By BassFan Staff
Tied for 4th place. Third place. Second place. Victory!
That was Edwin Evers' daily progression on the leaderboard at the Alabama River Bassmaster Elite Series. The quiet Oklahoman, on a determined quest for his first Angler of the Year (AOY) title, caught a 17-12 bag today to claim his fifth career tour-level win and third since the inception of the Elites in 2006.
His 75-13 total outdistanced runner-up and reigning AOY Brent Chapman by 1-12. Chapman, who opted to forego the treacherous run up the Coosa River to the eddy that had been so productive for him over the first 3 days, came in with 14-13 to finish with 74-01.
Steve Kennedy boated 17-05 today to finish 3rd with 72-05. Alton Jones claimed the No. 4 spot with a 17-10 bag for a 71-08 total.
John Murray, the day-1 leader, sacked a day-best 18-12 to complete the Top 5, marking the veteran's first single-digit finish in 2 years and just his second since 2008.
Here are the totals for the remainder of the Top 12:
6. Tommy Biffle: 63-00
7. Bobby Lane: 61-08
8. Aaron Martens: 60-12
9. David Walker: 60-02
10. Paul Elias: 59-10
11. Randy Howell: 55-08
12. Skeet Reese: 52-00
The current receded considerably for the second consecutive day and again changed many of the dynamics of the river and its tributaries. Kennedy and Walker survived trips up and down the rapids of the Coosa to reach the area just below the Jordan Dam, and in hindsight, Chapman wished he'd made that run.
Reese started the final day in the same position (7th) he did last week when he won at West Point Lake. This time, however, he went the opposite direction in the standings, catching just three keepers for 5 pounds.
Brent Chapman didn't find the quality he'd hoped for fishing below Moccasin Gap today.
Evers now holds a 19-point lead over Reese in the AOY battle with three events remaining. The circuit will take a 5-week break before resuming at the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis.
Evers Stunned
> Day 4: 5, 17-12 (20, 75-13)
Evers said that based on his practice, he didn't feel like he had a legitimate chance to win when the tournament got under way. He also didn't think he had such a stout stringer today until he loaded up his fish for their trip to the scale.
"This is awesome – I really can't believe I won," he said. "When I put my fish in the bag, I realized I had a little more weight than I'd thought I had, and I was really excited. I had some pretty good ones in there."
He boated more than a dozen keepers on the day. He caught two of his weigh-in fish from the Bouldin Canal (his primary area all week) early this morning, one from the Tallapoosa River at mid-day and two during a last-hour flurry in Cooter's Pond, which served as the launch site for the first 3 days due to the extremely high water flowing through downtown Montgomery, Ala.
“I pulled up to that spot that I’ve been saving all week, and they were on fire."
It was his first victory on the venue after several near-misses. He won't get a chance to add to his AOY lead for more than a month, but that suits him fine.
"I'm looking forward to having a little time off to spend with the family," he said.
Details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
2nd: Chapman's Hopes Dashed
> Day 4: 5, 14-13 (20, 74-01)
Chapman isn't enjoying anything close to the magical season he had in 2012, although his finish did move him up to 26th in the AOY race (which is inside the Classic cutoff). Had he been able to hold the lead he assumed on day 2, a berth in the 2014 Classic at Lake Guntersville would've been a done deal.
"I needed 16 pounds and something to get it done and I'm really kicking myself for not going up to my little sweet spot by the dam," he said. "I'd feel a little better about 2nd place if I'd at least gone up there and tried.
"I went all the way to Moccasin Gap and I watched (Kennedy) run through it, so I knew it could be done. The thing was that I'd caught enough (on day 3) down below that I thought I could catch what I needed where I was.
"I had one spot where I thought I was going to catch several good ones," he continued, "but I never got a bite there."
