Kevin VanDam

Biffle uses homefield advantage

June 19, 2010
(bassmaster.com, June 18, 2010)

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — On Wednesday, 92 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers scoured Fort Gibson Lake, looking to glean any bit of knowledge from the Oklahoma fishery during the truncated one-day practice period.

The 93rd, Tommy Biffle, mowed his lawn. After all, the Wagoner, Okla., has been fishing Fort Gibson for 40-plus years so an extra day of practice could only reveal key spots to the rest of the field.

And the strategy paid off for Biffle. The Wagoner, Okla., veteran smacked 19 pounds, 11 ounces, Thursday to take the opening-round lead at the AutoZone Sooner Run. While the 16-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier used his intimate knowledge of Gibson and worked a multitude of areas, he is still keeping a few things to himself.

“I goofed around a little too much,” said Biffle, 52. “I wanted to save some spots and not show too much and I might have to hit it a little bit harder tomorrow (Friday). But you can bet that I’m still going to keep some stuff secret until the final day.”
Sooner Run Day One On The Water Biffle
James OverstreetTommy Biffle was quickly putting fish into the boat and had an early limit. He weighed in 19 pounds, 11 ounces to lead on his home lake.
Assuming Biffle makes it to the final day on Sunday — only the top 12 anglers qualify — it would do wonders for his bid to make the Bassmaster Elite Series Postseason, which only the top 12 in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings qualify for.

Biffle, who was 17th in the AOY standings heading into this week, participated in the postseason in 2009 and is itching to get back.

“I need to get into the postseason,” said Biffle, a four-time Bassmaster winner. “That is the goal now. Well, that, and catching 20 pounds a day. It’s all going pretty good now. But that doesn’t mean I will catch them every day.”

The hits keep on coming for Biffle and perhaps instead of mowing his lawn, he should have hit the local casino Wednesday. First, the event moved to Fort Gibson Lake, essentially his backyard, due to unsafe conditions on the Arkansas River. Then, an uncooperative trolling motor was quickly fixed Thursday morning by service crew members costing Biffle zero tournament time. To top it off, Biffle’s lead was the slimmest of margins  1 ounce.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=5299119

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