Evers maintains Guntersville lead/ 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Pro Tour ― Guntersville, Ala.

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. ― Despite losing an hour of fishing time Friday because of a mechanical problem, Edwin Evers managed to put together a five-bass limit weighing 19 1/2-pounds to hang onto the lead in the $618,000 CITGO Bassmaster Tour event after the first two rounds on Lake Guntersville.

On a day that featured bluebird skies typical of the aftermath of a cold front, the leaderboard was scrambled, but Evers opening-round limit weighing 27 pounds, 15 ounces and solid second-round catch gave him a total of 47-7 to easily survive the top-12 cut for Saturday's semifinal round.

He has a lead of four pounds, four ounces over Japanese pro Morizo Shimizu with 43-3. Virginia's Mike Hicks is third with 40 pounds, followed by Jason Quinn of South Carolina (37-11) and four-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn of Missouri (37-9).

Evers' was dead in the water five miles after leaving the Lake Guntersville State Park launch site, but the 30-year-old Oklahoma pro had an indication that it was going to be a good day when he caught a keeper out in the middle of the lake while waiting for a replacement boat to arrive.

"It didn't start off too good, but, thanks to BASS officials, I didn't lose a lot of time," Evers said. "It was kind of like I was in a bicycle race. I pedaled hard to get out in the lead, and then I was stuck in back with a flat tire, and everybody's passing me by while I'm on the side of the road.

"This feels good."

The two-time BASS winner said he utilized the same cranking pattern in the same two areas that produced his big stringer in the opening round.

"I'm real confident I can catch them again Saturday," Evers said. "This is the time of year when the fish are moving in, and I'm fishing one of those highways where they're moving in to the bank."

Shimizu was clearly ecstatic about his second-round catch of 21-14 that boosted him into second place and secured his highest BASS finish ever (his previous best was 13th).

"I love Lake Guntersville," said Shimizu, who is competing in his third season on Tour. "I'm excited but very, very nervous."

Shimizu said he used the same technique and pattern to improve on his Thursday catch of 21-5.He caught a five pounder in the first 10 minutes of the morning and added five more keeper-size bass between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

When asked how much a Tour victory would mean to his career back in his home country, Shimizu replied, "Very big ― superstar."

Hicks also gave himself a chance to improve on his best BASS career finish (11th) by jumping from fifth to third with 18-6. He capitalized on the same area both days.

"The conditions changed a little bit today, and I had to go deeper," Hicks said. "I found out another bait to catch them on today. I caught about 25 keepers.

"I feel like I can catch another limit there Saturday. I don't know if I can catch another 18 to 20 pounds, though. It depends on whether I catch another big fish like the 5 1/2-pounder I caught today."

Quinn, a three-time Classic qualifier, followed up his 11th-place catch of 19-3 on Thursday with a sold 18 1/2 pounds to move up to fourth place. He managed it despite seeing his total strikes drop from 13 to eight on Friday. He's cranking a single area and enjoying the rare luxury of having it entirely to himself.

"They dropped the water a little today, and I couldn't get as many bites after the front," he said, "but I kind of expected that. I knew the fish wouldn't leave, so I stayed with it.

"I feel pretty good about my chances. I've got a little back-up area that I haven't gone to except to stop there on my way back in Thursday afternoon. I caught two 3 1/2-pounders on back-to-back casts and left."

Reigning CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle rebounded from a dismal opening round to post a limit weighing 27-15 Friday and tie Evers for the largest catch of the tournament. In the process, Swindle earned the daily Busch Heavyweight prize of $1,000 and a chance to qualify for the $200,000 Busch Shootout.

Connecticut pro Chris Bielert took Friday's Purolator Big Bass Award and $1,000 with a 9-pound, 11-ounce largemouth that was one ounce short of Thursday's Purolator winner (caught by Michigan's Gerald Gostenik). Bielert's lunker was fooled by a pearl-colored Lucky Craft Pointer Minnow.

In the co-angler division, Florida's Terry Bloom stayed atop the leaderboard with a shared-weight total of 63 pounds. He's trailed by Alabama's Richard Hachey (51-7) and Marc Arnold of Tennessee (47-15). On Saturday, the top four co-anglers will take home a Triton/Mercury boat and outboard package.

Tennessee's Chris Meyer scored Friday's Purolator Big Bass and $500 for the co-angler division with a six-pound, three ounce largemouth.

At the end of Saturday's round, the field will be narrowed to the top six pros for Sunday's finals. At stake is a $100,000 top prize and valuable points toward the CIITGO Bassmaster Classic this summer in Pittsburgh.

North Carolina pro Dustin Wilks was cited for criminal mischief in the third degree following an incident during Wednesday's practice round when he encountered a gill net on the lake. BASS Tournament Department officials are reviewing the matter with Wilks and law enforcement officials and a ruling will be forthcoming.

Coverage of the 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Guntersville will be telecast on March 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET on The CITGO Bassmasters on ESPN2.

Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Toyota, Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops and Cialis (tadalafil).

Local Sponsors include the City of Guntersville, Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce, Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau and Guntersville Merchants.

BASS Communications -Feb. 25, 2005

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Posted by DODGE at February 25, 2005 03:42 PM in Tournament (BASS)