Quick Bites: FLW Tour, Pascagoula River, Day 4
Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Tour Stop #2
Pascagoula River, D’Iberville, Miss.
Day 4, Final Round
Oh, what could have been … One man’s loss is another man’s gain, the saying goes. So it was for Johnny McCombs of Morris, Ala., and Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla. When McCombs was disqualified from today’s competition because he was late to the weigh-in, the tourney was Biffle’s to win – which he did in a nail-biting finish (see below). As it turned out, McCombs had three fish in his livewell that he estimated weighed around 6 pounds, which would have buried the rest of the field. It was hard not to feel sorry for the young up-and-comer, but at the same time you had to feel good about Biffle finally capturing his first FLW victory.
You still think this is just fishing? Think again … When Dale Teaney of Williamsburg, Ohio, brought his last fish to the scale needing only 15 ounces to take the win, you could see the concern on Biffle’s face – which was rare because Biffle is notoriously reserved with his emotions. He was staring at yet another second-place finish on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. While most bass anglers would love to finish second in an FLW event, Biffle was one of the most talented competitors on tour without a win and had unofficially been saddled as the FLW Tour’s “Mr. Runner-Up.” He was the only angler with three runner-up finishes – all three in the FLW Championship, no less – until today. When Teaney’s last bass weighed in at 14 ounces – just 1 ounce short of Biffle’s mark – Biffle remained stoic until ESPN’s Tommy Sanders asked him how he felt about finally getting a win. In a touching moment, Biffle’s reserve broke down. Choking back tears, the FLW Pascagoula winner said, “Well, Tommy, I really thought I was going to come in second. You know, it’s been a tough tournament. I think this was the toughest one we’ve ever had.” Tough, indeed, but it was worth every agonizing moment, to be sure. Congratulations, Tommy.
“Babe” Biffle? … Not since the day the Sultan of Swat called his shot has pro sports seen such a display of confidence and pure mastery of execution as with Biffle’s victory today. Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but when Biffle said on day two that he “can win (the tournament) if he can get to his spot,” he wasn’t kidding. The funny thing is, he didn’t even make it to the fruitful fishing location that served him so well in the opening round. It was too far away and Biffle was forced to improvise after making his two-hour run up the Pascagoula River. “I was headed that way, but I just didn’t make it,” he said. Fortunately for him, he worked a spinnerbait and found a brush pile that provided him just enough weight of bass to back up his prediction.
Clunn by the numbers … Even though Rick Clunn only caught one fish for 1 pound today and placed third, don’t feel bad for the bass master from Ava, Mo. His numbers speak for themselves: In the 30 FLW tournaments that he has fished, Clunn has made 12 top-10 appearances. From those top-10s, he has advanced to the final five nine times, or 75 percent of the time. And he has three FLW victories (which tied him for the lead until David Fritts won his fourth FLW tourney last month). And, let’s not forget, he is the FLW Tour’s all-time leading money winner with $702,600 in earnings. Today, Clunn took home $20,000 for his efforts.
Contingency awards … While it couldn’t possibly replace a tournament victory, McCombs earned some consolation by winning the Pepsi Biggest Bass of the Tournament award, worth $1,000, for the 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth he caught on day two. He also won the Energizer Keeps on Going award for coming back from 41st place on the first day to make the top five. … Biffle was a double winner himself. In addition to the tournament win, he landed the Shop-Vac High Performance award for heaviest total weight after the first three days. He weighed in 26 pounds, 7 ounces.
Quick Numbers
381: Total standings points earned by Teaney after the first two FLW Tour events of 2001 – the only two FLW events he has ever fished. The total puts him in first place in the standings.
5,733.33: Amount, in dollars, that the disqualified McCombs lost per minute today by missing the weigh-in time by 15 minutes. He still walked away with $14,000 for fifth place.
95.56: Amount, in dollars, that McCombs lost per second for being late today.
Sound Bites
“It’s worth it coming in here for this one right here, folks.”
– Johnny McCombs, on videotape, after catching his would-be winning bass that he estimated weighed around 4 pounds.
“Today we had distractions – like 25-mph winds – but I made a commitment and I was going to stick to it.”
– Fourth-place finisher Chuck Economou, describing his decision this morning to run the long distance to the Pascagoula River from Biloxi Bay in the face of rough conditions. Unfortunately, the decision didn’t work out and he zeroed.
“There were squirrels playing where I was catching fish yesterday.”
– Second-place finisher Dale Teaney, who returned to his productive location from yesterday only to find that the water level had dropped by about four feet.
“Bass fishing, to me, is like music or art.”
– Rick Clunn, still upbeat even in defeat.
Quick Links: Day 4