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

Mark Jefferies

Defending Empire champ Edwin Evers is at it again, but admits that there’s still a lot of fishing left to go. “Anything can happen,” he said. “As rough as it is, you have to be thankful each day that you make it back in and can weigh your fish. I made it once, and have three more (days) to go.”

Edwin showed the world what arcade-style bass fishing is all about in route to winning last year’s Erie event. Unfortunately, in the process, his winning area was all but routed. “I had it a lot more to myself last year,” he said. “There were a bunch of boats all over me today. 

Evers, unlike many, said that he had plenty of fishing time and that the weather and waves – aside from the potential for equipment failure – wasn’t an issue. “It’s still just a matter of going out there and catching them,” he said. “Anything can happen but it’s Erie, and it’s just loaded with fish.”

Despite the additional fishing traffic his winning spot received on Day One this year, Edwin is ever confident that he’s in good shape. “Like I said, you still have to catch them regardless of where you’re at,” he said. “I feel good about what I’m doing, and it’s something that I’m really comfortable with, so I’m just going to take my time and go back out tomorrow and fish as hard as I can.” Read More

ESPN Outdoors

Evers was a little disappointed that he was unable to rally for his first Elite win, but was pleased overall.

"It feels good," he said. "I had a good tournament and I'm real happy with what I did.

"I had a great day today – I had a lot of fun and caught a ton of fish. The reason I didn't win was yesterday, when I only caught 11 pounds."

A 5-14 was the best of the 15 or so keepers he caught today.

"I thought I'd catch them a little better than I did this morning, but the afternoon bite was really strong. I caught most of them between 10:00 and 2:00."

ESPN Outdoors

Evers' weight has gone down by at least 3 pounds each day, but today's 11-10 bag cost him only one spot in the standings.

"I just didn't get the bites today," he said. "I caught a bunch of fish yesterday, but near as many today. I think the lack of wind had a lot to do with it."

He ended up with nine keepers, but his biggest didn't weigh much more than 2 1/2 pounds.

"It was sporadic throughout the day. I've seen some giants and I know I'm around some really big ones, and I just have to get those fish to bite.

"I'll keep doing what I've been doing and swing for the fences tomorrow. I'll do everything I can to win this thing – I want to win one real bad." Read More

ESPN Outdoors

Evers didn't change anything about the way he fished, but the ones that bit were smaller than on day 1.

"I did the same thing as yesterday and I caught a whole bunch of fish, but no big ones," he said.

He went through at least 15 keepers, but none were bigger than 3 pounds. Most of his action occurred from the middle of the day on.

"I did not catch them this morning. It took me until about noon to catch a limit, and then I caught about 10 more after that."

He'll take the same gameplan into the weekend that he's employed thus far and isn't too worried about the possibility of encountering weekend crowds.

"I'm going to keep doing the same stuff, without a doubt. I'll just go fishing and worry only about the things I can control. If I find an empty point, I'll fish it. If there's a boat there, I'll move on to the next one.

"I'm doing enough different stuff that I don't mind fishing behind people." Read More