June 28, 2013
By Ned Kehde
Many knowledgeable observers say that Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Oklahoma, is one of the world's preeminent largemouth bass anglers. None of these observers, however, eulogize him as a top-of-the-line smallmouth bass angler. Biffle even casts some disparaging words about his abilities to catch smallmouth bass. But he won his seventh Bassmaster tournament on June 23 by catching an array of hefty smallmouth bass at the 2013 Elite Series Diet Mountain Dew Mississippi River Rumble at La Crosse, Wisconsin. And he caught them on his patented 4 ¼-inch Gene Larew Lures' Biffle Bug affixed to a 7/16-ounce Gene Larew Lures' HardHead.
Upon receiving the first-place trophy and $100,000, Biffle said it was the best and most enjoyable smallmouth bass fishing that he had ever had. Now a goodly number of smallmouth bass anglers across the United States and Canada are thinking about wielding the Biffle Bug and Hardhead.
Corresponding to Biffle's win on the Mississippi River, Gene Larew Lures announced that there is a new Biffle Bug. It is a 5-incher that they call the Big Bug, and it will be prominently displayed and talked about at the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades that opens on July 10 in Las Vegas.
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There are now three sizes of the Biffle Bug: a 3 ½-incher, 4 ¼-incher and the new 5-incher. The 5-inch Big Bug is the one on the right in the photograph above.
The hollow and oval-shaped torso of the Big Bug is encircled with 16 ribs. The widest portion of the torso is nearly an inch wide. The torso's cavity can be used to hold a rattle, floatation materials or a scent. Three small, stick-like appendages radiate from each side of its torso. At the side of junction of the torso and the Big Bug's cupped tail are two long appendages that are embellished with a boot, which creates Biffle and the folks at Larew call "a crazy-kicking action."
The Big Bug is available in 20 colors, including Tommy Biffle's favorite smoke silver, which he calls "the chrome of soft-plastic colors." The color that he has won the most prize money with is called Sooner Run, and he used a green-pumpkin Biffle Bug to inveigle the smallmouth bass at Bassmaster event on the Mississippi River.
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A package of six Big Bugs in a re-sealable bag retails for around $6.49.
In addition to the Big Bug, Gene Larew Lures is manufacturing a one-ounce HardHead. This unique weight and hook combination is fitted with a 6/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus hook. It was designed for the Big Bug and 4 ¼-incher. A package of two HardHeads retails for about $7.29.
Berkley PowerBait Tube Shape and thickness are important factors when selecting tubes for various techniques. Many versions are relative equals, as far as I'm concerned. I've always preferred thin, translucent tubes in clear, skinny water€¹where I spend most of my time fishing smallmouths. Berkley tubes fill those bills with a bonus: Built-in scent that works. Adding scent is something I do religiously, just in case. PowerBait saves that step. All that work in the laboratory paid off: Fish do hold on.
berkley-fishing.com Berkley PowerBait Finesse Worm When I want to deadstick a worm, or work a light finesse worm on a wacky rig, this is the first bait I look for. I always use scent. PowerBait eliminates the need to add any extra. Neutral and negative smallmouths can't swim past PowerBait even when it's just laying there on bottom. This thin worm is a traditional bass-fishing mainstay because it has the right amount of action€¹which is very little. Under a float (my infamous bobber wacky rig), the Finesse Worm creates the right dangle€¹maintaining enough of a horizontal profile to entice bass when it's just allowed to hover out there. A slightly stiffer worm than some, the PowerBait Finesse Worm appeals to neutral and negative fish much better than a floppy wet noodle. Finesse is about reduced size and subdued colors, yeah€¹but reduced action is equally important, especially when deadsticking or wacky rigging on calm days, bluebird, post-frontal days. Slightly more active fish tend to prefer a cigar worm, like the YUM Dinger or Gulp Sinking Minnow.
cabelas.com Kalin's Grub Many companies make auger-tail grubs and they all catch fish, but Kalin's makes the softest. It has one of the thinnest tails in the business, turning easiest at the slowest speeds, creating a lifelike swimming action smallies can't resist. Kalin's grubs are available in an amazing array of 50 colors, offering several shades and versions of all the most critical hues. And Kalin's offers the clearest plastic baits around. When light passes through a grub, it creates muted gradations of color and mutating colors, making the bait more natural and less stark in appearance. Kalin's comes in a 5-inch size, which is the most productive for me on the waters I fish from ice-out to ice-up.
cabelas.com Mojo Reefer Tail This might be the most versatile and effective plastic bait ever invented. Texas rig it, Carolina rig it, wacky rig it, put it on a jig, nose hook it, drift it through space, 3-way rig it, use it as a trailer on a spinnerbait€¹the Mojo Reefer Tail does it all. I probably reach for it most often when drop-shot rigging, where the flat, sensitive tail undulates at rest and quivers with the least bit of applied energy, But Reefer Tails are always handy on my ship, where I can apply one to any technique that's working in case this is the shape, profile, and action that really trips their trigger. Often as not, it is.
