The fate of Oklahoma’s top anglers Friday showed just how quickly things can turn on the Bassmaster Elite Trail. Jubilation or heartbreak can come on the turn of a glorious day or in the stretch of a few gut-wrenching minutes.
In the final Elite tournament of the year at New York’s Oneida Lake, near Syracuse, four Oklahoma anglers looked to be in fair shape to qualify for a slot in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, which will take place on their home waters at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees Feb. 22-24. Now only two remain.
Friday Wagoner’s Tommy Biffle stepped off the Classic qualifier bubble to not only put himself in contention for a win at Oneida but to secure enough season points to all but assure himself a spot in the Classic. A 16-pound 4-ounce bag of five fish lifted him into fourth place in the tournament and just 1 pound 4 ounces off the lead.
Winning at Oneida would just be a bonus. “I just want to make sure I’m at Grand Lake, that’s what I want to make sure of,” Biffle said.
While Oneida is treating Biffle well, it punished Jeff Kriet of Ardmore and dealt a crushing blow to Talala’s Terry Butcher.
Butcher mistakenly thought he was supposed to check in at 4 p.m. Friday but his check-in actually was at 3:45 p.m. He arrived 11 minutes late and was assessed a 1-pound deduction for each minute.
The penalty turned his 13-pound, 15-ounce bag into a 2-pound, 15-ounce bag. He could have been in 22nd place and safe in the tournament and in standings for the Classic. Instead he is in 80th place.
“That knocked me out of the Classic, it knocked me out of everything,” Butcher said. “It just makes you sick to your stomach. It’s a lot of money. It’s a lot of everything.”
With lost tournament winnings, sponsor bonuses and the lost Classic appearance, Butcher said those 11 minutes likely cost him $40,000, “and then some,” he said. “It’s just not real,” he said. “It’s enough to make a grown man cry.”
Kriet had similar comments on the nightmare at Oneida. On Day One he caught only one fish, a 3-pounder. Friday he recovered but the 14-pound, 10-ounce bag wasn’t enough. “Three pounds puts you in a hole. You can’t come back from that,” Kriet said. “Last night I woke up several times thinking it was a nightmare and the tournament hadn’t started yet.”
Going into the tournament Kriet was considered a certainty for Classic qualification. He has done well on Oneida in the past and he only needed to finish in 60th place or better to keep his Classic hopes alive. He placed 76th.
After the first five tournaments of the year Kriet he was in 13th place in points and was considered a possible contender for Angler of the Year. By the time Oneida arrived he had slipped to 26th place but still felt safe for the Classic, he said. But one day unraveled his entire season.
He summed it up simply, “Yesterday was the worst day of my professional bass fishing career,” he said.
Edwin Evers of Talala remains a sure thing for the Classic but he did drop in the standings at Oneida Friday. He will need a solid day Saturday to make the cut for Sunday and rise to 8th place in Angler of the Year standings. Top eight placement qualifies him for an All-Star postseason appearance in September.
“You just want to have a better tournament than I’m having,” he said. “I’m tired of the mediocre finish.”
Evers found good fish Friday but they found ways to get off his hook before they were boated. He did land a 4-pound 11-ounce largemouth that bolstered his catch to 11 pounds 10 ounces. He is in 28th place at Oneida after two days and feeling some pressure going into Day Three. “I’m under pressure,” he said. “It’s a nail-biter.”
2012 Elite Series Ramada Championship Top 10
(and Oklahoma anglers)
Place, Name, Hometown, 2-Day Total
1 Randy Howell, Springville, Ala., 32-2
2 Boyd Duckett, Demopolis, Ala., 31-6
3 Scott Rook, Little Rock, Ark. 31-0
4 Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, 30-14
5 Michael Iaconelli, Runnemede, NJ, 30-9
6 Brent Chapman, Lake Quivera, Kan., 30-8
7 Brandon Palaniuk, Rathdrum, Idaho, 30-3
8 Terry Scroggins, Palatka, Fla., 30-1
9 Matthew Herren, Trussville, Ala., 30-0
10 Jason Quinn, York, SC, 29-13
28 Edwin Evers, Talala, 26-15
58 Jared Miller, Norman, 23-5
63 Kevin Ledoux, Choctaw, 21-15
64 Fred Roumbanis, Bixby, 21-15
76 Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, 17-12
77 Scott Ashmore, Broken Arrow, 17-3
80 Terry Butcher, Talala, 16-10
83 Kenyon Hill, Norman, 15-2
89 David Smith, Del City, 11-11
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