Mark Jefferies

Edwin Evers is looking for raise the Empire Chase trophy for the second year in a row, and with over 21 pounds on Saturday he sits just under four pounds away from the lead with one day remaining. Evers hasn’t held anything back in his quest for a repeat performance. “I’m just catching all that I can catch every time I go out,” he said. “I’m rotating between three or four spots just trying to boat everything that bites.”

Evers points out that with the long runs the leaders are making, anything’s possible. “There’s still another day, and like I’ve been saying, it’s a long way out there and a long way back,” he said. “You just never know what to expect on the way home. All it takes is to have a late penalty and you can take yourself right out of it.”

Evers estimates that he boated 20 keepers on the day by catching individual fish that he graphed while fishing in the same area as last year. ”I’m just sticking with the same old, same old,” he said. “They didn’t bite quite as good this morning as I hoped they would, but I worked on them all day long. I still had a lot of fun out there, but I’m glad to be back.”

For Sunday, it’s more of the same for the Oklahoma pro, with one key adjustment. “There’s nothing to change with what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m around the same fish that I have been all week. It’s the same game plan tomorrow with one exception - bigger fish.” Read More

BASS Comunications

3rd: Evers Says 'You Never Know'
"There wasn't anything different," Evers said of his day. "They didn't bite quite as good this morning as I was hoping they would. Normally, I get the big bites right off the bat in the morning.

"I really worked on them all day long to get my weight."

He has no plans to alter his strategy for tomorrow. He'll head to Dunkirk again and hope the AM bite turns back on.

"Same gameplan, bigger fish. There's still one more day and lots of stuff can happen. You never know what's going to happen, but I'm committed to going no matter what the weather does." Read More

ESPN Outdoors

There are few secrets left in bass fishing, winning spots included, as Evers found out today when he got to Dunkirk. And overall, he felt the fishing was a bit off from last year – at least in terms of numbers.

"It was pretty slow," he said. "It took me a while to catch them. I wasn't getting tons of bites, and there were five boats on the exact spot I won on last year. So I moved around a lot to five or six different spots.

"The waves didn't bother me," he added. "It just makes it kind of challenging." Read More

BASS Comunications

3rd: Evers Hanging In There
For as long of a run as Evers is making, maximizing fishing time is critical and boat control has been key for the defending Erie/Niagara champ.

"It has everything to do with it," he said after catching 21-11 today, one of five 21-plus sacks. "You have to be able to get there and be able to get there with all of your stuff in one piece. You have to be able to know how to position your boat in those kinds of waves and how to get your bait where those fish are."

He noted the bite was a bit off the pace from day 1 and he had three 5-pounders pull off today.

"I don't know what the deal is but I lost some big ones that I'd sure like to have had," he added. Read More

Mark Jefferies

Edwin Evers is this tournament’s odds-on favorite to win, given the fact the he won here last year and he’s within striking distance of the top spot now. He needs to put together two super-solid days to go back-to-back but he explained that the bite wasn’t as good today as it has been. “The ride out there and back was a lot better today because it didn’t blow as bad, but the bite wasn’t nearly as good for me,” he explained.

“It was on fire early in the morning, but then there was just a lull in the afternoon. It wasn’t like that yesterday.”

Along with the afternoon lull, Edwin said that he lost two key fish – and in a tournament where a handful of ounces can separate first place from 10th, Edwin knows that they were key. “I lost two fish over five pounds today,” he revealed. “I don’t know what happened, but I would sure like to have the chance to do it over because I feel like I’m going to need them.”

Thursday, Evers said that the ride back to weigh-in wasn’t bad. Friday he added the caveat that at Erie, you can’t be in a hurry when either running or setting up to fish. Every move has to be calculated. “You have to be able to get there and you have to do it in one piece,” he said. “You then have to know how to position your boat for the right drift. 

“It’s not like you can just pull up and start fishing out here and hope to do well. This is a huge lake and can get super nasty in a heartbeat.”

Evers has camped out in his sweet spot since practice began, and as he said, he has company. “There’s a lot of fish in this lake, so I don’t really know that you could hurt them,” he said. “I’m not really going to think about it. I’m just going to go back out and go fishing again tomorrow and catch everything I can. Read More