PALATKA, Fla. — Targeting the backwaters of the St. Johns River system, and finding an 8-3 “mule” on the last day led Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., to the win Sunday in the Citrus Slam bass fishing tournament with 77 pounds, 1 ounce, shutting out three-day leader Alton Jones and hard-charging Terry Scroggins.
Trailing Jones by about 2 1/2 pounds before Sunday’s finale, Evers sealed his sixth Bassmaster win by overtaking Jones and besting him by more than 3 pounds. Jones ended in third place with 73-12, leaving second place to Scroggins, who had 74-3.
Evers had one word to describe how he felt about the Bassmaster Elite Series win, worth $100,000, and a 2012 Bassmaster Classic qualification. It was his second Elite title, the first taken on Lake Erie in 2007.
“Awesome, awesome, awesome,” he said. “I thought I’d lost this tournament numerous times every day. Getting the Classic berth is huge, an important step that takes a lot of pressure off.”
Sight-fishing the flats of a St. Johns lake he shared with many other Elite pros the first day, Evers started out in 20th place. He made a crucial decision to leave the community hole and find more private water. He climbed into fourth on the second day, improving once again on the third day when he took the runner-up spot behind Jones. His catches were fairly consistent — 16-8, 22-5 and 19-4 the first three days — but it was his haul of 19 pounds on Sunday that helped him to the win.
Not to mention an 8-13, his big fish of the day and the fish that helped him climb into the winner’s seat.
“It was a fish that I’d found the second day, really shallow,” Evers said. “I went there the third day, and Scroggins was there. I turned around and left. I went there second thing this morning, and the northeast wind held the water up, and I ended up catching the male. It was actually the second time I’d caught him — I lost it and he bit again. She bit five or 10 minutes later.
“She was a mule,” he said.
Evers said he hit many spots over the four days, including one area where he had to saw off overhanging willow branches to be able to put his lures in front of spawning bass.
Sunday afternoon’s 15- to 17-mph winds hurt some of the final 12, but helped Evers. His water was stained, hard to reach and in areas that had not been pounded by the field.
“I had areas that were protected,” he said. “I just had to get them to bite and get them in the boat. When the tide was low, the fish got freaky. I lost some big ones today, at least a 10-pounder and another at the end of the day — but it doesn’t matter now.”
He credited a new formula Yum bait, the F2. He used several styles, including Wooly Bug, Money Craw and a Craw Papi.
Runner-up Scroggins, who gave Evers a little advice as the tournament began, also got a tip from another Elite pro in the top 12. Knowing he could not win, Casey Ashley stepped back from going to a big bass he’d seen in a canal, and gave the location to Scroggins. But when he got there, the fish was gone; but he found another nearby. It weighed 7-12, and was a key to his finish.
“Without that, I wouldn’t even have come close,” Scroggins said.
Competing in his hometown, Scroggins said he was happy to do well, even if he ended as No. 2.
“I’ll take second place every day,” he said.
Jones said the wind on Sunday killed his Lake George sight bite. “You’re not going to catch the big ones unless you’re looking at them, so I was fishing for buck bass most of the day.”
With his back-to-back Top 12 finishes, Jones took the lead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race from last week’s event winner, Shaw Grigsby. Scroggins moved into second, Kevin VanDam is third, and Evers is in fourth place.
Berkley Big Bass honors of the tournament went to Jason Williamson of Aiken, S.C., whose 10-3 lunker from the first day withstood all challengers — and several of those were in the high 9’s. Williamson won a $500 bonus.
