousting match.
Evers will advance to bracket competition Saturday on Decatur Lake as part of the top four. He will fish against fourth-place finisher Gerald Swindle of Alabama while DeFoe takes on Alabama’s Aaron Martens, who finished third. The two finalists from this group will face off Sunday.
“I just want to go out and win,” Evers said Friday evening. “It’s on a completely different lake, so it will be interesting.”
The All-Star Semi-Final yielded fair results for Evers with 10 fish totaling 23 pounds 1 ounce. DeFoe had nine fish for 22-15, but Martens and Swindle made it to the All-Star finals with six fish and five fish respectively and totals in the 10-pound range.
How ugly was the thicket? Consider the respected names left on the bottom of the scoreboard after two days of Shelbyville Lake fishing:
Skeet Reese caught a total of five fish for 9 pounds 2 ounces. Matthew Herren had three fish for 6-11. Randy Howell and Brent Chapman had four fish each for 6-11 and 6-5, respectively. Kevin VanDam had three fish for 6-2. Terry Scroggins had one fish a day for 5-13. Todd Faircloth found four fish but only had a 5-9 total. And in two days Michael Iaconelli weighed just one keeper at 4 pounds.
Great fishermen: ugly results. I guess we can say at least no one was skunked.
Evers told BASS that he found success with two patterns, one shallow, one offshore.
He used an XCalibur Xr50 One Knocker lipless crankbait, chrome with a blue back, targeting isolated stumps in the middle of flat, shallow pockets 1 ½ to 4 feet deep. He said the bass were suspended eating shad and wanted fast-moving bait.
A 5-inch green pumpkin Yum Dinger fished on a Yum Pumpkin Ed standup jighead and a Booyah Finesse Jig anchored his second pattern. He used the Dinger around isolated rock piles and used the finesse jig around isolated stumps, according to BASS.
As for the head-to-head competition with Swindle on Saturday, Evers said he just has to go out and do what he does best. “I don’t think about it any differently,” he said. “I still have to catch as much as I can catch and I have to be able to beat him.”
A finale with DeFoe on Sunday would be a welcome. “It would be great to have that rematch,” he said. “Although honestly I would probably rather fish against Aaron (Martens) because Ott is stronger on shallow water.
“We’ll see what happens. I just have to do the best I can do.”
