Golden Cuts Biffle's Lead To Just 12 Ounces

Tommy Biffle may have a sound strategy in place, but he certainly left little room for error today at the Ft. Gibson Bassmaster Elite Series. Some of that was misfortune – he lost a 6-pounder that would have blown the roof off – but in general, he's saved his best spots for last.

He dipped into them a bit today – he had to – and came in comparatively light

with 17-04. But it's his home lake, and he'll take the chains off tomorrow for the home stretch.

He's been followed by a flotilla – buddies and fans watching the hometown hero – and he'd like nothing better than to bring home the win, as well the $100,000 paycheck to help carry him through what's sure to be a difficult sponsor market this off-season.

But third-year pro Pat Golden is surprisingly strong, and an 18-13 bag today not only secured him another day in 2nd place, but shaved a pound and a half off Biffle's lead.

Golden could easily strike tomorrow with a big fish or two and force Biffle into needing a 21-pound sack. He's been fishing the same primary area for the 3 days, and working small onshore and offshore hotspots within it. He shared with Dustin Wilks the past 2 days, but Wilks missed the cut, so Golden should have it to himself tomorrow.

Rick Morris boated a 7-pounder today and weighed 20 pounds even – one of only two 20-pound sacks in the event thus far. He improved from 6th to 2nd, but the bad news for Morris is the valiant comeback won't be enough to make the Classic.

Instead, Paul Elias will be last man in the Classic. The intriguing part of Elias' qualification is he made the Classic with a 5-pounder he caught on the very last cast of the day. Even more than the last cast, though, his bait was halfway to the boat and he caught the fish on what he figured would be the last hop of his jig this season.

Elias, a 14-time Classic qualifier and past champion, hasn't been to the Big Show since 2004. He lets BassFans know how it feels in the coverage below.

Angler of the Year (AOY) leader Skeet Reese quickly shook his two-event slump. He began the day in 9th, whacked 19-15 and moved up to 4th. He also put some more distance between himself and Edwin Evers, who will enter the post-season at 2nd in the AOY race.

Evers fished deep the first 2 days and struggled, but went shallow today and caught 18-14. That moved him up from 28th to 13th, but he's first out of the cut, so he won't have the opportunity to gain more points tomorrow.

Kevin VanDam rounds out the Top 5. His 18-02 catch was slightly better than his average the first 2 days, but Morris and Reese bumped him back two spots to 5th.

Here's a look at the Top 12 who'll fish tomorrow. Total weight's followed by distance from Biffle in red.

1. Tommy Biffle: 55-08
2. Pat Golden: 54-12 (0-12)
3. Rick Morris: 53-06 (2-02)
4. Skeet Reese: 52-15 (2-09)
5. Kevin VanDam: 52-11 (2-13)
6. Matt Herren: 52-09 (2-15)
7. Cliff Pace: 51-01 (4-07)
8. Gary Klein: 50-11 (4-11)
9. Russ Lane: 49-11 (5-13)
10. Boyd Duckett: 49-02 (6-06)
11. Mike McClelland: 48-04 (7-04)
12. Davy Hite: 47-00 (font color = red>8-08)

A few notes about the points:

> The points aren't final yet, but BassFan again published an interim points standings analysis. It can be found below, next to the day-3 standings.

> Tommy Biffle, by virtue of his performance this week, earned himself a berth in the post-season. He entered the event at 17th in the points.

> Russ Lane is currently in the post-season, but Mike McClelland can possibly supplant him. If Lane finishes 12th tomorrow (his lowest possible finish), McClelland could make the post-season if he finished 2nd or better. But Lane ultimately controls his own destiny and could lock up a post-season berth with a finish of 8th or better.

> Both Bill Lowen and Brian Snowden fell out of the post-season.

> As noted, a 16th-place finish moved Elias into the Classic. He was the only one to move into Classic qualification this week, while Clark Reehm was the only one to fall out.

> Clusters of significant points movement appear around the post-season and Classic cutoffs. Half the post-season field is still fishing tomorrow – they clearly brought game this week. And the seven pros immediately behind the Classic cutoff all made gains this week – especially Golden, Morris and Davy Hite.

> There's a chance that other Elite pros will make the Classic. The Bassmaster Opens affect Classic qualification through double-qualification. If an already-qualified pro makes the Classic through the Opens, BASS invites an additional Elite angler.

> Mark Tucker, as of right now, sits at 39th in the points – second out of the Classic. He finished in the 37th-place slot last year, but due to a 3-way tie for that slot, was effectively 38th. He eventually made the Classic after James Niggemeyer double-qualified through the Central Opens.