FINAL STANDINGS 2011 Citrus Slam - Palatka, FL 03/17-03/20 St. Johns River, Palatka Fla. (PRO Division) Standings Day 4 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. 20 77-01 305 $101,000.00 Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 5 22-05 Day 3: 5 19-04 Day 4: 5 19-00 2. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, Fla. 20 74-03 295 $25,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 22-13 Day 3: 5 13-15 Day 4: 5 20-04 3. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 20 73-12 305 $21,000.00 Day 1: 5 26-09 Day 2: 5 22-13 Day 3: 5 11-04 Day 4: 5 13-02 4. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 20 68-13 285 $15,000.00 Day 1: 5 23-10 Day 2: 5 10-05 Day 3: 5 20-02 Day 4: 5 14-12 5. Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 20 65-01 280 $14,000.00 Day 1: 5 13-08 Day 2: 5 8-13 Day 3: 5 26-00 Day 4: 5 16-12 6. J Todd Tucker Moultrie, Ga. 20 61-08 276 $13,500.00 Day 1: 5 20-08 Day 2: 5 21-05 Day 3: 5 12-00 Day 4: 5 7-11 7. Kelly Jordon Palestine, Texas 18 58-14 272 $13,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 16-01 Day 3: 5 15-14 Day 4: 3 11-05 8. Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, N.C. 20 58-12 268 $12,500.00 Day 1: 5 18-07 Day 2: 5 9-05 Day 3: 5 21-07 Day 4: 5 9-09 9. Keith Combs Huntington, Texas 20 57-13 264 $12,000.00 Day 1: 5 19-08 Day 2: 5 14-09 Day 3: 5 12-12 Day 4: 5 11-00 10. Casey Ashley Donalds, S.C. 20 57-12 260 $11,500.00 Day 1: 5 20-09 Day 2: 5 12-03 Day 3: 5 11-06 Day 4: 5 13-10 11. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 20 52-14 257 $11,000.00 Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 17-13 Day 3: 5 12-02 Day 4: 5 5-12 12. Billy McCaghren Mayflower, Ark. 17 47-04 254 $10,500.00 Day 1: 5 20-11 Day 2: 5 15-11 Day 3: 5 7-14 Day 4: 2 3-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Berkley Big Bass of Tournament Jason Williamson Aiken, S.C. 10-03 $500.00 Power-Pole Captains Cash Day 4 Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. $1,000.00 Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year Leader Alton Jones Waco, Texas $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 82 451 1118-13 2 80 450 960-09 3 46 240 585-14 4 10 55 145-13 ---------------------------------- 218 1196 2811-01 BASSMASTER ANGLER OF THE YEAR POINTS Palatka, FL Pro Points After St. Johns River, Palatka, Fla. Ending 03-20-2011, Day 4 ------------------------------------------- Place Name St Pts ------------------------------------------- 1 Alton Jones Texas 573 2 Terry Scroggins Fla. 555 3 Kevin VanDam Mich. 542 4 Edwin Evers Okla. 536 5 Pat Golden N.C. 526 6 Steve Kennedy Ala. 507 7 J Todd Tucker Ga. 501 8 Casey Ashley S.C. 499 9 Todd Faircloth Texas 496 10 Cliff Crochet La. 487 11 Shaw Grigsby Fla. 486 12 Peter Thliveros Fla. 470 13 Jason Williamson S.C. 468 14 Kevin Wirth Ky. 462 15 Chris Lane Ala. 459 15 Dustin Wilks N.C. 459 17 Brent Chapman Kan. 456 17 Jeff Kriet Okla. 456 19 Ott Defoe Tenn. 454 20 Jared Lintner Calif. 449 21 James Niggemeyer Texas 439 22 Fred Roumbanis Okla. 438 23 Clark Reehm Texas 424 24 Rick Clunn Mo. 422 25 Keith Combs Texas 415 26 Bill Lowen Ind. 412 26 Aaron Martens Ala. 412 28 Kelly Jordon Texas 411 29 Stephen Browning Ark. 409 29 Jonathon VanDam Mich. 409 31 Gary Klein Texas 404 32 John Crews Va. 402 33 Greg Vinson Ala. 396 33 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 396 33 Grant Goldbeck Md. 396 36 Matt Greenblatt Fla. 393 37 Cliff Pace Miss. 390 38 Greg Hackney La. 388 39 Keith Poche Ala. 386 40 Billy McCaghren Ark. 379 41 Lee Sisson Fla. 378 42 Zell Rowland Texas 376 43 Mark Davis Ark. 374 44 Dean Rojas Ariz. 368 45 John Murray Ariz. 362 46 Timmy Horton Ala. 360 47 Gerald Swindle Ala. 358 48 Mike McClelland Ark. 356 48 Dean Alexander Texas 356 50 Andy Montgomery S.C. 352 51 Marty Robinson S.C. 348 52 Skeet Reese Calif. 342 53 David Walker Tenn. 336 54 Dave Wolak N.C. 328 54 Bobby Lane Fla. 328 56 Randy Howell Ala. 326 57 Russell Parrish Texas 324 57 Jami Fralick S.D. 324 59 Mark Menendez Ky. 320 60 Davy Hite S.C. 318 61 Takahiro Omori Texas 314 62 Paul Elias Miss. 308 63 Ben Parker Tenn. 306 64 Matt Herren Ala. 304 64 Jason Quinn S.C. 304 66 Brandon Palaniuk Idaho 302 67 Tommy Biffle Okla. 296 67 Britt Myers S.C. 296 69 Craig Schuff Texas 292 70 Charlie Hartley Ohio 290 70 Pete Ponds Miss. 290 70 Rick Morris Va. 290 73 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 286 74 Kevin Short Ark. 284 74 Travis Manson Wisc. 284 76 Matt Reed Texas 282 77 Brian Snowden Mo. 280 78 Ryan Said Mich. 278 79 Ish Monroe Calif. 276 80 Kenyon Hill Okla. 272 81 Russ Lane Ala. 266 81 Bernie Schultz Fla. 266 83 Scott Rook Ark. 260 84 Bradley Roy Ky. 258 85 Bradley Hallman Okla. 248 85 Nate Wellman Mich. 248 87 Jeff Connella La. 244 88 James Stricklin Texas 238 88 Scott Ashmore Okla. 238 90 Boyd Duckett Ala. 236 91 Morizo Shimizu Japan 216 92 Denny Brauer Mo. 210 93 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 206 94 Chad Griffin Texas 202 95 David Smith Okla. 186 96 Terry Butcher Okla. 184 97 Dennis Tietje La. 178 98 Brent Broderick Ohio 168 99 Derek Remitz Ala. 151