Edwin Evers of Talala holds up a pair of bass from his catch at New York's Oneida Lake Saturday.
Courtesy James Overstreet/BASS
Bassmaster Elite Series anglers Edwin Evers of Talala and Tommy Biffle of Wagoner wrapped up their tournament seasons with goals accomplished Saturday.
As of Saturday three Oklahoma pros are qualified to fish the Bassmaster Classic set for Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees Feb. 22-24: Biffle, Evers and FLW Tour pro Jason Christie of Park Hill. There still is an outside chance for one or two Okies to qualify through Bassmaster Open and Federation Nation tournaments.
Biffle and Evers did not make the cut to fish with the top 12 at New York’s Oneida Lake Sunday, but Biffle did well enough to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic and Evers landed a postseason appearance in addition to his expected Classic qualification.
Evers ended the tournament in 16th place and Biffle was 17th.
The Elite Series consists of eight tournaments and each angler is awarded points based on their performance through the season. The top points earner is named Angler of the Year. That honor went to Lake Quivera, Kan. angler Brent Chapman Saturday -- and Classic watchers should note that Chapman is no stranger to Grand Lake.
The top eight AOY points finishers, plus four anglers who get voted in by fans at the Bassmaster web site, fish a postseason All-Star series in September. Evers entered the tournament at Oneida in 9th overall place but improved his standing to 8th for a guaranteed postseason slot. The All-Star Series takes place at Decatur, Ill. Sept. 20-23.
Evers would have liked to make the cut at Oneida but said making the postseason was the priority. “I actually lost a couple of really good fish today but I’ll take what I got,” he said. “My goal is to make the post season with no ifs ands or buts and I’m excited and looking forward to going and doing that.”
Evers said he knows of no magic answer as to why he is able to consistently rise to the top of the Elite heap. “I’m just blessed to do something that I love to do and I work at it really hard,” he said.
Biffle had a slow day on the water Saturday but his 17th place finish put him securely in position for a Classic berth. “I’d have like to have made the 12 cut. I didn’t catch them very good today, but I caught them good enough to make the Classic, so that’s good enough,” he said.
Biffle said he fished “safe” targeting Oneida’s consistent smallmouth bass bite, although he said it was hard to watch Emory, Texas angler Takahiro Omori later drop an 18-pound bag of largemouth bass on the scales. “Tak was flipping shallow so that was hard to watch,” Biffle said. “I just couldn’t gamble like that.”
Flipping and working the shallows has served Biffle well over the years, those techniques have been the key to his qualifying for 18 Bassmaster Classics over the years. “I fish pretty consistent,” he said. “I stick with what I know and don’t do a whole lot of experimenting.”
Biffle said he still plans to fish the Bassmaster Central Open on Fort Gibson Lake. “I don’t plan to let up on ‘em,” he said.
Tired, but not too tired to start scouting Grand Lake and preparing for Classic in February’ “it might cut down on my deer hunting a little bit,” he said.
