Evers Comfortably Leads Group B After 74-Pound Day on Chickamauga
DAYTON, Tenn. – Saturday was Group B’s first crack at Lake Chickamauga for the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG x Wrangler, and the anglers near the top of SCORETRACKER® put on a show. Kevin VanDam and Dustin Connell both made late pushes for first place, but it was Edwin Evers who came out on top for Group B’s Qualifying Day 1 as he heads into Monday with the lead.
Evers Commits to Covering Water, Finds Quality
Evers led Saturday wire-to-wire, never giving up his lead once he got it early in Period 1. The Oklahoma pro ended his day with 23 bass for 74 pounds, 14 ounces and leads VanDam by 18-3 heading into Group B’s second day of competition on Monday. Evers landed 35-2 in Period 1, 20-6 in Period 2 and 19-6 in Period 3. Overall, Evers was pleased with his consistent day of fish catching.
“I was able to cover a lot of water today and just fish a lot of different stuff,” Evers said. “I had about three or four baits I kept rotating between. It wasn’t so much about depth for me as it was about location. The key was to just keep moving from place to place and finding fish.”
While he had the highest quantity of bass in Group B with 23, it was really about the quality that separated Evers from the rest of the field. The Bass Pro Shops pro had the Berkley Big Bass of the day with his 8-9 while also boating a 7-2, 6-5, 5-2 and 4-6—that’s a whopping 31-8 for his best five fish. Evers was obviously impressed with the quality he found but almost lost out on his big bass of the day due to time running out in Period 2.
“I had a minute and 27 seconds left when I made the cast and hooked it with probably a minute and 15 seconds left,” Evers recapped. “At first, I thought it was a catfish because when I hooked it I didn’t really feel it move. I was using 12-pound test and I just winched that sucker in from about 20 feet of water and got it in the boat with some time remaining. I can’t believe I landed it.”
Evers heads into Monday with a somewhat comfortable 18-3 lead over VanDam, but the 2019 REDCREST Champion knows better than to rest on his laurels when someone of VanDam’s caliber is sitting right behind him on SCORETRACKER®.
“I have to have another day like I did today, because if I don’t, someone else will,” Evers said. “I have my work cut out for me, especially with KVD right behind me. We’ve battled it out for first and second place a few times before and it’s always a battle. There’s none better than him, I’ll have to be at my best.”
Top Marks and Notes from Group B
- Edwin Evers caught the most scorable bass (23) for the most weight (74-14).
- Evers also caught the Berkley Big Bass of the Dday, an 8-9, in Period 2.
- Dustin Connell made a late push towards the top of SCORETRACKER® in Period 3, catching eight bass for 31-7, including two 7-pounders.
What’s Next
Group A returns to Lake Chickamauga on Sunday for their second and final qualifying day. Only the top 20 anglers on SCORETRACKER® will move on in Stage Four competition while the top angler will advance directly to the Championship Round. Russ Lane leads Group A and enters Sunday with a 21-6 lead over Jordan Lee.