Biffle began the morning with just a 2 1/2-pound cushion over Takahiro Omori, but even Omori in his comments yesterday seemed haunted by Biffle's legendary abilities with the big stick.
Students of the sport know that Biffle's No. 1 strength is flipping, but more precisely, flipping flooded shoreline brush in rapidly rising, off-color water. Those exact conditions presented themselves this week.
Biffle didn't wow the day-4 crowd with a super-sack, but instead put up a workmanlike 14-13 limit, which was more than enough to win easily.
The win was the fourth of Biffle's career, his third with BASS and his first since the 2006 Oneida Elite Series (which he also won in inches of water). He's finished as the runner-up seven times, and can claim more than 50 Top 10s.
Omori, who trailed Biffle by 2 1/2 pounds at launch this morning, weighed 12-01 and dropped one spot to finish 3rd. He would have needed a little better than 17 pounds to surpass Biffle – certainly doable, since Omori caught better than that on day 1.
Casey Ashley made a monster move with a 19-11 limit – the day's best – and improved from 15th to finish 2nd.
Brent Chapman also climbed substantially today. An 18-10 limit pushed him up 10 spots to finish 4th.
And Mike Iaconelli completed a successful comeback after a near-last-place disaster at Dardanelle last week. Ike stumbled a little yesterday with 12-12, but caught 15-06 today to preserve 5th place.
Alton Jones led day 1 of the event, fell to 16th yesterday and climbed two spots to finish 14th. He now leads the AOY race with three events completed.
Stephen Browning, who climbed from 41st to 11th to finally finish 10th today, trails Jones in the AOY race. He's followed by Dardanelle winner Mark Menendez, who finished 8th today.
Biffle typically fishes 18 to 20 events a year, but the FLW Tour and Elite Series overlap this year, and the FLW Tour no longer allows event-by-event entries. Plus, the Elite Series was shortened to eight events from 11 due to the slow economy.
There are thus considerably fewer opportunities to win now, so Biffle's glad he closed the deal today.
"I'm tired and hungry right now, but it's good," he said. "You need to win one at least every year to make money, but it doesn't always happen that way. I was glad to win it.
"I'm hating (fewer tournaments)," he added. "A lot of us are sitting around thinking, 'What are we going to do this summer?' It's definitely hard to make any kind of money, so this is good timing."
He worked a secluded backwater that he'd fished at various times over the years, and was surprised he had it to himself all 3 days.
He felt like he was going to win once the water started to rise overnight after day 1, and knew his biggest threat would be a big-time water drop, since it would dry up the area.
He worked slowly down the bank inside the backwater, and took up to an hour and a half to move just 60 yards.
"I probably caught 50 fish today. I just had a hard time catching the bigger ones."
Terry Butcher did spend some time in the area late yesterday, but was too far from Biffle for either to recognize the other. Butcher stopped there today, but gave the water to Biffle.
A Gene Larew Biffle-O lizard, which is a hollow-tail lizard (black neon)
The full details of his winning pattern, plus pattern information for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
2nd: Ashley Ecstatic
Ashley would have needed the mother of all bags to pass Biffle today, so he effectively fished for 2nd. Thus in his mind, Ashley achieved all he could today.
"I feel great," he said. "I would have needed 24 pounds to pass Tommy, so I feel real good about what happened today. I've never done well on Alabama lakes, so this is a pretty big deal for me."
Ashley had a stretch of jerkbait water that accounted for all of his day-1 weigh-fish. During the day-2 cancellation the area muddied significantly, so he needed to use a jig there yesterday when competition resumed. The water had cleared enough overnight, however, that the jerkbait was back on today.
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Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito
Casey Ashley boxed an early limit, then 'went fishing' and whacked a 6-04.
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"I guess they pulled some water overnight because it cleared up," he noted. "I caught 13 pounds in 30 minutes, which was about the best I was going to do in the place, but with that limit, I was able to relax and fish the rest of the day. I just picked up a jig and went to some real muddy water and started pitching. That's how I caught that big 6-04."
3rd: Omori Pleased
Omori had the best shot at catching Biffle, but came up a little more than 5 pounds short. He worked a crowded backwater and threw seven or eight different baits this week.
"I feel good about it," Omori said of his finish. "I'm happy to be where I finished. I didn't have any Top 10s at all last year, so this is a relief.
"I started (today) in the same place I've been fishing," he added. "Then this afternoon I moved to a different creek. The last half-hour, I lost a 4 and a 3 and a 2 1/2. I would still not have had enough to catch up to Tommy anyway. Other than that, I fished technically good."
