By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
The scene inside Dave Lefebre’s house early last Thursday morning wasn’t all that different from the manic mornings that occur in a lot of homes across America virtually every day.
It’s after 7 a.m. and Lefebre and wife Anne are feverishly trying to get their son and daughter off to school on time with lunches packed, jackets on and backpacks zipped up.
On this day, though, the longtime bass fishing pro is pulling double duty. Not only is he trying to make sure his kids don’t miss their buses, he’s focused on making sure he and the three outdoor writers he’s opened his house to (author included) have everything they’ll need for their planned day-long outing on the water, err, ice.
Lunch sandwiches are made to order, labeled with our names and stowed in a plastic shopping bag. An assortment of gear, including a rechargeable battery-powered auger, a man-powered auger, three fish-finding flasher units, two portable shelters and almost two dozen rods and other supplies are lifted and shoved into the bed of the dually Chevrolet diesel pick-up Lefebre has to turn over to a local dealership a couple weeks from now as part of Chevy’s split from FLW.
We gather in Lefebre’s massive fisherman’s paradise of a garage to layer up with fleece and cold-weather gear to guard against the chill that looms outside. The last thing we pull on are ice cleats which slip over the soles of our boots and will give us better traction once we reach our destination.
It’s a little after 8 and Lefebre laments leaving his house so late. This is the third day of what he informally calls the 2015 Ice Camp, an event he started last year in an effort to showcase the ice fishing around his Erie, Pa., home as well as the ice-specific products made by a few of his sponsors, 13 Fishing and Rapala’s Ice Force to be specific.
After a quick stop for water at a gas station, it’s not long before Lefebre pulls onto the shoulder of a snow-covered road in rural northwest Pennsylvania.
“Let's hope we're not stuck,” he says, half joking as he opens the driver's side door and hops out.
Bigger Isn't Better
Just down the berm to our left is Lake Pleasant, a 60-acre lake loaded with several species of state-stocked trout along with yellow perch, bluegill and bass. A light snow continues to fall as we unload the gear and slide it down the bank onto the crust, which measures 8 to 10 inches thick.
It’s a brief walk to the center of the tiny lake where the cluster of holes Lefebre and Co. had drilled the previous day were still visible, but had iced over during the overnight hours. We notice one other angler beginning to set up his hut a couple hundred yards to the north of us.
As we set up the huts and organize the gear, it’s worth noting the chasm that exists between this equipment and that which Lefebre makes his living with on the bass circuits.
The assortment of light and ultra-light action rods – none more than 27 inches in length – is rigged with 1-pound test fishing line on 100-size spinning reels. Our baits are tiny VMC ice jigs (1/32- and 1/64-oz. are standard) tipped with just-as-tiny artificial trailers that when rigged don’t exceed the size of your thumbnail.
Talk about downsizing your presentation.
After making the rounds and refreshing the 15 or so holes from the previous day, Lefebre is ready to fish. He grabs a rod and a flasher unit and begins hole-hopping. He spends 5, maybe 10 minutes at each hole, intently watching the flasher screen for the appearance of a fish or even better, a school of them.
He’s power-fishing on ice, minus the flipping rod.
“Punching ice mats,” he quips.
The area we’re fishing is in the main basin of the lake with 32 to 40 feet of water beneath the ice. Most of the fish we mark are in the middle 10 to 12 feet of the water column with a few strays hugging the bottom.
This Otter two-man hut served as home base for last week's ice fishing outing with Dave Lefebre.
“Fish on, boys,” Lefebre proclaims proudly as he sets the hook on what turned out to be our group’s first catch of the day – an above-average sized yellow perch.
Our group hits a brief flurry as it’s obvious a school of perch has moved through our area. A few bluegill are mixed in as well. Still no bass.
'Those Could Be Trout'
It’s a peaceful and mostly serene setting out on the ice. It’s a gray and overcast morning and the snow intensity picks up through the morning before letting up around noon. Lefebre, who makes mention every time he feels the wind shift, is unbothered as roams the pasture of holes with a hoodie, his insulated Ice Force bibs and a fleece beanie cap on.
A rooster from a nearby farm can be heard squawking, but his calls are for naught – we’re already here and the fish seem to be awake as well.
“There’s nothing like it,” Lefebre says as his 24-inch light-action 13 Fishing Whiteout rod doubles over before he stands and raises his arms straight up to set the hook. He starts winding his spinning reel, then lowers his arms while maintaining tension on the line and it’s 10 seconds before a bluegill flashes near the bottom rim of the hole and then gets plucked through the ice.
The keepers (or “eaters” as ice fishermen call them) for the day are put in a makeshift livewell that Lefebre created in the ice. He drilled three partial holes side by side, creating a trough deep enough to keep the fish alive, but he made sure to not cut all the way through so as to prevent them from returning to the depths.
As the four of us drop our lines, we notice some large marks on two flashers that are within 20 feet of each other.
“Those could be trout,” Lefebre says with a hint of excitement.
Sure enough, within minutes, one of us is hooked up, then another, as we land two healthy rainbow trout just seconds apart. The difference between trout and panfish is distinct in that the trout will more aggressively pursue the baits that are jigged vertically. The perch and bluegills, at least on this day, are a little more finicky.
Welcome Distraction
This is how Lefebre has spent his winters for years. He’s never been much into hunting so his escape from casting for bass and cash is to drill for a thrill. He's a rare breed among his bass pro brethren in that he can claim to be a true all-season angler. His favorite spots around home are Presque Isle Bay right in Erie, Pa., as well as Pymatuning Reservoir, Shenango River Reservoir and Findlay Lake in southwestern N.Y. Each offers a different set of challenges and target species.
On this day, though, his mind is partly occupied with the business side of his real job. He enters the 2015 season without a title sponsor for the first time in years after Kellogg's opted to not renew its deal with FLW, meaning Lefebre's run as the Frosted Flakes pro is over.
“I ordered my boat from out on the ice the other day,” he says in between calls to Anne, who’s back at the house sending emails on Dave’s behalf in an effort to secure equipment (electronics, trolling motor, Power-Poles, etc.) for the upcoming FLW Tour season.
Another trout flurry breaks the din a little while later, but Lefebre is wondering why the bite isn’t “on” like it was the day before. He drills a couple fresh holes and adds them to his rotation.
Finally, the sun breaks through in the mid afternoon, but it does little to help the fishing. We seize the opportunity to do an impromptu photo shoot. At this point, the livewell is full of a half dozen or so of each species.
For such a small lake, the quality of the fish is impressive – Lefebre doesn’t fish Pleasant during open water (motorized vessels are prohibited), but he’s heard the bass fishing is pretty strong as well.
Over and Out
It’s around 5 in the afternoon and the sun is starting to set on Ice Camp 2015. A scan of the lake reveals several other locals are still fishing around the lake.
As we break down the shelters and start to pull the gear back to the truck, we realize we’re moving a little slower than we did when we arrived. Lefebre runs ahead and snaps a picture of two outdoor writers doing the grunt work, sharing the tow rope that's attached to the ice hut.
He then recognizes another angler he knows and notices he doesn’t have a flasher unit with him. Lefebre grabs one from his sled and walks over and gives it to him.
As we load the truck, Lefebre is asked if he’s coming back out on the ice on Friday. That would make four straight days.
“I don’t think so. I’ve got so much stuff to catch up on at home now,” he says, referring to his need to focus his attention on prepping for the upcoming Tour season.
He drops the Chevy into 4-wheel drive and wiggles the truck off the shoulder and onto the pavement. Lake Pleasant disappears behind us and Ice Camp 2015 is closed.
