Oklahoma’s Tommy Biffle hits high note
at Bassmaster Elite Series’ West Point Lake Battle

May 4, 2013 - LAGRANGE, Ga. — Saturday was a rainy day in Georgia, but Tommy Biffle was not singing the blues about the West Point Lake Battle.

He managed to fill a five-fish limit after falling one bass short on both Day 1 and Day 2 of the Battle.

Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., takes the lead with 33 pounds, 9 ounces on Day 3 of the West Point Lake Battle in LaGrange, Ga. Photo by Seigo Saito/Bassmaster

Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., seized the third-day lead in the four-day Bassmaster Elite Series’ Battle with a total of 33 pounds, 9 ounces. Seventh after Thursday, he popped into third Friday before taking the hot seat Saturday.

The loss of a “good keeper” early Saturday had him wondering if he’d even weigh four bass.

“I was a little bit worried I’d only have three, because I’ve been getting [and boating] four bites a day,” he said. “Today I had six, but I didn’t catch the quality I’ve been catching. As tough as the fishing is, I was glad to catch five.”

Biffle liked Saturday’s wet, wet weather. He said he actually hoped for a thunder and lightning storm on the water to change the barometric pressure.

He got his storm. “Shortly after that, I caught two,” he said. “The fish did bite better after the storm.”

He weighed four largemouth and one spotted bass, which he said actually weighed more than one of his largemouth bass.

Biffle — a six-time Bassmaster winner, including three Elite events — said a key to his success on West Point was his realization that he should not cover the same water twice. He said he’d continue to search for new water Sunday to work the pattern he has going [and which he didn’t elaborate upon].

Nine ounces in back of Biffle was Pete Ponds of Madison, Miss., with 33 pounds even. Day 2 leader Aaron Martens was third with 32-10, 15 ounces behind Biffle.

Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas — winner of the Elite season’s first event — pulled off the recovery of the week with a bag of 15-9, the day’s largest. He moved from 40th place on Day 1 into 33rd on Day 2, and then into fourth place with 32-1. He made the cut to try Sunday for the winner’s take of $100,000 and a berth in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic.

Fifth was Chris Zaldain of San Jose, Calif., with 31-15. His weight set the spread between first and fifth place at 1 pound, 10 ounces — the size of one small West Point Lake spotted bass.

Ponds credited his climb into fourth place on Day 2 from 24th place on Day 1 to a clue and a lure that helped him settle into a productive pattern. He declined to even hint at the details, but said that the rain of Saturday affected it.

“I didn’t catch but two fish on that bait today,” said Ponds, who weighed 11-5 Saturday compared to 13-0 Friday and 8-11 Thursday. “With it not raining tomorrow and the sun coming out, I’m feeling pretty confident about it again.”

Ponds said he also fished a drain with current “that developed into something good.”

Early Saturday, Ponds followed his plan to go only for game-winning largemouth. At 11 a.m., he abandoned that strategy.

“I threw up the white flag with only two largemouth, and went out and got a 2-pound spot, then I went to that drain and got my other two fish,” he said.

For Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas, it’s a rainy night in Georgia (to borrow again from Brook Benson’s bluesy song). The Day 1 leader, Combs finished 14th, two places out of the Top 12 cut, missing by 5 ounces.

Greg Vinson, however, avoided a rerun of his soul-drenching experience at the Elite event last month on Bull Shoals Lake, where he dropped out of the cut after leading for two days. The Battle turned out better. In second place two days into a row, the pro from Wetumpka, Ala., brought in 5-2, enough to stay above the cutline in 10th place with 29-15.

Yusuke Miyazaki of Forney, Texas, boated the day’s largest bass, a 6-10. But Biffle’s 6-12 of Day 1 stood as the Battle’s best bass after three days. The largest bass of the event will land the Battle’s Carhartt Big Bass bonus of $1,000, plus $500 if the angler was wearing Carhartt clothing.

In the Berkley Heavyweight competition for an award of $500, Combs’ Day 1 bag of 15-14 was still the best after three days.

The Battle concludes Sunday. The 12 finalists will launch at 6:40 a.m. from Pyne Road Park (4481 Roanoke Road, LaGrange, GA 30240). The championship weigh-in is set to begin at 3:15 p.m. at the same location.

The West Point Lake Battle will air on ESPN from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET May 12 on The Bassmasters TV show.

2013 West Point Lake Battle 5/2-5/5

West Point Lake, La Grange GA.

