Oklahoma native Tommy Biffle has been a part of the BASS tournament trail for 23 years. In that time he's racked up four wins, including the Dixie Duel on Lake Wheeler in Alabama. He's a BASS millionaire, and his tinkering with baits has led him to design several innovative lures for Gene Larew Lures that bear his name. Let's see how creative Tommy gets with our 20 questions:
1. Where are you from, originally?
Muskogee, Okla.
2. How did you get started in bass fishing?
When I was a kid I started walking around the ponds and lakes near my home. I was four when I started fishing.
3. Who were some of your earliest fishing heroes?
Denny Brauer. I didn't really know of any except for him.
4. When did you realize you had made it in the bass fishing industry?
I'm not sure I have made it yet. I guess after a few wins I've found that I can compete, but I'm not sure if I've made it yet.
5. What's the biggest bass you've ever caught?
Twelve pounds, 4 ounces. I got it on Santee Cooper in South Carolina a number of years ago during practice for a tournament.
6. What do you love most about bass fishing?
The hunt. I'm an avid deer hunter, and there are a lot of similarities. You need to figure out what they're doing each day if you want to be successful.
7. What is your greatest strength as a bass angler?
Pitching, especially with jigs. I like to toss them to bushes and other shallow cover.
8. What is your greatest weakness as a bass angler?
Clear water lakes. I don't really like using spinning gear all that much, either.
9. Where is your favorite place to fish for bass and why?
Falcon Lake in Texas. There are a ton of big bass in there, and that's what I like catching. Right now it's the hottest big bass lake in the country.
10. What question do you get asked most by fans and how do you answer it?
A lot of people ask me how long they should let a jig sit in a bush or how long they should fish one spot. My answer is always the same: Experiment until the fish tell you what is best.
11. What's the biggest mistake you see from casual anglers?
A lot of guys don't have enough confidence in themselves. They change baits too much. I've had co-anglers who changed what they're throwing 50 times. There are too many choices that can make fishing more complicated than it has to be. You need to stick with what you know and are good at.
12. How big a part does luck play in fishing?
You need luck, no matter what some guys say. They may say that they don't need it because they're good, but there is always an element of luck. Being good can help your odds for sure, but you need more good luck than bad. For example, at Wheeler I had a 5-pounder on, and when I went to swing it in the boat half of it was in the boat and the other was over the side. When he started flipping around, he flipped into the water rather the boat. That was a perfect example of bad luck because he could've flipped into the boat just as easily.
13. How did you get started in the lure design business?
I've always messed with baits and tried to make them better. Like with the Biffle-O, I just tried to make something they haven't seen yet.
14. What has been your greatest accomplishment in the fishing industry?
I think just being able to survive and make a career out of what I love is an accomplishment. I've never won a Classic or Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, but other than winning a few tournaments from time to time I don't think I've done anything spectacular.
15. What goals have you yet to accomplish in your bass fishing career?
I want to win a Classic and Angler of the Year.
16. What keeps you motivated to reach those goals?
The fact that I haven't done either of those things yet. You always want to do better and better, and the close finishes I've had make me want it that much more. I've had two second place finishes in the Classic, so that makes me hungry. The Angler of the Year thing goes in cycles. Some years have lakes that are better suited to a few anglers and others are better for other guys. You just need to wait until it's your year and then have a good year to get that.
17. What has been the greatest regret of your fishing career?
I don't know. I think there are a few things I wish I knew back when I finished second in those Classics. I would've been better prepared and maybe won. Maybe if I had a little bit better luck that would've helped.
18. When you're not bass fishing, how do you like to spend your time?
I love deer hunting. I try to extend the deer season from October 1st to the end of December because I travel a lot. We've also got a Polaris dealership we bought three years ago, so I spend a lot of time there working and talking to customers. I also like to shoot my bow.
19. What profession (other than your own) would you like to have tried?
I think I would've liked to have been a NASCAR driver. I had a little race boat a while back and have always liked going fast. In the last seven years I've gotten to meet a few of the stock car guys, and I like it more and more.
20. When it's all over, how do you want people to remember you?
I guess I want to be remembered as a good guy who did something to help the sport and make it better.