Biffle Focused

Biffle's well-known as a man of few words. Some of that is an apprehension to broadcast info. He doesn't like to give up mid-event pattern details that could give his competition an advantage. A lot of it too is competitive fire. He's fierce, and today his short and to-the-point answers clearly show he's focused on one thing and one thing only – winning.

Question: Is the margin a little closer than you'd like?
Biffle: Yeah, it is. I lost a 6-pounder. She broke me off.

Question: Did you touch any of the stuff you've been saving today?
Biffle: I fished a couple of the places. I caught my best fish off one of them and had another bite or two. Hopefully there'll be some there tomorrow.

Question: Will you only fish new water tomorrow?
Biffle: I'm going to start where I've been starting. I've been catching a limit pretty quick off one spot every day. I think there's still going to be some there. Then my second spot is where I lost that 6 today. I lost a 5 and another big one there the first day.

Question: Is there something about the way you're fishing, or where, that's a factor in losing fish?
Biffle: The 5-pounder jumped off. The other big one I had just pulled off.

Question: What would it mean for you to win tomorrow, here at home?
Biffle: It would be great.

2nd: The Golden Boy

All it took was Golden being close to Biffle with 1 day left to earn him a new nickname. "Golden Boy," as he's now called, was pretty awed to sit in the Top 12 meeting with names like Biffle, Reese, VanDam, Hite and Klein.

But they're not catching them as well as he is, and even Biffle looked a little scared, Golden noted.

"I ran pretty much the same stuff at the same times today," he added. "I lost a couple of fish – some really key bites – and I actually broke off a real big one that would have put me in the lead. But that's fishing.

"I've been getting a couple of good bites every day and I'm fishing in some really heavy cover. So that happens. I'm just trying to get those big ones out of there and it can be a chore sometimes. But there seems to be a bunch of them there, so I'll keep throwing in there at them."

He has a variety of spots to fish in his area, and he can see them all at the same time. That's comforting, he said, because he can better plan his rotation. And he shared water with Dustin Wilks for 2 days. Wilks caught 15 pounds out of there today, but didn't make the cut, so Golden will have it to himself tomorrow.

About what a win tomorrow would mean to him, Golden said: "I could pay some bills, that's for sure. But it would be great. It really would. I've been doing this a long, long time and I'll tell you, you go through this school of hard knocks for 20 years, trying to put yourself into a position like this. Winning would make all that worthwhile."

Additional Notes

Following are portions of interviews conducted by BassFan tonight.

9th: Russ Lane
Lane caught 15-11 today and slipped from 5th to 9th. He can guarantee a post-season berth if he finishes 8th or better tomorrow, or will make it if McClelland finishes worse than 2nd.
"It feels good to make the cut – that was the goal coming into the week. We got it done. I know I can't win the tournament, so I'm going to go out there tomorrow and try to have fun.

"Today was pretty awesome. The first place I started on, I caught a really good fish – about 3 3/4 – then a couple of 2 1/2s. By 8:00 I had a limit and I really got settled in. I found a couple new places and caught a 5-pounder there, then on the next cast I jumped one off, then caught a couple more keepers. So I'm excited about that place tomorrow.

"All my weight came from one area, but I'm fishing little bitty places in there. I'm catching three or four fish at a time on each little place, and they're all within site of each other."

13th: Edwin Evers
Evers caught 18-14 today and moved up 25 spots to finish 13th – first out of the cut. He's way back in the FLW Tour points, so he's going to skip the Guntersville Tour season finale next week and scout the BASS post-season fisheries instead.
"I just wish I'd done better the first 2 days. I fished shallow this morning and had a limit in the first 10 minutes. I thought it would be won offshore."

16th: Paul Elias
Elias caught a 5-pounder on his last cast that brought his day-3 total to 14-12 and preserved his 16th-place finish. With that fish, and the resultant finish, he qualified for his first Classic since 2004.
"It feels great. I'll tell you, that was the most pressure I've fished under in 31 years of fishing. I put it in the hands of The Lord. I was suffering and I wasn't doing well and I caught a 5-pounder on the very last cast.

"I was still in the area I'd been fishing and it was kind of unbelievable. I hit the brushpile with a crankbait and had a big one get the crank and pull the drag. I pulled the other way and it pulled off. I circled around and threw a jig back in there and she bit the jig, or another one bit it. I set the hook and she bowed me up. She was pulling drag and just came off. I thought, 'Well, there it goes. I blew the Classic right there.

"I only had about 45 minutes left to fish, and I left there and fished around. I came back with 10 minutes left. The wind was blowing and boats were coming by and I had trouble finding the brushpile. With my last cast I came into the brush. The jig was halfway back to the boat – I was hopping it back – and I said, 'This is the last hop.' I hopped it and felt her and set the hook. I reeled about five times, swung her over and had to leave. I culled a fish that gave me 3 pounds.

