Biffle grabs lead on Wheeler Lake, pulls into AOY contention

Using a catch of 18 pounds, 13 ounces, pro Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., took over the top spot in the tournament after Wednesday's competition. Photo by Gary Mortenson. Angler: Tommy Biffle.

June 18, 2003 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

McAdoo claims top spot in Co-angler Division

FLORENCE, Ala. – Coming into the four-day FLW Tour extravaganza on Wheeler Lake, Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky., boasted a 26-point lead over his nearest competitor, David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., in the 2003 Angler of the Year contest. Although a handful of other competitors had a mathematical chance of catching the two frontrunners, all indications pointed to the fact that it was going to be a two-horse race. However, by the end of Wednesday’s wildly unpredictable day of competition, no less than seven anglers were back in serious contention for the title.

The race is on

The day’s first big surprise came early on in the weigh-in when Morehead only managed a catch of 8 pounds, 14 ounces. Morehead, who had fished as consistently as any angler on the tour all year, ultimately finished the day in 106th place.

“I probably caught about three or four limits today,” he said. “But I just didn’t get the big bites.”

As a result, Morehead left the door wide open for Dudley and third-place competitor Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas. Surely one or both of those anglers would take advantage of Morehead’s misstep, right? Wrong. Defying the odds, Dudley ultimately turned in a worse performance than Morehead, recording a paltry catch of 7 pounds, 14 ounces to finish the day in 129th place. And although Wendlandt fared a little bit better, registering a total catch of 9 pounds, 7 ounces, he still only managed a 95th-place finish, hardly enough to make up any significant ground on Morehead. In the end, Wendlandt finished the day 44 points behind Morehead.

Those turn of events left the angler-of-the-year title almost completely up for grabs. And no one made more of the opportunity than Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla. Using a catch of 18 pounds, 13 ounces, Biffle took over the top spot in the tournament. However, perhaps more importantly, Biffle gained 105 points on Morehead and put himself back in contention for the title.

“It was a really good day for me,” said Biffle, who started the day 119 points behind Morehead. “I figured the only way I would have a chance to win the title is if I finished in first place or the other guys stumbled. I was just hoping to catch 15 pounds today, so I’m pretty happy. But we still have a lot more fishing left.”

Biffle said that he’s already focused on tomorrow’s competition.

“Now, I’ve put myself in position to catch those guys, win Angler of the Year and the Ranger Cup,” he said. “To do all that would just be fantastic. Tomorrow, I’m going to go out there, fish hard and do the best I can. Then we’ll see what happens.”

Long-shots emerge

Biffle wasn’t the only angler to greatly benefit from the struggles of the top three anglers in the AOY competition. Unsung FLW Tour pro Tim Carroll of Owasso, Okla., began the day a full 105 points behind Morehead. However, a gutsy 24th-place finish left Carroll only 23 points behind the leader when all was said and done after today’s weigh-in.

Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. – who began the day in fifth place in the title chase – used a 34th-place finish to make up 72 points. Morgan is now only 35 points behind Morgan. Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, made up some ground as well, pulling 35 points closer to Morehead after entering the tournament in sixth place overall in the race for the AOY title.

Martens rebounds

With the upheaval in the AOY race garnering most of the headlines, Aaron Martens of Castaic, Calif., quietly turned in one of his best performances of the year on the FLW Tour. Using a catch of 18 pounds, 11 ounces, Martens finished the day in second place in the Pro Division, putting himself in perfect position to qualify for Thursday’s top-10 cut.

“Finally, I had a good day,” said Martens, who seemed more relieved than excited by his stellar performance on the water in today’s competition. “I’ve had a terrible year, so it feels really good right now. I felt pretty good coming into this tournament. I finally got some good practice in, and I feel like I’m back on track. But Wheeler Lake is funny. It’s always a battle here. One day you can really kill the fish, and the next day you won’t catch anything.”

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five pro anglers in today’s competition were Allen Cauthen (third) of Lancaster, S.C., with a catch of 17 pounds, 14 ounces; Masaki Shimono (fourth) of Shiga-Pref, Japan, with a catch of 17 pounds, 13 ounces; and Timmy Horton (fifth) of Muscle Shoals, Ala., with a catch of 17 pounds.

Joel Richardson of Kernersville, N.C., won the Snickers’ Big Bass Award after landing a 6-pound, 9-ounce largemouth bass. Richardson’s catch was worth $1,250.

McAdoo grabs first place in Co-angler Division

Using a catch of 16 pounds, 3 ounces, Mike McAdoo of Murfreesboro, Tenn., out-fished 175 co-anglers as well as 169 pro anglers to garner the top spot on the co-angler leaderboard.

“I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve led, and I’d like to think I can do this another couple of days,” said McAdoo. “I just have to be optimistic.”

Co-angler Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C., finished the day in second place with a catch of 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark., took third place with a catch of 15 pounds, 3 ounces. Ambort also won the day’s big-bass award in the Co-angler Division after netting a 6-pound largemouth. Ambort won $750 for his efforts.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Brantley Peoples (fourth) of Raleigh, N.C., with a catch of 14 pounds, 13 ounces; and Mary Parnell (fifth) of Casselberry, Fla., with a catch of 12 pounds, 15 ounces.

Co-angler AOY race tightens up

Although Quint Bourgeois of Knoxville, Tenn., finished the day in 40th place, he maintained a narrow seven-point lead over his nearest competitor, Greg Lineberry of Galax, Va., in the race for 2003 FLW Tour Co-angler of the Year.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. at Joe Wheeler State Park, located at 4401 McLean Drive in Rogersville, Ala.

Click here for a preview of day two.