When Oklahoma veteran angler Tommy Biffle said yesterday that he’d caught his 22-1 bag cranking, most people thought square-bill crankbait. Biffle just did a segment on “Bassmaster LIVE” that provided a surprising answer to exactly what he’s cranking – a soft plastic Gene Larew Biffle Bug on a Larew HardHead swivel-head jig.
When you saw how fast Biffle was reeling, it showed that indeed he was “cranking” what’s traditionally thought of as bottom-bouncing jig-type bait or a flipping bait. It was a great lesson in the versatility of the lure. Biffle found the pattern yesterday mid-morning. All the bass he weighed Saturday were caught after 10:30. And he got confidence in it as the day progressed.
“I think I figured out something that I’ll bust ’em on tomorrow,” Biffle said Saturday. When asked if the afternoon bite was key, Biffle said, “No, I think I was doing the wrong thing. I was doing what I’d done the last couple of days.”
Sure enough, Biffle is off to a good start cranking a Biffle Bug. He had a 5-pounder and a 4-8 in his livewell before 10:30.