"I'm fired up about New Orleans."

Notable

> Day 3 stats – 47 anglers, 40 limits, 2 fours, 4 threes, 1 two.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., June 20 - Mostly Sunny - 97°/76°
- Wind: From the S/SE at 10 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 15, 55-08 -- 315
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09 -- Day 3: 5, 17-04

2. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 15, 54-12 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 18-13

3. Rick Morris -- Virginia Beach, VA -- 15, 53-06 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-06 -- Day 3: 5, 20-00

4. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 15, 52-15 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 15-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05 -- Day 3: 5, 19-15

5. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 15, 52-11 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15 -- Day 3: 5, 18-02

6. Matt Herren -- Trussville, AL -- 15, 52-09 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13 -- Day 3: 5, 19-09

7. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 15, 51-01 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15 -- Day 3: 5, 16-14

8. Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 15, 50-11 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

9. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 15, 49-11 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-06 -- Day 3: 5, 15-11

10. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 15, 49-02 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04 -- Day 3: 5, 18-05

11. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 15, 48-04 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 19-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05 -- Day 3: 5, 15-07

12. Davy Hite -- Ninety Six, SC -- 15, 47-00 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-04

13. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 15, 45-12 -- 251 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 18-14

The following anglers didn't make the cut and won't be fishing tomorrow:

14. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 15, 45-07 -- 248 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-14 -- Day 3: 5, 17-01

15. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 15, 45-05 -- 245 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14 -- Day 3: 5, 15-06

16. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 15, 45-00 -- 243 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04 -- Day 3: 5, 14-12

17. Keith Poche -- Troy, AL -- 15, 44-13 -- 241 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 14-02

18. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 15, 44-10 -- 239 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-11 -- Day 3: 5, 15-11

19. Kenyon Hill -- Norman, OK -- 15, 43-09 -- 237 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 12-15

20. Terry Butcher -- Talala, OK -- 15, 43-05 -- 235 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 14-09 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

21. Jami Fralick -- Martin, SD -- 15, 42-03 -- 233 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-05 -- Day 3: 5, 12-10

22. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 15, 41-14 -- 231 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

23. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 15, 41-13 -- 229 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07 -- Day 3: 5, 14-08

24. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 15, 41-10 -- 227 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

25. Marty Stone -- Fayetteville, NC -- 15, 41-10 -- 225 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-08

26. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 15, 41-09 -- 223 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 15-08 -- Day 3: 5, 15-14

27. Grant Goldbeck -- Gaithersburg, MD -- 15 41-08 -- 221 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03 -- Day 3: 5, 14-07

28. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 15, 41-07 -- 219 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12 -- Day 3: 5, 15-00

29. Dustin Wilks -- Rocky Mount, NC -- 15, 41-04 -- 217 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 14-14

30. Kevin Short -- Mayflower, AR -- 15, 41-03 -- 215 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04 -- Day 3: 5, 14-05

31. Peter E Thliveros -- St Augustine, FL -- 15, 40-06 -- 213 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01 -- Day 3: 5, 13-04

32. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 15, 40-02 -- 211 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-10

33. Chad Griffin -- Cresson, TX -- 13, 39-14 -- 209 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15 -- Day 3: 3, 06-04

34. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 15, 39-06 -- 207 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09

35. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 15, 39-05 -- 205 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 10-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-03

36. Mark Tucker -- Saint Louis, MO -- 15, 39-00 -- 203 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-10

37. Morizo Shimizu -- Osaka JAPAN -- 15, 38-13 -- 201 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 5, 11-07

38. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 15 38-04 -- 199 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-04 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08

39. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 14, 38-04 -- 197 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 4, 13-01 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09

40. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 14, 37-10 -- 195 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 4, 07-08 -- Day 3: 5, 11-13

41. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 14, 37-09 -- 193 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 17-03 -- Day 2: 5, 08-11 -- Day 3: 4, 11-11

42. Pete Ponds -- Madison, MS -- 15, 36-03 -- 191 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-11 -- Day 3: 5, 10-02

43. Alton Jones -- Waco, TX -- 14, 35-12 -- 189 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-09 -- Day 3: 4, 09-13

44. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 13, 35-05 -- 187 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06 -- Day 3: 3, 05-13

45. Vince Fulks -- Purcell, OK -- 13, 35-02 -- 185 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11 -- Day 3: 3, 06-09

46. John Crews -- Salem, VA -- 12, 33-08 -- 183 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 06-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-01 -- Day 3: 3, 06-09

47. Derek Remitz -- Grant, AL -- 12, 33-05 -- 181 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-02 -- Day 3: 2, 03-06