Considering the way Edwin Evers and Ott DeFoe dominated the opening round of Toyota Trucks All-Star Week at Lake Shelbyville in Illinios, perhaps B.A.S.S. should skip the semifinals and let those two duel for the top prize for the second consecutive year
Both caught double-digit bags for the second straight day to far outdistance the other 10 anglers in the field. Evers' 10-pound sack gave him a 2-day total of 23-01 and DeFoe, last year's champion, was just 2 ounces back after catching 11-12 today.
Their totals were more than double that of 3rd-place Aaron Martens, who weighed two fish for 3-06 today to give him a 10-13 aggregate. Gerald Swindle will round out the field for the semis, which take place Saturday at Lake Decatur, as he weighed four fish for 6-10 today, improving his total to 10-06.
“I caught four of the 10 bass I weighed on an XCalibur Xr50 One Knocker lipless crankbait (chrome with a blue back),” Evers said. “I was targeting isolated stumps in the middle of flat, shallow pockets – 1 1/2 to 4 feet deep. The bass were suspended and eating shad, and they wanted the bait moving fast.”
Evers’ other pattern involved a 5-inch green-pumpkin Yum Dinger fished on a Yum Pumpkin Ed standup jighead and a Booyah Finesse Jig. He fished the Dinger around isolated rockpiles and caught two of his best bass with the bait. He used the Finesse Jig around isolated stumps.
DeFoe caught almost all of his bass fishing shallow with a flat-sided, square-bill crankbait of his own design. He calls the bait “Butch,” and he fished it around laydowns and stumps. He caught one keeper largemouth on a spinnerbait.
“I fished Butch in pearl white and chartreuse with a black back,” DeFoe said. “I was casting it with a Revo Premier baitcasting reel and 7-foot medium-heavy rod on 15-pound-test Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line. It dives about 2 feet and has really done well for me. It’s definitely a bait I’ll be throwing in the next round on Lake Decatur.”
Both the semifinals and Sunday's finals will feature head-to-head competition. Top-seed Evers will face No. 4 Swindle in the semis, while No. 3 DeFoe takes on No. 2 Martens.
Mike Iaconelli departed the competition during the afternoon for the impending birth of his child. He had not caught a keeper when he was notified that wife Becky had gone into labor.
Here are the final numbers for the opening round:
1. Edwin Evers -- 5, 13-01 -- 5, 10-00 -- 10, 23-01
2. Ott DeFoe -- 4, 11-03 -- 5, 11-12 -- 9, 22-15
3. Aaron Martens -- 4, 7-07 -- 3, 3-06 -- 6, 10-13
4. Gerald Swindle -- 1, 3-12 -- 4, 6-10 -- 5, 10-06
5. Skeet Reese -- 2, 5-11 -- 1, 3-07 -- 3, 9-02
6. Matt Herren -- 1, 1-13 -- 2, 5-00 -- 3, 6-13
7. Randy Howell -- 0, 0-00 -- 4, 6-11 -- 4, 6-11
8. Brent Chapman -- 1, 1-09 -- 3, 4-12 -- 4, 6-05
9. Kevin VanDam -- 2, 4-00 -- 1,2-02 -- 3, 6-02
10. Terry Scroggins -- 1, 1-06 -- 1, 4-07 -- 2, 5-13
11. Todd Faircloth -- 3, 4-05 -- 1, 1-04 -- 4, 5-09
12. Mike Iaconelli -- 1, 4-00 -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 4-00