The win gave him a huge boost in the AOY points – from 74th to 35th.
4th: Chapman Happy
Chapman, who caught 18 pounds today, described his day as "awesome" and said he had "a blast" all week. Given his 13-10 opening limit and the day-2 cancellation, he never figured he had a chance to win, so like Ashley, he's pumped to have made such a significant improvement today.
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Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito
Takahiro Omori dumped three late fish, but still wouldn't have had enough to beat Biffle.
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"I'm tickled to death to have this," Chapman said. "In your mind you'd always like an opportunity to win, but I'm looking at the whole season and the AOY points and making the Classic.
"So yeah, I'll take opportunities to win when I can get them, but the main thing this year is surviving – making a little money, having a good AOY finish and making the Classic."
He junk-fished all week. He literally drove around the lake and pulled up on anything that looked good. He threw both a crank and jig.
"I was just going fishing and trying to figure out what the fish were doing every day," he noted. "I managed to catch them each day. All the fish I weighed yesterday came out of water I didn't even fish in practice. And half my fish today came from new water."
6th: Hallman All Right With It
Bradley Hallman sat within striking distance this morning – in 3rd and 5 pounds behind Biffle. But he brought in 13-15 today and slipped three spots to finish 6th.
"It's all right – I'm happy with it," he said. "It was a good week. I had some opportunities and I didn't take advantage of them. That's pretty much how it went. But I'm happy with how it worked out.
"Obviously I would have like to finish higher, but anytime you get in the Top 12 it's a good week. And I have two Top 12s back-to-back, so hopefully I'll keep going and get myself in the Classic."
He stuck with what he had today and ran docks with a 3/16-ounce Jewel Eakins' jig. "I just never had the bites to catch Tommy," he added.
About his 18th-place position in the points, he noted: "I need that cushion. I'm the world's best at finishing 100th, or 90th or something like that. If I get just one more Top 10 it'll allow me to have a couple of those bad finishes I've had in the past."
7th: Tucker Mixed
Mark Tucker weighed 12-15 today and dropped three spots to finish 7th. He's not upset with his finish, but he's still a little frustrated over the cut – specifically, that he wasn't allowed to fish the final day last week at Dardanelle, but the Top 50 were given that chance today.
"In practice, I caught a couple 20-pound bags and there was an opportunity for me to catch a 24- or 25-pound bag, but the water was warming up and those big fish on the bluffs were moving into the pockets," he noted. "I knew to catch 20 or 21 pounds today I had to stay out there and catch fish that weren't thinking about moving in yet.
"I tried to skeep myself near some deep water where I thought I could catch a 5- to 7-pounder.
"But I don't feel real good right now," he added. "I didn't get an opportunity to gain ground last week, but these guys got an opportunity to jump up on the leaderboard today. I don't know what's up with all that. That's just life in the fast lane I guess. Things change and it's a shame."
14th: Jones Likes Points
Alton Jones told BassFans at the season-opener that the AOY title was a major focus for him this year – in ways it hadn't been in years past. So although he led the first day here and ultimately finished 14th, he's now the points leader, and that's something he likes.
"Obviously, I look back at the decisions (this week) and I should have done some things differently and moved up a few places in the tournament, but with AOY, you really can't ask more of yourself than to put yourself consistently in that Top 20," he said.
"So I'm very, very pleased with the way the season's going overall. It gives me a lot of confidence in the way I'm fishing, but there's a lot of fishing left. It's one of those seasons where I have to keep my nose to the grindstone and I hope to stay in the hunt right to the end."
He caught his big sack the first day on a 6" Yum Dinger, then switched to a 4" Yum Vibra King tube yesterday. "It was so much fun. I love Wheeler when the fish go to the bushes. When they do, there's no place like this lake."
37th: Butcher Happy
Butcher came in light today with 10-02, which cost him seven places, but he did move up five spots in the AOY points to 36th and now occupies the final Classic spot.
He spent day 1 cranking an XCalibur Xrk 75 One Knocker in foxy shad, then went to flipping a Yum Wooly Bug in black neon.
"With the practice I had I feel good about it," he said. "Of course, I'd have liked to have caught them a little better today, but I didn't have a real good practice and I kind of shot from the hip the whole tournament and it went pretty well."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 50 anglers, 50 limits.
> To view the updated AOY points, click here.
> John Murray changed up completely and headed up the river this morning. His 13-08 limit bumped him up 20 spots and he finished 28th. He also sent out a special thanks to Wilson Frazier for tech help during the cancellation. For his final report, click here to go On Tour With the BassFan Big Sticks.
> BASS reported that 45th-place finisher Kevin VanDam had a severe flu this week.
