Bass Press Release
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| E2 pushes ahead by an single ounce. (Photo: Darren Jacboson BASS) |
“It’s not just me and him,” said Edwin Evers, who replaced Randall Tharp in the catbird seat in the Lake Guntersville competition. “There’s a lot of anglers in this yet who can catch them. Thirty-pound bags are possible.”
After adding 20-9 Saturday, Evers of Talala, Okla., racked up a two-day total of 47 pounds, 6 ounces, enough to budge him out of second place. Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., weighed 19-13 Saturday for a running total of 47-5, 1 ounce shy of keeping his lead.
The Evers-Tharp place switch was just the beginning of Saturday’s leaderboard shuffle. Moving up into the Top 5 was Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., up from 11th place into third with 43-5, about 4 pounds out of first place. Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., moved from seventh into fourth with 42-14.
The angler in fifth place leapt from 47th place to get there. Toting 32-3 to the scales — a one-day record for a five-bass-limit Classic — Paul Mueller of Naugatuck, Conn., amassed 41-13.
The field was cut to the Top 25 for the final push Sunday toward a first prize of $300,000 and the crown of the sport. The cutline fell at 34-2, the two-day weight posted by Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas.
Evers said he had just six bites Saturday.
“It was just a really hard day. I didn’t get the bites that I’d been getting, and the fish were not getting the bait. I lost a couple fish at the boat, about 4-pounders,” he said.
Evers, who like Tharp is seeking his first Classic crown, said conditions changed on Lake Guntersville from Friday to Saturday.
“The water definitely cleared up, and the water was quite a bit cooler this morning,” he said. “They just didn’t bite. I don’t know why.”
Still, 20-9 is good, he said.
“I’ll take it,” he said.
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| Sitting neck and neck is eerily similar to his FLW CUP victory only months ago. (Photo: James Overstreet BASS) |
Tharp was disappointed in his Saturday bag.
“Any time I go out there and catch 19 pounds on this lake, it’s a failure for me,” said Tharp, a veteran of Guntersville tournaments during his many years living in northern Alabama before moving to Florida last July. “I had a couple ‘good’ fish today; yesterday I had four. I was in a good rhythm this morning, things were clicking — then I had some issues with my boat.
“I never found it (rhythm) after that. I culled one time this afternoon after three hours of fishing. I’m not disappointed in the time that I lost, I’m just disappointed I couldn’t get back into my rhythm.”
