No Suprise: Biffle Takes Hardhead Approach

Tommy Biffle, winner of the Mississippi River Rumble. Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

It surprised me a bit, I have to admit, when I realized Tommy Biffle was riding a smallmouth bite on the Mississippi River. Few anglers are better known for their fondness for flippin' into shallow cover for green fish, and that very strategy was yielding big bags for some pros during the Mississippi River Rumble. Not so surprisingly, Biffle said on stage today that he caught his smallmouths with a Biffle Bug rigged on his signature Gene Larew Biffle Hardhead.

As it turns out, flipping and pitching for largemouths also was a big part of Biffle's pattern. He pitched the same Biffle Bug around every bit of wood he could find to produce a lot of his fish, and used the Hardhead/Bug combo in one key smallmouth spot that he stumbled upon in practice. The Mississippi River Rumble was the third B.A.S.S. event that Biffle has won with a Biffle Bug since 2010, when he won an Elite Series event on his home waters of Fort Gibson and introduced the Hardhead/Biffle Bug combo to the world.

This weekend's Elite Series win guarantees Biffle a spot in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville, where there's a pretty good chance that he will have a Biffle Bug at the end of his line!

Beaver Won, on to Bull Shoals, for Jason Christie

Jason Christie, Beaver Lake FLW Tour event winner, with his family immediately after the weigh-in. FLW photo.

Jason Christie is keeping on the run this year, but the full schedule seems to suit him well. One of a few of this season's two-tour pros, Christie was already was already doing well on the FLW Tour and in the Elite Series, but he punctuated that success this afternoon with an FLW Tour win on Beaver Lake.

Christie's second FLW Tour win earned him a check for $125,000, but he won't spend much time pondering how how he'll spend any of the money. Practice for the next Elite Series even begins tomorrow. Fortunately for Christie, that event is being held on Bull Shoals Lake, which is also in the northern part of Arkansas and only a couple of hours' drive from Beaver Lake.

It will be interesting to see if things learned at Beaver will help Christie at Bull Shoals. He won't be able to use the same strategy because he won Beaver with a YUMbrella Flash Mob, Jr., a five-hook rig that isn't allowed in Elite Series competition. However, both lakes are deep, clear impoundments of the White River that have been subject to the same weather patterns this spring. Therefore, it would seem like things that he (and other two-tour anglers) learned at Beaver should help at Bull Shoals.

Why I'm Pulling for Gary Klein

Gary Klein in 4th place, less than 5 pounds off the lead, going into the final day of the Falcon Slam. BASS photo by James Overstreet.

If Rick Clunn hadn't brought ridiculously big bags to the scales for the past two days and wasn't in serious contention in the Falcon Slam, major attention would be on another legend of the sport. Clunn did do those things, though, and that has allowed Gary Klein to fly somewhat under the radar.

I've been pulling for Klein since I was 13 years old, though, so that's not going to change this weekend. I'm pulling for Klein to notch win No. 9 and push his career earnings past the $2 million mark and to do so in Texas. With a Day 1 catch of 21-11 followed by back-to-back days of catching 28 and change, Klein obviously has something solid going and is only a couple of extra-big bites away from making a win happen. At Falcon, though, the same could be said about the entire Top 12.

I first learned about Gary Klein by reading Bassmaster Magazine. Specifically, I read about him winning the Bassmaster Invitational on Lake Powell in 1979 in only the second B.A..SS. event he ever entered. I took note because he was a young angler -- only seven years older than me -- and best I recall, he pretty much put down everything he owned to fish that tournament, took the top prize and never looked back. He was a 20-year-old living the then-new bass fishing dream.

Beyond that, though, Gary Klein was (and still is) always smiling in photos, and he always seemed to be the first one mentioned when stories were written about pros encouraging young anglers, taking extra time to sign autographs or helping fellow anglers. I've never met Klein and have only talked with him on the phone once for a story interview; however, other pros and fishing writer friends I know well always say that he's the same behind the scenes as he is in front of the camera.

I have a couple of friends in the Top 12, and I'd be thrilled to see them win, and like most folks I'd enjoy seeing Rick Clunn pull off the win. Forced to pick a single favorite, though, I have to go with my boyhood bass fishing hero.

