Today’s historical photo, Biffle’s Patented Pitching Technique, dates back to 1987 and features Tommy Biffle, who had recently pulled off a double win on his local Oklahoma waters. First, he won the Sport Bass Association Pro Division Tournament title at Lake Eufaula, OK on Saturday with just over 20 pounds of bass. Immediately after that win, he called his wife Sharon and had her meet him for a Sport Bass Association Couples Division meet the following day, which they also won with a 24-pound sack of bass. He found his fish shallow among the shoreline willows, getting a jig to them with what the paper stated was “his patented pitching technique.” Total weekend winnings came to $1,755.00.
At the time, Biffle was considered a likely 1987 Bassmaster Classic qualifier. He indeed ended up qualifying for and fishing the first of his 19 Classics at the Ohio River out of Louisville, Kentucky later that year. In total, he fished 354 Bassmaster events, winning 7 times. In addition, he fished numerous FLW events, as well as a host of local circuits and organizations over the years.
He fished so much, that in a local newspaper story just two weeks later, Biffle reported that he was about to lose his job as a packer for a glass company because of how much time he had taken off over the years to fish tournaments. “I make more money fishing than I do working, but that’s steady income. I hate to lose it.” When asked what he was going to do, he replied, “I’m gonna fish.”
On his “patented pitching technique,” the story stated he had “perfected an accurate long-range flip, which he had recently demonstrated on The Bassmasters Nashville Network TV show. While the average flipper propels a jig about 15 to 20 feet, Biffle sends it gently to the target from a distance of up to 60 feet. “I can stay farther away from the cover and throw it a lot farther into the cover,” he said.
