D’IBERVILLE, Miss., (Feb. 17, 2001) – Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., broke his string of second place finishes by winning the first Wal-Mart FLW Tour event of his career. He landed just two bass weighing 2 pounds, 8 ounces on the Pascagoula River Saturday, but the diminutive catch paid big dividends by netting him $100,000 and the victory by 1 ounce.
The win was especially sweet considering he has finished second in three of the last four FLW Tour championships.
“I really thought I was going to come in second, but it is nice to be first,” said Biffle, who used a Lunker Lure jig and a spinnerbait to land his winning fish. “This is the toughest tournament that we have ever had.”
Dale Teaney of Williamsburg, Ohio, settled for second place and $35,000 as fog, which delayed the tournament several hours during the first three days of competition, yielded to a passing cold front that produced 20 mph northwest winds and much cooler temperatures. Teaney ended the tourney’s fourth and final day with two bass weighing 2 pounds, 7 ounces.
Biffle qualified for the semifinal round of 10 competitors in first place with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce. He then advanced to the five-man final round in second place after landing five bass weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces Friday.
Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., took third place and $20,000 with one bass weighing 1 pound, while Chuck Economou of Redington Beach, Fla., finished fourth and collected $16,000 despite not catching a bass. Johnny McCombs of Morris, Ala., finished in fifth place due to disqualification for late check-in. He earned $14,000.
McCombs won the Energizer “Keeps on Going” award for the greatest comeback during the event. He fought back from 41st place on opening day to qualify for the final round in first place.
The $500,000 tournament began Wednesday with 350 anglers from 36 states competing in two divisions, pro and co-angler. Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., won a year’s supply of CITGO gasoline and $15,000 cash Friday as the Co-Angler Division Champion. He caught one bass weighing 1 pounds, 14 ounces during the final co-angler round.
Of the, 822 bass caught during the four-day tournament, more than 99 percent of the bass were released alive. Energizer will donate $25,000 to the Children’s Miracle Network if Operation Bass maintains at least a 98 percent live release rate throughout the 2001 season.
The next stop on the seven-event, $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour is March 21-24 on Lake Martin near Alexander City, Ala. The tournament presented by Snickers Cruncher Bar will feature another $500,000 purse.