B.A.S.S. All Stars Begin Today

Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe, who won last year's All Star Week event, qualified again this year and therefore will get the opportunity to defend his title.

Twelve All Stars, two lakes, four days and a unique format that includes head-to-head elimination rounds. On Sunday one All Star champion will be crowned. The action begins in a little less than three hours.

The field of 12 includes the top eight finishers in the 2012 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year standings, plus four anglers chosen by fan voting, and it's definitely a star-studded cast and promises plenty of drama.

Top eight includes last year's All Star champ and the 2011 Rookie of the Year Ott DeFoe, so he has the opportunity to defend. Other pros who made the event by virtue of season standings were 2012 Angler of the Year Brent Chapman, Terry "Big Show" Scroggins, Todd Faircloth, Randy Howell, Matt Herron, Kevin VanDam and Edwin Evers.

No surprises in the fan picks -- Mike Iaconelli, Gerald Swindle, Skeet Reece and Aaron Martens. In fact, if you somehow could have removed  the Top 8 from consideration and held the vote before the first tournament was even held this year and without any of the angler campaigning for votes, I suspect the results would have been exactly the same. Those guys have earned fan favor and respect over the years.

The split venue of Illinois' Lake Shelbyville for the semi-finals and Lake Decatur for the finals provides plenty of mystery for pros and fans alike. Although both are locally popular waterways that host a lot of tournament, neither has much of a name nationally nor has played  host to such a marquis event. Tweets and facebook posts I've seen from the competitors suggest that it's fishing pretty tough. We'll know more soon!

Pro Congratulations

Bass fishing legend Larry Nixon added to the story this weekend by topping the field in the FLW Tour Open on Lake St. Clair with a four-day catch of 84 pounds, 11 ounces. FLW Photo by Brett Carlson.

Wow. A lot happened in the pro angling world this weekend while I was stomping around in Smokies streams.

On the FLW side of things, Larry Nixon added yet another win to his storied career by topping the field in an FLW Tour Open at Lake St. Clair. Nixon, who had won once before on the same waters, took the title in convincing fashion, topping second place finisher Bill McDonald by more than 6 pounds.

On the B.A.S.S. side, Boyd Duckett took the trophy at Lake Oneida, edging out Randy Howell by only 6 ounces. Most importantly to Duckett, the win earned him qualification for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

Because Oneida was the final stop of the season for the Elites, it also settled the Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year races and the post-season field and secured Classic spots for several pros. Congratulations to B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year Brent Chapman and Rookie of the year Brandon Card and to all the post-season and Classic qualifiers.

Cayuga State of Mind for Northern Open Pros

Andrew Upshaw of Hemphill, Texas is third in the Northern Open points standings going into the final event of the series, which begins today at Cayuga Lake in Seneca Falls, New York.

When Andrew Upshaw stood in contention to win the second B.A.S.S. Northern Open event at the Detroit River, he made it clear that as much as he would have loved the win and his second consecutive Bassmaster Classic bid, he was even more interested in finishing high enough in all three Northern Opens to earn qualification in the Elite Series. He ended up finishing 3rd and indeed tallying quite a few valuable points.

The Northern Open series standings will be finalized in the next few days as the tour makes its third and final tour stop this weekend at Cayuga Lake in Seneca Falls, New York. Upshaw is third in the points going into the season finale. The top five qualifiers earn automatic Elite Series bids, but opportunities sometimes go a little deeper in the list because of Open pros who already fish the Elites or who decline the invitation.

In addition to helping shape the Classic field, this weekend's tournament will earn someone $50,000 and potentially the opportunity to compete in the Bassmaster Classic. The Detroit River event was won by Jason Christie, an FLW pro from Oklahoma who will get to fish the 2013 Classic on his home waters of Grand Lake.

One of the Finger Lakes, Cayuga is deep and clear and offers a mix of largemouths and smallmouths. Reports I've read suggest that the smallies can be tough customers during mid-summer, but that if an angler could lock into the right pattern with them, those could be winning fish. We'll find out soon!

Familiar Names Top Tournaments

David Dudley and his family celebrate a win at Champlain, which was Dudley's second FLW Tour win this season. FLW photo by David Brown.

