Alton Jones, who led day 1 of the recent Wheeler Bassmaster Elite Series, said the event offered "bass fishing in its purest form" because it presented rapidly changing conditions that were impossible to practice for.
Day 1 of the event started in a harmless fashion, but late that afternoon a massive wall of thunderstorms and severe rains swept through the region. Day 2 was canceled due to weather, and on day 3, the field launched onto an entirely new lake.
The water had rose significantly and was heavily stained to muddy, and the TVA kept the current humming to help push water downriver.
Things changed again on the final day, when the water actually dropped several inches overnight, and the steady pull of current began to clear the water.
Most of the field stayed parked in the backs of several creeks and major pockets at the lower end of the lake. Some areas had as many as 15 boats circling the same water.
But winner Tommy Biffle had a place to himself, and that turned out to be the deciding factor. Other pros were on a similar quality of fish, but were forced to adjust too often, or strike out for new water as the event wore on.
Biffle, on the other hand, could sink his double Power-Poles and methodically flip newly flooded brush in his secluded backwater. And if he missed a fish, he could let it rest, then double back for a second chance.
He averaged 17 pounds a day and edged runner-up Casey Ashley by 4 1/2 pounds.
What follows is a look at how Biffle fished that backwater.
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 16-02 (6th)
> Day 2: Canceled
> Day 3: 5, 19-14 (1st)
> Day 4: 5, 14-13
> Total = 15, 50-13
This wasn't the first time Biffle fished this particular backwater.
"I've been in it before in the past," he said. "We've had a lot of tournaments over the years at Wheeler, and it's just one of the areas I normally fish."
Biffle said his two Power-Poles were key – when the wind got heavy, he could sink them both and still methodically flip.
During practice, the water had been slowly dropping, but it stabilized by day 1 and the area produced 16 pounds. The best fishing there was on day 2, when the water shot up 18 inches to 2 feet. The water dropped about 8 inches that night, and Biffle caught 5 pounds less there the final day.
"You had to adjust a little bit," Biffle noted of the 3 days. "The first day, the water wasn't up, and I was really miffed the second day when they canceled. I didn't think anybody was doing what I was doing – fishing super-shallow in shoreline grass or whatever I could find, like a bush, that had enough water on it. I was pretty sure nobody was fishing that shallow.
"I was worried they were going to (keep) dropping the water," he added. "But the big rains came and that brought it up about a foot, so then I had plenty of places to fish."
When he saw that the water had dropped for the final day, he began to fish some outside bushes, but when he got bit again in the super-shallow water, he knew the fish were still there.
He flipped the whole event with three different baits – a jig, Sweet Beaver and lizard.
Biffle noted his fish were pre-spawn and "probably had just come in there."
Winning Gear Notes
Biffle's flipping gear was the same for all three baits – a 7'6" heavy-action Quantum Tommy Biffle Signature Series flipping stick, a Quantum Tour Edition PT "Burner" casting reel (7.0:1) and 25-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon.
His baits were:
The Biffle-O lizard was designed by Biffle and features a hollow body and tail. He flipped the black-neon color (shown).
He's widely regarded as one of the best flippers in the history of the sport. About his rod choice, he said: "Quantum let us make this signature series the way we wanted it. I like my flipping stick to be really stiff, but it's also really well-balanced. It's like you're holding nothing when you're using it, but it has a lot of backbone, so if you're fishing in bushes or heavy grass, or flipping a 1-ounce or 1 1/2-ounce weight, it's the perfect rod. Some people might say it's too stiff, but when I hit 'em I want to move 'em."
He noted that overall, he caught most of his fish on the Beaver. He's not sponsored by Reaction Innovations. In fact, his plastics sponsor is Gene Larew. But Biffle said when he signed with Gene Larew, he let them know he "was still going to be fishing the Beaver."
The Bottom Line
Notable
> Biffle's wrap this year is Canopy Cover, which is a camo pattern that mimics fall foliage.
> He left Decatur, Ala. immediately after the event to begin practice for this week's Neely Henry PAA Series.
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