The Arkansas River has been extremely kind to Tommy Biffle in September.
Almost a year to the day after winning a Bassmaster Central Open at that venue, the veteran Oklahoman closed out a victory at the final PAA Tournament Series event of the season. He weighed a 15.96-pound sack today to boost his total for the derby to 46.45, outdistancing runner-up Mark Tyler by more than 7 1/2 pounds.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Boats founder Gary Clouse wrapped up the circuit's Angler of the Year (AOY) title and heads the list of 15 anglers who qualified for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic via the series.
Biffle went through about a dozen keepers and his sack was topped by a 4 1/2-pounder.
"They bit pretty early, but the bad thing was the first two bites I had were a (4-pounder) and a 3, and I lost both of them," he said. "I was thinking, 'This ain't good,' but then I went to catching them and I didn't miss anymore."
He locked up to pool 17 from Muskogee, Okla. He started fishing at about 9 o'clock had all of his weight by 11:30, and then fished around the lock for awhile while waiting for a barge to get through.
He enticed his fish by flipping his own Gene Larew Biffle Bug. Details of his winning pattern will be published soon.
Here are the totals for the final Top 10:
1. Tommy Biffle: 46.46
2. Mark Tyler: 38.75
3. Mark Rose: 38.64
4. Steve Kennedy: 36.61
5. Jason Christie: 35.19
6. Greg Vinson: 32.67
7. Chris Jones: 31.96
8. Harold Allen: 30.75
9. David Hendrick: 26.24
10. Mike McClelland: 25.68
Below is a list of the Top 15 finishers in the AOY race, along with their point totals:
1. Gary Clouse: 486.52
2. Steve Kennedy: 465.70
3. Mark Rose: 461.54
4. Greg Vinson: 461.31
5. Mike McClelland: 460.55
6. Gary Yamamoto: 450.78
7. John Crews: 446.27
8. Matt Reed: 443.80
9. Russ Lane: 440.19
10. Bobby Lane: 414.56
11. Mark Menendez: 413.30
12. David Hendrick: 407.80
13. Keith Caka: 399.46
14. Guy Eaker: 393.93
15. Harold Allen: 393.26
