By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor
Dave Lefebre spent part of last Tuesday trudging around Presque Isle Bay near Erie, Pa., looking for “good ice” to do some fishing. It’s what he does in the wintertime around home when Mother Nature cooperates.
She’s done more than cooperate so far this winter. Snow is a part of the annual climate in Erie, but Lefebre can’t recall anything like what transpired around Christmas and in the days after.
“It was insane,” Lefebre declared.
Officially, 34 inches of snow fell in Erie on Christmas Day alone, shattering the city’s previous records for snowfall on a single day (20 inches) and on Christmas (8.1 inches). It didn’t let up once Christmas dinner was over either. Another two feet piled up the next day, bringing the two-day total to 58 1/2 inches, breaking the two-day record for snowfall in the state of Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service.
From Christmas Eve through the morning of Dec. 27, Erie received 65.1 inches of snow.
“I loved it. We all love it,” said Lefebre, whose home is situated a few miles north of the city of Erie on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie. “I was praying for more. That’s how we are.”
Lefebre said the snowfall was non-stop for what felt like three straight days.
“There was never a lull,” he said. “It never stopped. It was crazy. Every time I looked outside it was snowing for three solid days and we have a lot of windows, so it’s hard to ignore it.”
Lefebre had his 2017 tournament boat unwrapped and detailed locally and picked it up on Christmas Eve. He barely beat the brunt of the storm and got the boat tucked away in his garage.
“I didn’t know how bad it was going to get,” he said. “We hear it all the time in forecasts and it never happens. It usually misses us on the lake shore.”
The snowfall was a result of a lake-effect system, which combines cold air with the moisture from the lake water to create narrow bands that deliver whopping amounts of snow. Aside from it preventing some extended family from making it for Christmas dinner, the storm didn’t disrupt the Lefebres’ holiday.
“I got computer work and business side work done,” Lefebre said.
Planning An Exit
Lefebre said the winter blast and any additional storms on the horizon might complicate his plans to depart northwest Pennsylvania for the start of the Elite Series season, slated for Feb. 8-11 at Lake Martin in Alabama. He has plenty of work ahead of him to get prepped for the opener so being cooped up inside isn’t much of an issue, though.
“I might end up in Alabama a week early,” he joked. “It just depends on the forecast.”
While the winter weather didn’t pose any new challenges to Lefebre preparing for the new season, he admits he’s a little behind on research and tackle and boat prep.
Lefebre was able to get his driveway plowed out, but the snow still was piled high on top of his truck.
“If you asked me three lakes we’re going to, I wouldn’t know,” he said. “I definitely feel unprepared – big time. I have a lot of work to do and I need a solid week (to get it done). We have a few more before we head out.”
In addition to tournament prep, he’s trying to finish up editing and producing episodes for “Erie Extreme”, a fishing show he hosts that airs in the Erie, Pittsburgh and Buffalo, N.Y., markets.
“I’ve got four more to do,” he added.
Turn The Page
Once the line starts peeling off his reel and the 2018 season is under way, it’ll allow Lefebre to finally put behind him the struggles that plagued him down the stretch of the 2017 Elite Series season.
He was as high as fourth in the Angler of the Year points standings (after four events), but four finishes of 68th or lower over the final five full-field events put his Bassmaster Classic hopes in jeopardy. After a 27th-place showing at the AOY Championship, he wound up in the Classic Bracket, where he lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Jacob Powroznik.
When asked if there was any lingering bitterness about how the second half of the season unfolded, Lefebre said he’s moved past it all in his mind.
“I’m going to spin it into a positive,” he said. “I’m excited to start from zero again. Sometimes it’s your fault and sometimes no matter what you do, it doesn’t work out.
“It was just a bite here and there – stupid luck. I’m not thinking that all of a sudden the kids are better than me, but it was bound to happen one of these years. It happens to everyone. I’m excited to get going again.”
The season opener, though, has not been kind to Lefebre in his first two Elite Series campaigns. In 2016, he started with a 96th at the St. Johns River and last year, he was 88th at Cherokee Lake. His only experience at Lake Martin came in the 2002 FLW Series Championship, where he finished 66th.
“I remember that I liked it and I remember losing a 5-pounder,” he said. “It’s such a game of inches. At the St. Johns River, I worked on a 10-pounder and never caught it. When you spend half your tournament trying for one fish and it never happens, that hurts. If I catch that fish, it’s a good tournament. At Cherokee, it was smallmouth dropshot, vertical fishing. It was perfect (for me). I just lost too many fish.”
Notable
Here's a video Lefebre put together of what the Christmas snow storm experience was like.
