LA CROSSE, Wis. — Tommy Biffle was watching the clock. With 45 minutes left in the final round, Biffle knew it was time to give up on the special smallmouth spot he’d been milking during the entire four-day Diet Mountain Dew Mississippi River Rumble presented by Power-Pole.
Thirty years of pro bass fishing tells you to when to make a move.
“If you sit there and hope they come, and they don’t come, you have do something,” said Biffle, 55, of Wagoner, Okla.
Going into Sunday’s final round, Biffle was 7 ounces behind leader Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala. Biffle wanted the win, and especially the Bassmaster Classic berth that comes with a Bassmaster Elite Series trophy.
He abandoned the spot that had kept him in contention all week and ran to a similar place he knew of nearby, with hard current between two islands. It hadn’t produced much before, but Sunday it paid off quickly.
“First throw, I caught a big one, second throw I caught a big one,” Biffle said. He built his weight to 16 pounds, 13 ounces.
It was enough to get the better of Martens by 2 pounds, 7 ounces. Biffle won with a four-day total of 64-2. The win was the seventh in his Bassmaster career and his fourth in the Elite Series. He also hit the $2 million mark in B.A.S.S. earnings.
Biffle’s prize was $100,000 and an instant-in for the 2014 Classic.
“Now I’ve got the Classic made. That’s the best feeling,” said Biffle, who was facing an uphill battle to qualify based on Toyota Angler of the Year points.
Martens took second place with 61-11. Third was John Crews of Salem, Va., with 59-4. Taking fourth place with 56-8 was Fred Roumbanis of Bixby, Okla. Brandon Card of Caryville, Tenn., rounded out the Top 5 at 56-2. The 2012 Rumble winner, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, finished sixth at 55-15.
Like the other 99 Elite pros, Biffle had to overcome wind, muddy water, shifting currents and thunderstorms over four days on the Upper Mississippi River, the fishery that’s lately become so productive that it earned the No. 17 spot on Bassmaster Magazine’s “100 Best Bass Lakes” list of 2013.
The move he made to his last spot was critical for his win, but the majority of Biffle’s Rumble bass actually came from what he called his “special smallmouth” place.
“It was the end of an island where the current was coming around the island. Over the years, it made a little ditch. The bass were holding in the ditch,” he said.
The ditch was actually a small depression, just a foot or two deeper than the surrounding water. It ran about 100 yards, but the bass were holding in a 20- to 30-yard stretch. The island lies only about 10 miles from the takeoff location, which gave Biffle time enough to run to other spots and catch the largemouth he weighed Sunday with four smallmouth.
Biffle’s winning rig was a 7/16-ounce Biffle HardHead jig made by Larew, which has a swivel hook to give the trailer more action. He rigged the jig with a green pumpkin Larew Biffle Bug.
“It’s always been great in rocks, but this is the first time I’ve ever fished it in pure sand. Smallmouth love it,” he said.
For Martens, it was déjà vu. He had the same near-miss almost exactly a year ago on the same fishery in an Elite event. He was just 7 ounces behind leader Faircloth going into the final day of that 2012 event, but the bass chose to wrap their lips around a huge hatch of mayflies, ignoring the lures he was throwing. In 2012, Martens finished 4-3 out of first for a fifth-place finish.
“Second place isn’t bad,” said Martens, who knows how it feels. Sunday’s finish was his 12th at second place on the Bassmaster circuit.
Martens relied on a drop shot rig for three days, making long casts and giving the lure subtle shakes. His lures were 4 1/2- and 6-inch thick-bodied Fat Roboworms and a 6-inch original Roboworm, all in the color Aaron’s Magic. When the bite got tougher, he rigged the soft plastics wacky-style.
But on the final day, just when he needed it most, Martens’ drop shot wasn’t producing. He made a move and helped his weight, but the action was slow for the bigger ones.
He returned to his “glory spot” and picked up a 3/4-ounce football jig made by Davis Jigs with a green pumpkin twin-tailed Zoom grub.
“Then I smoked them,” he said, “but it wasn’t enough. He (Biffle) got me by over 2 pounds. He caught them really good.”
