Evers, Cherry on Toledo

We started Day 2 of the A.R.E Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend with Edwin Evers. Almost immediately, it was obvious there were changes from Day 1, especially with the wind, which had his area churned up and rocking.

The Northeast wind, which was forecast at 5 miles an hour, was rolling early at about 15 miles an hour.

Along with a consistent flow of traffic behind him, the water that was relatively calm the day before, had consistent rollers washing by.

That in itself didn’t hurt Evers tactical skills at making long casts and covering water, but the accompanying cold front seemed to throw off the early bite. And forced Evers to move earlier than expected.

On one of those trips we could we saw David Walker under the Pendleton Bridge as big rigs rumbled overhead.

And the wind didn’t make those moves an easy proposition, at least on the Texas side of Toledo Bend.

Timmy Horton would crash his way through the waves looking for biting fish.

And Matt Reed would get out of the bouncy water and hit calmer areas.

With all that going on, Evers would make some adjustments in tackle to get things rolling.

With a drone overhead, Evers would continue to work, occasionally kneeling when big rollers approached.

The wind, though, did allow huge casts that would send his bait sailing.

And it was easy to see the determination is his face to make Day 2 as strong as Day 1.

But his first bite of the morning…

Turned out to not be a bite at all.

Instead it was a tail-hooked catfish that forced him to kneel on the front deck.

And unhinge the whiskered fish.

All the while, traffic buzzed by.

His efforts eventually paid off with the right kind of bite.

And he had his first keeper of the day more than almost two hours into the morning.

He would continue to work a half dozen areas for about an hour. But with no additional bites, picked up and ran headlong into the crashing waves.

Our search for Evers brought us to Hank Cherry, who lost a big fish just after we rolled up. But at this time he had almost 20-pounds in the livewelll. The fish, though, a 6- or 7-pounder, would have given him an exceptional bag.

While most people assumed Cherry was hiding somewhere on the lake throwing a jerkbait, he was actually flipping and pitching.

And it was working for him, as he hooked up with another good fish.

While not in the 6- or 7-pound range, this was a healthy keeper.

Cherry would study the fish for a few moments before deciding to put it on a balance beam. It proved an ounce or two heavier than his smallest and culled for him.

The fish would make him feel like he was catching and releasing fish that could help in the next two days, so after a few more casts, he decided to find new areas.

The hands behind the head as he idled, gave him a chance to stretch a bit, but also showed us he was relaxed and feeling good about things.

But these hands behind the head would tell us a different story. This is moments after he lost another big fish that could have helped him.

A few casts later he would he hook up again.

But this one would be too small to help.

And as dock owners stepped out to take photos of him fishing their dock, he kept moving around the lake hoping to upgrade. He finished the day in third place with a 19 pound, 15 ounce stringer, less than 6 pounds from the lead.