Lefebre Takes Kentucky Lake by Storm and Rapala DTs
OutdoorHub 06.22.12
Sitting in 40th after day one of a four-day tournament might have the average professional bass angler down in the dauber. But then again, Erie Pennsylvania’s Dave Lefebre is not your typical tournament participant, and the Rapala DT Series crankbaits and Storm WildEye swimbaits the 10-year bass tournament veteran hurled are definitely not your run of the mill baits.
Summing up the FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake, the Rapala pro boated bass after bass the three days following his cold start—including the heaviest bag for the entire event on day three—and reeled well past the closest competitor by over 6-pounds. His victory weight totaled 77-pounds, 3-ounces and earned him 125,000 greenbacks.
“The #6 and #10 DT (Dives-To) crankbaits were key all week” said Lefebre. “The flats I searched during pre-fishing are huge, as big as natural inland lakes up north, and the DTs allowed me to cover a lot of water quickly and narrow down where the fish were holding on these massive areas.” The majority of his fish came on Pearl Gray Shiner, clipped onto 10-pound-test fluorocarbon with a small snap.
With a little help from his DT friends, Lefebre figured out, by and large, the bigger bass were holding on clam beds that topped off at 5- to 6-feet of water on flats that averaged 10-feet. “Retrieving the lure faster than usual and making sure they whacked the bottom and riled the shells was crucial.” The precision dive curves of Rapala DT’s paid off in spades.
While crankbaits where used to search for schooled fish, once located, Lefebre would switch to a Glass Minnow Storm WildEye Pro Paddle Tail swimbait. “The 4-1/2-inch WildEye is my preferred size for larger fish,” he added. Lefebre tied the 1/2-ounce version to 20-pound-test fluorocarbon and used a slow, steady retrieve. The Storm Pro Paddle Tail’s sticky-sharp single hook ensured solid hooksets, too.
This Rapala/Storm win was Lefebre’s second FLW Victory; his first on North Central Tennessee’s Old Hickory Lake in 2004.