Both Biffle and Martens got an inadvertent helping hand from Brandon Palaniuk, the first-day leader, and seemingly the leader with 6 pounds on Martens after Day 2. That evening, Palaniuk’s second-day weight was disqualified. B.A.S.S. officials received a protest against Palaniuk, and then determined he had unintentionally culled a bass in Minnesota. Minnesota law does not allow culling of bass on border waters, while Wisconsin does.
The Rumble’s outcome changed up the standings in the season-long Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., still leads, and with a wider margin, thanks to his 11th-place finish Sunday. Evers, shooting for his first Angler of the Year title, is working hard to stay ahead of a who’s-who list of titleholders.
Evers now has 44 points on 2007 AOY Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif. Seven-time AOY Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., is 50 points away from Evers, as is 2005 AOY Martens.
In the Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race, Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C., leads by 13 points over Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., who made his first Top 12 at the Rumble.
With two more events on the season schedule, Elite anglers have two more chances to earn points before the 2013 AOY and ROY are declared.
Bonuses that Elite pros earned at the Rumble include:
• Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament, worth $1,000 plus another $500 for wearing Carhartt apparel: Martens for his 4-15 weighed on Day 3.
• Berkley Heavyweight Award of $500 for the best five-fish limit: Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, for his Day 1 bag of 18-4.
• Toyota’s $1,000 bonus to the leader in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Evers. This is the fourth consecutive time Evers has been No. 1 in the AOY standings after a 2013 event.
• Luck-E-Strike Comeback Award of $500: Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas, who achieved the biggest jump in the AOY standings, up from 61st into 34th place.
• Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $1,000 to the highest finisher equipped with Power-Poles: Biffle.
• Livingston Lures Leader Award of $500 for heading up the leaderboard on the second day: Martens.
Coverage of the Rumble will air on ESPN2 on June 30, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, on The Bassmasters TV show.
The event was hosted jointly by the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (www.ExploreLaCrosse.com); the La Crosse Park, Recreation and Forestry Department; and the Onalaska Tourism Commission.
Next up on the schedule is the Aug. 8-11 Evan Williams Bourbon St. Lawrence River Showdown in Waddington, N.Y., a new venue for an Elite Series event.
2013 Diet Mountain Dew Mississippi River Rumble presented by Power-Pole
6/20-6/23
Mississippi River, La Crosse WI.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 20 64-02 99 $101,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 16-00 Day 3: 5 17-05 Day 4: 5 16-13
2. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 20 61-11 98 $27,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 17-03 Day 3: 5 16-05 Day 4: 5 13-15
3. John Crews Salem, VA 20 59-04 97 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 13-01 Day 3: 5 14-06 Day 4: 5 16-06
4. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK 20 56-08 96 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 5 13-15 Day 4: 5 14-15
5. Brandon Card Caryville, TN 20 56-02 95 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 13-09 Day 3: 5 14-06 Day 4: 5 13-10
6. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 20 55-15 94 $13,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 13-15 Day 3: 5 12-14 Day 4: 5 14-13
7. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 20 55-13 93 $13,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 5 15-04 Day 4: 5 14-11
8. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 20 55-11 92 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 11-12 Day 3: 5 14-11 Day 4: 5 14-09
9. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 20 55-07 91 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 12-09 Day 3: 5 14-12 Day 4: 5 13-15
10. Randy Howell Springville, AL 20 53-05 90 $11,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 13-08 Day 3: 5 13-08 Day 4: 5 12-07
11. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 20 51-08 89 $12,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 12-06 Day 3: 5 15-03 Day 4: 5 10-10
12. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 20 51-04 88 $10,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 5 13-00 Day 3: 5 14-02 Day 4: 5 10-06
CARHARTT BIG BASS Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 04-15 $1,000.00
BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 18-04 $500.00
Check in at Bassmaster.com for details.
2013 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2013 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Luck-E-Strike, Power-Pole, Ramada, Shimano
2013 Bassmaster Elite Series Proud Partner: Mustang Survival
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications — Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times — comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, B.A.S.S. Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.
