8 questions with Edwin Evers

Posted on
Edwin Evers is a small-town guy (Talala, Okla., pop. 273) with big-time bass fishing accomplishments, including the 2016 Bassmaster Classic title, 10 other B.A.S.S. victories and more than $3 million in B.A.S.S. winnings. He enjoys spending time with his family – wife, Tuesday, daughter Kylee (a freshman at Oklahoma University) and son, Cade, a third-grader. When he’s not spending time at home with his family or on the road competing on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour, Evers enjoys spending time on his 200-acre pecan farm.
Edwin Evers is a small-town guy (Talala, Okla., pop. 273) with big-time bass fishing accomplishments, including the 2016 Bassmaster Classic title, 10 other B.A.S.S. victories and more than $3 million in B.A.S.S. winnings. He enjoys spending time with his family – wife, Tuesday, daughter Kylee (a freshman at Oklahoma University) and son, Cade, a third-grader. When he’s not spending time at home with his family or on the road competing on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour, Evers enjoys spending time on his 200-acre pecan farm.
<b> 1. What’s your favorite downtime activity?</b><p> I love being out on the pecan farm, whether it’s spraying, fertilizing, trimming – just working with the trees. It had 400 pecan trees when I bought it seven years ago. Now I’ve got 2,700 trees of various ages, including 1,200 that are producing pecans. I just like being outside.
1. What’s your favorite downtime activity?

I love being out on the pecan farm, whether it’s spraying, fertilizing, trimming – just working with the trees. It had 400 pecan trees when I bought it seven years ago. Now I’ve got 2,700 trees of various ages, including 1,200 that are producing pecans. I just like being outside.

<b> 2. What is your worst decision during a tournament? </b><p> I’ve got two that are running neck-and-neck – the last two Bassmaster Classics. I’ve tried to produce another magic day like that 29-pounds (on Day 3 in 2016) at Grand Lake. I need to realize that was a special day and let it go. I would have had a chance to win last year at Lake Conroe and this year at Lake Hartwell if I’d been more conservative. I thought I’d need a lot more weight on the final day in both tournaments.
2. What is your worst decision during a tournament?

I’ve got two that are running neck-and-neck – the last two Bassmaster Classics. I’ve tried to produce another magic day like that 29-pounds (on Day 3 in 2016) at Grand Lake. I need to realize that was a special day and let it go. I would have had a chance to win last year at Lake Conroe and this year at Lake Hartwell if I’d been more conservative. I thought I’d need a lot more weight on the final day in both tournaments.

<b> 3. If professional bass fishing didn’t exist, what would you be doing now? </b><p> I would like to be a seventh- or eighth-grade coach, either football or basketball. I like being around kids. I like keeping busy, and I think I’d be happy being a coach and a pecan farmer.
3. If professional bass fishing didn’t exist, what would you be doing now?

I would like to be a seventh- or eighth-grade coach, either football or basketball. I like being around kids. I like keeping busy, and I think I’d be happy being a coach and a pecan farmer.

<b> 4. Who are athletes in other sports that you’ve admired? </b><p> When I was growing up (Chicago Bears running back) Walter Payton was a guy I really admired. He was relentless, never got hurt and just went about his business. And I’ve always admired Michael Jordan too. He could elevate everyone one around him and turn it up another notch when he needed to.
4. Who are athletes in other sports that you’ve admired?

When I was growing up (Chicago Bears running back) Walter Payton was a guy I really admired. He was relentless, never got hurt and just went about his business. And I’ve always admired Michael Jordan too. He could elevate everyone one around him and turn it up another notch when he needed to.

<b> 5. Who are the anglers you looked up to before you started competing on the Elite Series? </b><p> Rick Clunn (above) and Mark Davis. Rick was dominant for a long time, he kept things pretty simple, but he was intense. He was the greatest when I started fishing tournaments. Mark Davis did it with a different style, but he was dominant too.
5. Who are the anglers you looked up to before you started competing on the Elite Series?

Rick Clunn (above) and Mark Davis. Rick was dominant for a long time, he kept things pretty simple, but he was intense. He was the greatest when I started fishing tournaments. Mark Davis did it with a different style, but he was dominant too.

<b> 6. Was there a particular moment or event when you knew you had a future in this sport? </b><p> When I made my first Bassmaster Classic, George Cochran sat down next to me one day and said, “Your second Classic is the toughest one you’ll ever make.” I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time, but it turned out he was right. I didn’t qualify the next year. I think we were at Lake Eufaula the following year, I had five keepers in the livewell on the last day, I knew I’d made the Classic again, and I let out a yell.
6. Was there a particular moment or event when you knew you had a future in this sport?

When I made my first Bassmaster Classic, George Cochran sat down next to me one day and said, “Your second Classic is the toughest one you’ll ever make.” I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time, but it turned out he was right. I didn’t qualify the next year. I think we were at Lake Eufaula the following year, I had five keepers in the livewell on the last day, I knew I’d made the Classic again, and I let out a yell.

<b> 7. If parents wanted to groom their child to be the next Edwin Evers, what would you suggest? </b><p> The biggest part is you’ve got to be competitive. I’m not sure how you coach or train for that. Take Kevin VanDam, for instance. He wants to beat you crossing the street. It doesn’t matter whether it’s bass fishing or anything else, he wants to win. I’m the same way. My parents didn’t fish at all. But they supported my interest in it. My birthday present for three years, beginning when I was 7 or 8, was a guided fishing trip to Lake Stockton. The first year it was for crappie, the second year it was for bass and the third year it was for walleye. The was so important, that they supported my initial interest in the sport.
7. If parents wanted to groom their child to be the next Edwin Evers, what would you suggest?

The biggest part is you’ve got to be competitive. I’m not sure how you coach or train for that. Take Kevin VanDam, for instance. He wants to beat you crossing the street. It doesn’t matter whether it’s bass fishing or anything else, he wants to win. I’m the same way. My parents didn’t fish at all. But they supported my interest in it. My birthday present for three years, beginning when I was 7 or 8, was a guided fishing trip to Lake Stockton. The first year it was for crappie, the second year it was for bass and the third year it was for walleye. The was so important, that they supported my initial interest in the sport.

<b> 8. What was your go-to lure/confidence lure years ago when you first started bass tournament fishing, and what is it now? </b><p> It used to be a purple, 6-inch, curl-tail worm with silver flake. The tail was white. I caught a lot of bass on those worms, and I don’t think I’ve got anything like it today. Right now my go-to bait is a 7/16ths Andy’s E Series Custom Finesse Jig in brown-and-orange. I add a Zoom Lil Critter Craw to it. I caught my biggest bass this past week (at Grand Lake) on it. It mimics a crawfish really well, and it’s not something that a lot of other people will have.
8. What was your go-to lure/confidence lure years ago when you first started bass tournament fishing, and what is it now?

It used to be a purple, 6-inch, curl-tail worm with silver flake. The tail was white. I caught a lot of bass on those worms, and I don’t think I’ve got anything like it today. Right now my go-to bait is a 7/16ths Andy’s E Series Custom Finesse Jig in brown-and-orange. I add a Zoom Lil Critter Craw to it. I caught my biggest bass this past week (at Grand Lake) on it. It mimics a crawfish really well, and it’s not something that a lot of other people will have.