Hey guys so I have been doing some reading on the Biffle Bug system and I have a few questions. Now everything I see says that he fishes it on a 7.1:1 ratio reel.

 

Now my first question is if the idea is to keep the bait bumping the bottom, how can you reel it on that high of a speed and also keep it down? It seems to me that would bring it up through the water column very quickly. I also saw a few videos of him using it and he was reeling constantly in all of them, so he wasnt bringing it off the bottom and then stopping his reel so that it could fall back down.

 

Secondly, is that considered a clear water technique or is that ok for most types of water?

To keep bottom contact with a higher ratio reel you have to just reel slower and compensate with a heavier head. This system works great. Tight lines

Ok thanks! I notice Biffle talks a lot about how it is great around rocks, but is it good on bare banks or around wood as well?

I almost never reel it. 99% of the action I put on it is with sweeps of the rod then pick up slack with the reel. It is a good system around rocks and trees and anywhere you can actually fish a jig. I particularly like it on steep rocky banks down 20-25 ft in the summer on an 11/16 head

Just reel slowly and a high speed reel won't get it up too high. Shallow water with a heavy head and you can reel pretty fast and still contact bottom. A high speed reel really helps for those times they catch it and come right at you. 

 

I drag mine most of the time though, like a regular football head. I really haven't found a condition they don't work in yet, from the muddy water around here to the clear water at Table Rock. 

I like to deflect them off wood like you would a square bill you don't lose as many from a boat I wouldn't fish them like that from the bank

I'm not sure where people get this idea that you can't fish slow with a high speed reel. Those with this misconception need to remember there is a handle on the side of them that the slower you turn it the less line it picks up and the faster you turn it the more line it picks up. Just because you fish a 7.1:1 reel doesn't mean the bait is going to be moving x.xx mph no matter what. 

The key to this system is to keep your shorts above the kneecaps. On cold days you just have to tough it out.

Definitely not a clear-water only bait.  Pretty sure this was what he used to win on the Mississippi in 2013.

Biffle reels the fire out of that thing on that 7:1. Weight keeps it down. Deeper water needs more weight.

The key to this system is to keep your shorts above the kneecaps. On cold days you just have to tough it out.

This.