Day 4 (Final) Standings
Note: Day 2 was canceled due to weather. Today's weights are reported as day 4 below, and day 3's weights as day 2.
1. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 50-13 -- 310 -- $100,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 19-14 -- Day 3: 5, 14-13
2. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 15, 46-04 -- 295 -- $25,000
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14 -- Day 3: 5, 19-11
3. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 15, 45-10 -- 290 -- $20,000
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-01
4. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 15, 45-04 -- 285 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00 -- Day 3: 5, 18-10
5. Michael Iaconelli -- Runnemede, NJ -- 15, 45-03 -- 280 -- $14,000
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-06
6. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, OK -- 15, 44-13 -- 276 -- $13,500
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-13 -- Day 3: 5, 13-15
7. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, MO -- 15, 42-15 -- 272 -- $13,000
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15
8. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 15, 42-08 -- 268 -- $12,500
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07
9. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 42-03 -- 264 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-06
10. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs National Pa 15 -- 41-15 -- 260 -- $11,500
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04 -- Day 3: 5, 14-00
11. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 15, 41-05 -- 257 -- $11,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02
12. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 15, 40-11 -- 254 -- $10,500
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 11-15
13. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 40-06 -- 251 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15 -- Day 3: 5, 15-01
14. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 15, 39-10 -- 253 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 08-12 -- Day 3: 5, 13-02
15. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 15, 38-09 -- 245 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 13-06
16. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 15, 38-03 -- 243 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14 -- Day 3: 5, 09-15
17. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 15, 37-07 -- 241 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-07 -- Day 2: 5, 08-15 -- Day 3: 5, 13-01
18. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 37-07 -- 239 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 09-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-07
19. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 15, 37-06 -- 237 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08
20. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, TX -- 15, 37-02 -- 235 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-00 -- Day 3: 5, 12-04
21. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 15, 37-01 -- 233 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10 -- Day 3: 5, 10-12
22. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 15, 37-01 -- 231 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09
23. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 36-13 -- 229 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 09-12 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03
24. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 36-10 -- 227 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 5, 07-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-13
25. Bill Lowen -- North Bend, OH -- 15, 36-09 -- 225 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-02
26. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 36-06 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06 -- Day 3: 5, 07-10
27. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 15, 36-05 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-05 -- Day 3: 5, 13-07
28. John Murray -- Phoenix, AZ -- 15, 35-15 -- 219 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-03 -- Day 3: 5, 13-08
29. Jason Quinn -- York, SC -- 15, 35-09 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 09-03 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08
30. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 15, 35-09 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-06
31. Jeff Connella -- Bentley, LA -- 15, 35-08 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 09-10
32. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 15, 35-07 -- 211 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 08-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-12
33. Denny Brauer -- Camdenton, MO -- 15, 35-07 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-07
34. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 35-06 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-01
35. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 15, 34-13 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 07-12 -- Day 3: 5, 11-15
36. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 34-06 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 07-08
37. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 15, 34-03 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13 -- Day 3: 5, 10-02
38. Charlie Hartley -- Grove City, OH -- 15, 34-00 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11
39. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 15, 33-13 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 08-14 -- Day 3: 5, 09-13
40. Vince Fulks -- Purcell, OK -- 15, 33-11 -- 195 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-03 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11 -- Day 3: 5, 09-13
41. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15, 33-09 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-07 -- Day 2: 5, 08-07 -- Day 3: 5, 10-11
42. Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 15, 33-05 -- 191 -- $12,000
Day 1: 5, 08-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10 -- Day 3: 5, 10-09
43. Kotaro Kiriyama -- Moody, AL -- 15, 33-05 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-14
44. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 15, 33-00 -- 187 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-12 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08 -- Day 3: 5, 10-12
45. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 32-09 -- 185 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 10-05
46. Matthew Sphar -- Pavilion, NY -- 15, 32-07 -- 183 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 5, 10-10 -- Day 3: 5, 09-02
47. Guy Eaker -- Cherryville, NC -- 15, 32-06 -- 181 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02 -- Day 3: 5, 09-11
48. Mark Burgess -- Norton, MA -- 13, 31-06 -- 179 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 10-07 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 08-03
49. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, GA -- 15, 30-13 -- 177 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01 -- Day 3: 5, 06-07
50. Scott Campbell -- Springfield, MO -- 15, 29-08 -- 175 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 08-04 -- Day 3: 5, 06-08
Big Bass
> Day 3 -- Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 06-07
> Day 2 -- Shaw E Grigsby -- Gainesville, FL -- 07-02
> Day 1 -- Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 07-00
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