(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 13 33-09 100

Day 1: 4 12-10 Day 2: 4 10-09 Day 3: 5 10-06

2. Pete Ponds Madison, MS 15 33-00 99

Day 1: 5 08-11 Day 2: 5 13-00 Day 3: 5 11-05

3. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 15 32-10 98 $500.00

Day 1: 5 13-05 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 5 07-12

4. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 15 32-01 97

Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 08-12 Day 3: 5 15-09

5. Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 15 31-15 96

Day 1: 5 08-12 Day 2: 5 12-12 Day 3: 5 10-07

6. Casey D Ashley Donalds, SC 15 31-12 95

Day 1: 5 08-15 Day 2: 5 13-08 Day 3: 5 09-05

7. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 15 31-02 94

Day 1: 5 13-00 Day 2: 5 09-10 Day 3: 5 08-08

8. Hank Cherry Maiden, NC 15 30-06 93

Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 08-12 Day 3: 5 09-06

9. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 14 30-02 92

Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 14-00 Day 3: 4 08-07

10. Greg Vinson Wetumpka, AL 15 29-15 91

Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 09-03 Day 3: 5 05-02

11. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 10 29-15 90

Day 1: 3 10-13 Day 2: 3 09-10 Day 3: 4 09-08

12. Cliff Pace Petal, MS 15 29-08 89

Day 1: 5 14-02 Day 2: 5 07-04 Day 3: 5 08-02

13. Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 15 29-06 88 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 10-02 Day 3: 5 08-13

14. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 15 29-04 87 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 07-04 Day 3: 5 06-02

15. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 15 28-09 86 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 5 11-11 Day 3: 5 07-05

16. Fletcher Shryock Newcomerstown, OH 15 28-02 85 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 05-08 Day 2: 5 13-05 Day 3: 5 09-05

17. Alton Jones Lorena, TX 14 28-01 84 $10,000.00

Day 1: 4 04-12 Day 2: 5 11-11 Day 3: 5 11-10

18. Kenyon Hill Norman, OK 15 27-12 83 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-01 Day 2: 5 09-06 Day 3: 5 11-05

19. Yusuke Miyazaki Forney, TX 12 27-10 82 $10,000.00

Day 1: 2 04-01 Day 2: 5 10-08 Day 3: 5 13-01

20. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 15 27-05 81 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 09-12 Day 2: 5 09-05 Day 3: 5 08-04

21. Nate Wellman Newaygo, MI 15 27-04 80 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 5 07-01 Day 3: 5 12-03

22. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 15 27-04 79 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 11-10 Day 3: 5 05-06

23. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 15 27-03 78 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 5 07-01 Day 3: 5 12-03

24. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 13 27-03 77 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 11-05 Day 2: 5 10-00 Day 3: 3 05-14

25. Rick Morris Lake Gaston, VA 15 26-12 76 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-13 Day 2: 5 09-08 Day 3: 5 09-07

26. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 13 26-10 75 $10,000.00

Day 1: 3 04-06 Day 2: 5 11-06 Day 3: 5 10-14

27. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 15 26-04 74 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-03 Day 2: 5 11-05 Day 3: 5 06-12

28. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 14 25-11 73 $10,000.00

Day 1: 4 06-03 Day 2: 5 08-11 Day 3: 5 10-13

29. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 13 25-10 72 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-07 Day 2: 4 08-15 Day 3: 4 09-04

30. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 12 25-08 71 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 14-06 Day 3: 2 03-06

31. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 13 25-07 70 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 5 11-07 Day 3: 3 07-07

32. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 15 25-02 69 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 5 10-08 Day 3: 5 08-03

33. John Crews Salem, VA 12 25-01 68 $10,000.00

Day 1: 4 10-06 Day 2: 5 07-11 Day 3: 3 07-00

34. Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 14 24-14 67 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 5 07-15 Day 3: 4 04-05

35. Britt Myers Lake Wylie, SC 15 24-04 66 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 06-06 Day 2: 5 11-02 Day 3: 5 06-12

36. Ish Monroe Hughson, CA 15 24-03 65 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 5 07-08 Day 3: 5 07-07

37. Gary Klein Weatherford, TX 15 23-15 64 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-07 Day 2: 5 08-12 Day 3: 5 06-12

38. Jami Fralick Martin, SD 15 23-09 63 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 5 08-12 Day 3: 5 05-15

39. Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 14 23-01 62 $10,000.00

Day 1: 4 07-04 Day 2: 5 09-06 Day 3: 5 06-07

40. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK 15 23-01 61 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-10 Day 2: 5 07-05 Day 3: 5 07-02

41. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 13 22-09 60 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-11 Day 2: 5 07-15 Day 3: 3 05-15

42. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 15 22-02 59 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-09 Day 2: 5 07-06 Day 3: 5 07-03

43. Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 15 22-01 58 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-14 Day 2: 5 06-06 Day 3: 5 07-13

44. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 9 21-10 57 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 09-11 Day 2: 2 08-14 Day 3: 2 03-01

45. Kelly Jordon Palestine, TX 14 21-01 56 $10,000.00

Day 1: 4 05-13 Day 2: 5 08-06 Day 3: 5 06-14

46. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 15 20-05 55 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 08-01 Day 2: 5 07-03 Day 3: 5 05-01

47. Clark Reehm Shreveport, LA 15 19-15 54 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 06-10 Day 3: 5 05-10

48. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 14 19-10 53 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-04 Day 2: 5 07-09 Day 3: 4 04-13

49. Kurt Dove Del Rio, TX 13 19-02 52 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 07-12 Day 2: 5 08-02 Day 3: 3 03-04

50. Scott Ashmore Broken Arrow, OK 12 17-11 51 $10,000.00

Day 1: 5 06-07 Day 2: 5 08-03 Day 3: 2 03-01

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Totals

Day #Limits #Fish Weight

1 69 441 729-11

2 67 412 733-06

3 37 226 395-13

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173 1079 1858-14