So why is this extremely hot bait tenth on my list? Because so many fantastic plastics exist today. You should see number eleven. (Number twelve is no slouch, either.)
mojolures.com Roboworm Curly Tail Like Kalin's Grubs, Roboworms are very soft, allowing the tail to work at very slow speeds. I generally thread either version (Roboworm Curly Tails are hand poured in 4.5- and 5.5-inch sizes) onto 1/16- to 1/8-ounce Gopher Tackle Mushroom Heads, TC Tackle Jigs, or Lunker City Football Heads and swim them slowly past rock piles and reefs or drag and deadstick them on transitions and weedlines. If I want a finesse Carolina worm, I generally reach for a 5.5-inch Robo. The gumdrop softness causes bass to hang on a little longer, and the 20 or so colors they offer are all highly unique combinations that appeal to smallmouths particularly well.
cabelas.com Yamamoto Hula Grub When I'm using football heads, the Yamamoto Hula Grub is the first trailer I look for in my bag of tricks. These baits are very soft and squishy, so the tail never fails to operate even at slow speeds. The skirted head is the right length (no need to trim) for optimum action. Even when the jig is at rest the tentacles are working. The size selection and range of colors is perfect for smallmouths everywhere I go. Salt impregnation has become an art form for Yamamoto, and bass certainly seem to like their recipe. I've yet to find a bottom-hugging school of smallies that won't gang up and maul a Hula Grub.
cabelas.com YUM F2 Craw Papi I don't know what I like most about this craw€¹the wide, flappy claws, the realistic shape, the great color selection, or the odd (but perfect) sizes. The 3.75-incher is a perfect trailer for a Terminator Finesse Jig, a Boohyah Baby Boo Jig, or a hair jig like one of Bert Deener's Fox Hair specialties.The 4.5-incher is right for Texas rigging through cabbage stalks, where those infamous rusty craws hang out. The Craw Papi is soft. It has a great built-in scent (F-2). Bass clamp down on it and hang on.
cabelas.com YUM Dinger If some of the salt-impregnated versions were more durable, they might at least rate a tie in the cigar-worm category. The Dinger is durable and the sacrifice in action is negligible. The action of a cigar worm is something you can't see unless you look really close, like through a glass wall at an aquarium or big fish tank. The tips should quiver on the fall. That's the trigger. The Dinger has it, along with a host of fish-catching colors and all the right sizes (from 3-inches to 5-inches) for smallies. I wacky rig them most of the time on a jig, or under a float, on a jig, or on a plain hook. Sometimes I nose hook them and fish them ³in space,² when things get really tough.
lurenet.com Castaic Jerky J/Lunker City SwimFish Swimbaits create another deadlock in my already gridlocked mind. The Castaic Jerky J is so soft the whole body swims. I tend to prefer it when the water is warm. The Lunker City SwimFish is a little stiffer, but has more natural, translucent colors€¹better in clear water. The tail action is hot, but the plastic is tougher, so it doesn't wobble all over the place. I can catch more bass on a SwimFish before having to replace it, so I like it during really hot bites and in colder water. I catch lots of smallmouths on both, generally on 1/8- to 1/4-ounce Gopher Tackle Mushroom Heads or Lunker City Fin-S swimbait heads.
Castaic Jerky J ,
lunkercity.com Density Tackle Panic Minnow/Jackal Crosstail Shad A virtual tie: The Density segmented plastic minnow and the Jackal Crosstail have become my go-to drop-shot baits on a 50-50 basis. On rivers, using the swimming drop-shot technique, or when smallmouths are spitting up shiners and perch, I tend to do better with the Density Panic Minnow. When the water's colder, or smallmouths are on chubs, redtails, leeches, or something indiscriminate, the Crosstail comes through. So many to choose from, though. The Mojo Reefer Tail (number 10 on the list), is another great dropshot bait.
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Jackal Crosstail Shad
