I’ve spent some time around with both Tommy Biffle and Denny Brauer and, as veteran anglers, none out there were more willing to go all day with a “big jig,” fishing anything from dock pilings to laydowns in less than a foot of water. Each had supreme confidence that if they never wavered, they would get those five big bites that would carry the day, and sometimes the tournament.
And though Denny got his World Title, Biffle did something many years ago at the Bassmasters Classic that has bothered me for years. On the final day, as I recall, he only weighed four bass. They were good ones, alright, but had he added one 14-incher, he would have joined the ranks of the all-time greats–a World Champion.
I’ve had many discussions about that event since. Many have tried to convince me that Biffle’s approach was the right one. But I’m still not sure. Why couldn’t he stop for 15 minutes on some set of docks and catch a “barely?” Wouldn’t it have been better to have barely been the Classic champion–than barely not?
Personality, less than unbreakable confidence and the fact I’ll never be confused with a Classic qualifier may not give me the juice to question an all-timer. Still, it’s tough for me to consider going out there without a fall-back position or method.
In our part of the world, many would answer, “I have the drop-shot. I can start with it, push it all day, and hope to fill in the last five minutes with the same method.”
And maybe you’re right. But you need something, and sometimes when there are 150 other guys drop-shotting that day, it’s harder to pull a rabbit out of your…livewell at 2:45.
My suggestions: something small, something that moves, and something that casts well. Why? When you hear a clock ticking in your head and you absolutely need to score, winding up and chucking some 10-inch boat fender is low percentage fishing. You need as many presentations as you can muster in a few minutes, and each that will appeal to anything in the fish population, that will fill you out.
Grubs are something that fits. Under-spins are pretty hot. And maybe you go with a pea head and 3 inch shad tail. Each throws like a rock, wiggles on the fall, but still gets down, and any keeper in the lake will bite them.
Hey, this is desperation time in the waning minutes! The difference between four and five is a whole universe.