The field at the recent Erie/Niagara Bassmaster Elite Series was tighter that a limit of 10-pounders in a livewell. A pound separated 1st from 4th, and the last angler to make the Top 12 cut only trailed leader Edwin Evers by 3-09.
But on day 4 Evers dusted the pack. He weighed the largest bag of the tournament (23-10) and won by a relatively massive 4-pound margin.
It was his first win since Lake Norman in 2005, and with it, he reached the mark of $1 million in career BASS winnings. Here's how he did it.
Practice
Evers didn't visit western New York prior to the official practice period, but he did get some Erie experience. En route to Champlain,
he and his brother-in-law Terry Butcher spent a few days at Presque Isle, which is just over the New York border in Pennsylvania and hence not subject to BASS's off-limits stipulations.
The waters near Presque Isle are very similar to those along the New York shore of Erie. In general, there's a consistent break away from the shore, with several underwater points, reefs, and humps. After the structure ends, Erie settles out into a massive, featureless basin.
"I learned quite a bit doing that," Evers said. "I just kind of learned what depth they were at, and what to look for."
When he finally launched at Buffalo, his goal was to "find an area that had a bunch of fish, then try to figure out what was going on and how to catch them.
"I never did take weather into consideration as a factor," he added. "I just tried to find the best spot I could. I had three different areas, but one main area, which was my goal, and I just got fortunate with the weather."
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 20-13
> Day 2: DNF
> Day 3: 5, 21-00
> Day 4: 5, 23-10
About day 1, Evers said: "I caught them immediately once I got there. It took me a little longer to get there though. I had some issues with my stuff. But once I got all that fixed and BASS got me a second boat, I got up there and was able to catch them pretty quick."
He caught eight fish on day 1, then 15 fish from the same area on day 3. Note that day 2 was cancelled.
"I just tried to get to 20 pounds, then I'd quit," he said.
About the final day, he noted: "I just stayed on them and stayed on them and it was just unbelievable."
Winning Pattern Notes
Evers said his fish were "grouped really tight" and it was impossible to fish without electronics. He uses Lowrance. "I never would make a cast unless I saw a fish. I saw every one that I caught.
"They'd move around on me – the second day, they got quite a bit deeper. I don't know why. I'm not an expert up there in any shape or fashion. I just know they moved in relation (to the structure)."
Evers noted that he had to keep his bait on bottom to catch the big fish – he couldn't lift it off, even while bobbing in waves.
A few other observations from Evers:
> "They definitely group by size. If you caught one size, that's the only size you'd catch there."
> "To catch the bigger fish, I had to let my weight sit on the bottom. I couldn't pick it up off bottom. You didn't want to be moving up and down with the waves, or yo-yoing. I wasn't even shaking it."
> "I tried to keep the (weight) 8 to 12 inches (below the bait), but 10 inches seemed to be the magic number I tried to keep it at."
> "I was fishing in 36 to 42 feet, and (the bass) were relating to tapers and breaklines."
Winning Gear Notes
> Dropshot gear: 7' medium-action Bass Pro Shops (BPS) Pro Qualifier rod, BPS Pro Qualifier 4000 spinning reel, 8-pound BPS XPS fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce BPS XPS tungsten weight, No. 1 dropshot-style hook.
> He used three different baits. He'd catch a few fish in the mornings on an unnamed goby. His primary bait was a green-pumpkin Yum Houdini worm, which he cut down to about 3 inches. He also caught some fish on "another little green-pumpkin worm."
> "I felt it was real important to spray Yum attractant on all my baits – the smallmouths really like it," he said.
Bottom Line
> Main factor in his success – "I think the main factor was that I was 'fishing fish.' I wasn't just fishing. When I was putting my bait in the water, it was after I saw a fish on the electronics. I didn't waste any time fishing if I didn't see one."
> Performance edge – "I'd say it was two things. My Lowrance electronics and GPS were just so critical. Also my Optima batteries, which were phenomenal. I was using (the trolling motor) to hold in those big waves, and I'd drift off 100 yards when I culled. But I could get right back up there on super-strong batteries. I practiced daylight to dark every day and never ran out (of juice), and I wasn't drifting. Each battery is also 15 pounds lighter than the competition's, and I run 36 volts, so I have three."
Notable
> Evers signed a new promotional deal with Bad Boy Buggies earlier this year. "They're like golf carts, but electric buggies," he said. "They're hunting machines. There's no fumes, no sounds. I drove up on two bobcats with one. They're a cool deal."
> He left Buffalo Sunday after the win and drove 2 1/2 hours east to Syracuse, then started practice Monday for this week's Bassmaster Memorial Major at Oneida. "I was exhausted," he said.
> He added that it took a little bit of adjusting to get used to Oneida. It's another smallmouth venue, but it's quite a bit shallower than Erie. "I kept trying to make my bait go to bottom, but it was already there – it would be there instantly."
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