Dudley and VanDam. No surprises in the names atop the leaderboards at the end of the FLW Tour and B.A.S.S. Elite Series tournaments over the weekend. Except the Elite victory didn't go to Kevin VanDam. Instead, it went to KVD's newphew, Jonathon VanDam (JVD), and Kevin actually got to hand the trophy to his newphew .

David Dudley, who was already the top money winner in FLW history and currently tops the BassFan World rankings, added his second FLW Tour win of the season by topping the field at Champlain, along with locking up his second consecutive (and third total) FLW Angler of the Year title. Dudley fished for all largemouths in the northern end of Champlain and edged out friend and fellow Virginia angler Jacob Powroznik in both the tournament and the Angler of theYear race.

VanDam's win was his second with B.A.S.S., but his first on the Elite Series. In 2010 he won a Northern Open on Lake Erie enroute to qualifying for the Elites. This weekend's Elite Series win at Green Bay ensures VanDam a place in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

Although JVD is by far the lesser known of the VandDams and the victory was his first on the Elites, his win was no suprise to folks who closely follow professional bass fishing. In fact, he was one of the most popular picks among his peers as a favorite going into this event because of his prowess with Northern smallmouth bass and his familiarity with Lake Michigan. VanDam caught most of the fish he weighed with a drop shot rig, using Strike King Dream Shot worm. The color? KVD Magic!

Jonathon VanDam earned his first Elite Series win and a place in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic field by topping the field at Green Bay. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

Double Barreled Tour Action

Both the B.A.S.S. Elite Series and the FLW Tour are making stops this week, with both tours visiting storied northern destinations.

FLW anglers are fishing Lake Champlain, which invariably yields great mixed catches of largemouths and smallmouths. Sometimes one kind of bass dominates top catches. Often the winner has a pattern for each brand of bass or a spot and location that yield good mixed catches.

The Elite Series event, which is based out of Green Bay, probably would have been a smallmouth slugfest except that the Wisconsin DNR deemed a large portion of the best waters off limits. The pros still will  catch plenty of good fish, but the tournament clearly won't highlight the best the area has to offer. Kevin VanDam wrote an excellent column for Bassmaster.com that expresses his disappointment with the DNR ruling and in my opinion does a fine job of summing up the issues and the consequences of the decision.

Mississippi River Provides Equal Opportunity

Florida pro Kyle Fox leads the Mississippi River Rumble by 3 ounces after one day of competition. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

The bad news for B.A.S.S. Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain is that he is in 82nd place in a field of 98 pros after day one of the Mississippi River Rumble. The good news is that he is less than 5 pounds out of the lead, and less than a pound and a half separates him from guys inside the cut line, which is 50th place. All but three pros weighed a five-fish limit on day one. All but four weighed between 10 pounds and 16 pounds, 8 ounces, which is what Kyle Fox brought to the scales for the lead.

What all that means is that almost everyone is catching them and that things are apt to get re-arranged a lot during today's weigh-in. If Fox or others toward the top of the leaderboard have indeed identified a spot or technique that is yielding a little larger fish on average that will become more apparent today, and more separation might occur as the tournament progresses.

Quite understandably, no one likes to say much about what they are doing after one day of a four-day event, although Fox did suggest that he wouldn't expect anyone else to be using the same approach as what worked for him yesterday.

Elite Series Competition Turning North

Kansas pro Brent Chapman leads the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race after six events. B.A.S.S. photo by Gary Tramontina.

The Elite Series Mississippi River Rumble begins tomorrow morning out of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The four-day event is the first of three on northern waters that collectively will wrap up the 2012 season. Next week, the pros will fish out of Green Bay. Then, following nearly two months off, they will wrap up the regular season on New York's Lake Oneida.

The pros have 66 miles of the Mississippi in three pools to fish this week. This La Crosse section of the river has extensive backwaters, which are expected to be very important in the tournament. Water levels, which can change daily on the big river, will play a huge part in determining the patterns that prevail.

The three northern events represent 1/3 of the schedule, so it will be interesting to see how points races continue to take shape. Brent Chapman currently leads the Angler of the Year Race, while Brandon Card leads the Rookie of the Year.

Both Top Bass Tours Competing this Week

Texas Pro Matt Reed is bound to be happy to be competing on Toledo Bend this week.

