Daily Limit: E2 opens up to Ike

EVERS TALKS TITLE ON IKE LIVE WEB SHOW

Mike Iaconelli has a knack for getting other pros to open up. He knows what’s interesting from an angler’s perspective, and he has that East Coast, no-question-is-out-of-order mentality.

After some chitchat and some fun, Iaconelli prefaced a question during Saturday night’s IKE LIVE webcast by telling Evers it’s serious: “Why did it take you so long to win a Classic? Seriously, because you’re that good. Why did it take you so long?”

That’s actually a pretty hard question to answer. Evers had been to 14 championships before claiming the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro three weeks ago, and the Oklahoman hemmed and hawed a bit with his answer.

“I don’t think that I’m that good,” Evers said. “Man, it just wasn’t meant to be. I don’t know. It’s a hard tournament to win, Mike. It’s one of those, you’re pulled a million different directions, you’ve got thousands of distractions. I’m just glad I won one.”

It’s a huge load off his mind, as well as eliminating the title of “best to never win a Classic.” Bassmaster Angler of the Year is the other major goal of most anglers, and Ike referred to Evers’ close misses before asking if the importance of winning an AOY is the same or if that has increased.

“It’s a little bit of both. It’s something I’m thinking about hard,” Evers said. “I’d love to have it. I may never have, but I’m going … to do all I can and work as hard as I can to make it happen.

“It’s why we’re all out there every day, rain snow, sunshine, whatever it is. We’re out there to compete and to win that thing. You only get so many opportunities in your lifetime, and you’ve got to make the most of them.”

Talk moved to what Evers would like to do with the Classic title. Iaconelli, after relating his story and imitation of 2004 Classic champ Takahiro Omori saying “I just want to fish,” said he sees immense potential for Evers to accomplish great things. Evers said his whirlwind started quickly with hundreds of interviews, and he said all the requests of his time are a positive.

“I know that it’s going to be taxing on my family time and things that I’m accustomed to,” he said. “I’m going to make the most of it, every moment of it, cherish every moment of it because this doesn’t happened very often. It’s something I’ve wanted for a really, really long time, so I’m excited about it.”

After finishing 16th in the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Evers’ schedule might have slowed a tad. Or he’s simply just showing more of his homelife in Facebook posts, like enjoying an Oologah baseball game with the family.

On a more humorous tone, one post asked what does a Classic champ do when he gets home from his travels? “He fixes the dryer” was the kicker line under a photo of him lying on the laundry room floor, nose to the exhaust vent.

However, “honey do” tasks are not his escape. He told Ike that his pecan farm is the coolest place on earth for him. He spoke of his history in such locales, and that there’s just something rejuvenating in the green grass amid the rows of trees.

“When I go get on that tractor and go down those rows, and manage those trees, it’s my release,” Evers said. “I think it’s something I can pass on to my kids. I love every minute of it. It’s just really cool out there.”

THAT’S A QUESTION FOR TUESDAY

Ike and crew asked Evers what was the first thing he bought with the $300,000 Classic purse. Evers mulled before offering, “I don’t think I spent any of it.”

Then Iaconelli said that really was a question for Tuesday, Evers’ wife. After a bit of commotion, Evers said she hasn’t yet told him if she did already buy something big.

He would have noticed one of the first considerations, which was asked of Tuesday inside the BOK Center minutes after his win. Tuesday, with daughter and son nearby, offered a “maybe” to the thought of Kylee getting a new car. It did light up the 17-year-old’s eyes.

His family did do the winner’s “We’re going to Disney World” deal during the St. Johns event, but Edwin couldn’t break away as he began that quest for the title and an AOY.

Evers also reported missing out on a big family Classic celebration. He wished Ike had advised him that the Champion’s Toast can run pretty late, which forced Evers to “stiff” 75 people at one of Tulsa’s Hideaway Pizza locations.

One interesting note Evers did have about his wife and the prize money was when she walked into their bank to deposit it. She experienced a rare occurrence for certain, Evers said.

“When she went into the bank, everybody stood up and started applauding for her,” he said.

LATE NIGHT BIRD GETS WORM?

Ike busted Evers out on a story that shows he’s one of his top five hardest workers on the Bassmaster Elite Series. While he puts in a good 12-hour day, Ike said Evers tops him — he’s often the first angler there and last to leave.

“You don’t even know this story,” Iaconelli began, saying he was rooming with John Crews and Ish Monroe in a house on Lake Conroe. “I worked a hard 12 hours, fishing brush trying to find those fish. Ish cooked, ate, drinking a couple beers, big open window.

“I see a boat idling out front, like zig zagging. I see the Lowrance screen all lit up, big HDS 10 or 12, whatever it was. It’s like 10, 10:30 at night. I’m like, ‘What the #$@&^? It’s Edwin! He’s still out there idling brushpiles.’”

Evers remembered but offered no apologies. He pointed out that Ike’s surely done the same, and that it can be good time management.

“There’s so much more you can get done out there at night, when you can idle all that stuff and find the exact juice, you can’t find when there’s people out there fishing,” Evers said. “What else I got to do? Sit in the house? Might as well make the most of it … I can’t believe you brought that up.”

WISHED HE WERE THERE

Two weeks after Evers’ dramatic Classic win, Rick Clunn shook the bass fishing world some more by winning at St. Johns, his first title in 14 years.

Evers had several dilemmas, the first being which screen to keep his eyes on. The photo above shows him at Cliff Prince’s house watching his Classic victory on the big screen while the computer played Bassmaster LIVE, where Clunn and Greg Hackney were duking it out.

With a long road ahead, Evers trucked out, but at weigh-in time he stopped to watch Clunn. He said Clunn was such a huge inspiration to him when he was starting in the sport.

“The only regret I have is I wasn’t there in person,” he said. “I pulled off the highway and watched the whole thing on the Internet on my iPad, on the side of the road in my truck. Rick was one of the very first anglers I ever looked up to. There was none better.”

WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THE SHOT

After describing a video of a bird walking by the St. Johns trophy, cameraman Ben Oliver took Dave Mercer’s challenge that he “ought to get a shot of it with an alligator.”

So Oliver and his youthful exuberance were off to The Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, Fla., about a half hour from Palatka. Park staff were gracious and helped Oliver set up a number of — gulp — closeup shots.

While he hopes more than a couple seconds of his footage of gators cruising around the Elite trophy will make the Bassmaster show, Oliver admitted he did get nervous when they got too close for comfort.

“When you have 12 alligators and crocodiles 4 feet in front of you, it kind of makes your heart race,” he said, noting the only scarier creature he’s videoed has been an angler suffering through a horrible day.

CULLING

  • Also on Ike’s webcast, Evers said he won’t have much time to prefish for any Elite events, but if he did it would be for BASSfest on Lake Texoma. Evers cut his teeth there but warned he hasn’t been there in years, so don’t put him high on your Fantasy Fishing team.
  • “I used to fish that thing every day when I was going to college. Every day for four of five years, that was my life, but things have changed tremendously,” Evers said. Immediately the crew said Evers would be on their fantasy teams.
  • Aaron Martens is a cat lover. We know that from some of his speeches as well as taking time from fishing the Classic to help save a stranded feline. Now comes a story from his youth that could have been a bad cat story. While mountain biking outside Los Angeles at night, a mountain lion jumped down next to Martens, who scared it off by yelling loudly. See the full story in BassFan.