Bassmaster Classic 2016: Winner, Final Weigh-In Results and Leaderboard

Oklahoma’s own Edwin Evers claimed the Bassmaster Classic title with an incredible haul Sunday at the Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees outside Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Evers netted five fish for a haul of 29 pounds, three ounces to surpass Jason Christie, who had a commanding lead of nearly six pounds after the first two days.

But Christie was plagued by his worst day of the tournament, catching just four fish weighing 12 pounds, nine ounces. Coupled with Evers hauling in the biggest load of the weekend, Christie was out of luck and failed to secure his first Classic title.

Here is a look at the final results for the top 10 finishers:

Place	Angler	Fish	Weight	Total Score
1	Edwin Evers	5	29-3	60-7
2	Jason Christie	4	12-9	50-2
3	Aaron Martens	5	16-0	46-5
4	Bill Lowen	5	15-3	45-11
5	Randy Howell	5	16-7	45-10
6	Todd Faircloth	5	13-1	44-15
7	Dean Rojas	5	18-6	42-11
8	Alton Jones	5	12-15	42-8
9	Keith Combs	5	16-9	40-13
10	Greg Hackney	5	14-10	40-9

VisitTulsa congratulated the first-time winner:

Evers, a 13-time Classic qualifier, was widely considered to be among the best anglers who had never won the event.

He was in a position similar to Christie's at the 2014 event, leading after two days only to finish third after Randy Howell shocked the field by making up nine pounds on the final day.

Given most weights were down after Day 2, many anglers thought a comeback would be unlikely Sunday, per Kelly Bostian of the Tulsa World.

“I dug myself into a hole that first day,” Evers said Saturday, per Bostian. 

Sunday's weather conditions were cloudy and windy, with gusts reaching 20 mph after two days of relatively clear skies.

Evers took a different approach far up the Elk River, “reportedly almost as far as a bass boat can possibly run,” according to Bostian, and found a great deal of his fish up there. 

Here is a look at him with a big catch, per Mike Simons of the Tulsa World:

Christie, however, returned to the portion of the lake where he had success for most of the weekend, per Bostian. But the fish there were all smaller than before, as he had only 10 pounds by lunch and didn’t improve much before the weigh-ins.

Evers said he’d been wishing since he was a child that he’d eventually win the Bassmaster Classic, according to Brandi Ball of News on 6 in Tulsa.

Now that he has the Classic title in hand, the one major accomplishment missing from his resume is Angler of the Year honors.