3rd: Kennedy's Streak Ends
> Day 4: 5, 17-05 (20, 72-05)
Kennedy had achieved victories on Mother's Day each of the past 2 years – at West Point in 2011 and in a PAA Tournament Series event last year. That streak ended today, though he came pretty close to extending it.
"It wasn't too bad," he said. "I was trying to catch the reigning Angler of the Year and the guy who's leading it this year, and for me to win they both had to stumble. I was hoping I'd win, but the expectation wasn't there unless I'd had over 20 pounds."
Third-place finisher Steve Kennedy again made the trip through the rapids to the Jordan Dam, which is something runner-up Brent Chapman wished he'd done.
He pulled all of his weight from his first stop this morning. His trip through the rapids to fish near the Jordan Dam was fruitless.
"The water was a foot or so lower and it didn't look much different (than on day 3), but I never upgraded the rest of the day. I needed a couple of big bites and that didn't happen.
"The one decent fish I caught up there was a 2 1/2-pound largemouth that was sitting in some of the fastest water in the river. The spots were total no-shows. It basically felt like a post-frontal thing – they just shut down this afternoon for me."
4th: Jones was Hog-Tied
> Day 4: 5, 17-10 (20, 71-08)
Jones was surprised that he was unable to gain any ground in the standings despite catching more than 17 1/2 pounds.
"That's just a testament to how strong this river is fishing right now," he said. "I had a couple of chances to upgrade – I had a 4-pounder that I swung in that bounced off my graph and got away and another big one that I never saw that pulled off.
"Overall, I'm really pleased, though. It was a great week."
He had no company at all today as he fished below the Jones Bluff Dam.
"There was nobody else there – not even a local. It was really a peaceful day down there. It was almost surreal, like I wasn't even in a big tournament."
5th: Murray Pumped
> Day 4: 5, 18-12 (20, 65-07)
Murray was pleased to have a big day in his first Sunday appearance since 2011.
"It's so nice to be in the Top 12, period, because that's what all of us are going for," he said. "It was just a very enjoyable day and moving up (in the standings) makes it even better."
He said his marshal tallied 28 keepers that he swung into the boat. Three of them were right around the 4-pound mark.
"The fish definitely moved (away from the bank today). I had two patterns going – flipping and fishing deep – and today the fish ended up in between, suspended off structure."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 12 anglers, 11 limits, 1 three.
Final Standings
1. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 20, 75-13 -- 100 -- $102,000
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-12 -- Day 3: 5, 22-06 -- Day 4: 5, 17-12
2. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 20, 74-01 -- 99 -- $26,500
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 23-05 -- Day 3: 5, 18-03 -- Day 4: 5, 14-13
3. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 20, 72-05 -- 98 -- $20,000
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 23-03 -- Day 4: 5, 17-05
4. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 20, 71-08 -- 97 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 20-04 -- Day 3: 5, 17-04 -- Day 4: 5, 17-10
5. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 20, 65-07 -- 96 -- $14,000
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 14-01 -- Day 4: 5, 18-12
6. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 20, 63-00 -- 95 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06 -- Day 3: 5, 17-10 -- Day 4: 5, 17-07
7. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, FL -- 20, 61-08 -- 94 -- $13,000
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 16-13 -- Day 4: 5, 10-08
8. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 20, 60-12 -- 93 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 5, 18-12 -- Day 4: 5, 13-12
9. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 20, 60-02 -- 92 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09 -- Day 3: 5, 20-04 -- Day 4: 5, 09-05
10. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 20, 59-10 -- 91 -- $11,500
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 10-04 -- Day 4: 5, 15-01
11. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 20, 55-08 -- 90 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03 -- Day 4: 5, 11-07
12. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 18, 52-00 -- 89 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 19-13 -- Day 4: 3, 05-00
Big Bass
Day 4: Tommy Biffle -- 4-14
Day 3: David Walker -- 5-02
Day 2: Brent Chapman -- 5-11
Day 1: Kelly Jordon -- 6-04