A big weekend of competitive bass fishing began this morning, with the Bass Elite Series making a stop at Toledo Bend and the FLW Tour fishing Kentucky Lake. Both are huge reservoirs and storied destinations with long histories of competitive bass fishing. It will be fun to see how both lakes produce, which strategies and lake areas emerge as tops and how the respective angler-of-the-year races are effected by these two events.

B.A.S.S. Mystery Solved Today

This afternoon, at 1:00 Central, the B.A.S.S. officials will announce the site of the Elite Series "Mystery Lake" event June 28-July 1. After the announcement, the waters of the venue will immediately go off limits to Elite Series pros until the week of the tournament, when the official practice period begins. Therefore, unless an angler made a very good guess and gambled on that guess or just happened to spend some time fishing in the right place, there was no pre-practicing for this tournament.

BassFan recently speculated that the tournament would be held at one of two venues in Wisconsin, and they had gathered good evidence to back that prediction. We'll find out this afternoon. I had said erroneously in yesterday's blog that announcement would be yesterday. I was simply confused.

The Mystery Lake concept takes a page out of B.A.S.S. history, as the first six Bassmaster Classics were held at mystery destinations, with all the competitors boarding and airplane and not knowing where they were flying. In late June, the competitors will all be driving their rigs from the Mississippi River in  La Crosse, Wisconsin, where they will have fished the previous weekend.

Sudden Death & Alabama Rig Research

Photo Courtesy of PAA

One fish was all it took for Keith Combs to win the Toyota Texas Bass Classic and the $100,000 and Legend boat that came with the victory. One fish in a sudden death fish-off, that is.

After three full days of fishing, Combs and Mike Iaconelli had ended up tied atop the leaderboard, each with a weight of 76 pounds 12 ounces. Between Combs and Iaconelli, they had six daily limits of fish that average more than 5 pounds per bass, and they outfished the rest of the field by more than 25 pounds. Still, they were tied, and Combs was able to seal the deal with a 15-inch fish, which he caught on the same Norman crankbait he'd used throughout the week.

A championship event comprised of top pros from the BASS Elite Series, the FLW Tour and the PAA Tournament Series, the TTBC included 50 of the nation's top pros. It was held on Lake Conroe in Texas.

Meanwhile, the big buzz in the bass fishing world has been the Alabama rig, a unique multi-lure rig that's unlike anything that most bass fishermen had ever seen a week and a half ago. That was when Paul Elias revealed the crazy rig he's been using to blow away the field in the FLW event last week at Guntersville and to catch 102 pounds, 8 ounces in four days. The Alabama rig notched another big win last weekend at the Everstart event on Kentucky Lake.

Enough has been reported about the Alabama rig by folks who have seen it for themselves that I'm not going to re-hash it here. That said, I'm North Alabama bound tomorrow for three of fishing on three different lakes (including Guntersville) with four different pros. One of those pros, Chris Lane, was in the middle of all the excitement at the Guntersville tournament. If I get to see the rig and how it works first-hand, therefore, that probably will be my next blog!

YUM F2 Slam

Photos by James Overstreet; courtesy of B.A.S.S.

One of my favorite things about the time I spent working for YUM Bait Company was the opportunity to work closely with top fishing pros. Time spent together at writer events and photo shoots and behind the scenes at tournaments resulted in great friendships and an ongoing personal interest in these pros' professional success. Therefore, I couldn't help but notice that three of YUM's tournament superstars -- Edwin Evers, Terry "Big Show" Scroggins and Alton Jones -- finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the B.A.S.S. Citrus Slam on the St. Johns river.

Jones, the 2008 Bassmaster Classic Chamption, also took over the top spot in the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year standings, with Evers and Scroggins close behind in the second and fourth positions.

Evers, who fished exclusivley for spawning fish thoughout the event, stated that YUM's new F2 attractant formula was absolutely critical to his success, helping fish find his bait in somewhat stained waters. His comments about the importance of the F2 attractant echoed those of Alton Jones, who sight-fished most of the tournament using a 6-inch F2 Yum Dinger and led the event for the first three days. Scroggins combined sight-fishing (undoubtedly with YUM F2 baits, although I've not heard specifics yet) with a strategy of running and gunning ledges with Bomber crankbaits.

Congratulations Edwin, Terry and Alton.