By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Nick LeBrun lives just 5 miles from Cross Lake, the site of this year's BFL All-American. Despite his proximity, though, he doesn't know the lake all that well and had never spent much time there prior to qualifying for last week's derby.
He's a much more frequent visitor to Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend reservoirs, both of which are at least a 2-hour drive away. Those venues host the majority of the higher-level events in his region and he's won a regular-season BFL at each.
"The competition at those lakes is so tough and I end up spending all my time down there," he said. "I'd never fished Cross until the last couple of months. I took a lot of time off of work to fish it before the cut-off."
He figured going into the tournament that an average of 15 pounds a day might give an angler a shot at winning. It's a good thing he caught a lot more than that.
The 33-year-old resident of Bossier City, La. amassed 62-08 over 3 days to claim the $100,000 winner's prize and a berth in this year's Forrest Wood Cup. He beat out Randy Deaver for the title after entering the final day facing a 3 1/2-pound deficit to his good friend and frequent tournament partner.
LeBrun laid the foundation for his triumph with a massive 26-09 haul on opening day. After a lackluster day 2, he boxed 19-15 on the final day to eclipse Deaver by a little over 2 pounds.
Following are some of the details.
Practice
LeBrun, who operates his own business as a middle man between tackle manufacturers and retail outlets, latched onto the crankbait pattern around cypress trees that would carry him to victory during his pre-practice visits before the lake went off-limits. The event offered just 1 day of official practice during which the competitors were paired with co-anglers and he made only a few casts.
"I had a pretty good plan for what I wanted to do," he said. "I never tied the main crankbait on because I didn't want anybody to see me throwing it or anything like that.
"I had a chat with my co-angler (Stephen Main of Virginia) and I told him that we were going to be around fish and I had a pretty good plan and I asked him if he needed to catch anything. He was used to fishing cypress trees and said he was good to go and he never made a cast. We just trolled around and I gave him a tour and we were just counting down the hours until go-time."
Competition
> Day 1: 5, 26-09
> Day 2: 5, 16-00
> Day 3: 5, 19-15
> Total = 15, 62-08
LeBrun had to wait a little while for his first bite of the event, but it was worth it as he cranked up an 8-pounder at 8:30 a.m. A couple hours later, he pulled off his main area with about 23 pounds in his livewell and used a jig to snatch a 5-pounder from a duck blind.
"It was 12:30 by then and after that I really just laid down," he said. "I carried my co-angler around and catered to him as much as I could."
He came in about 10 1/2 pounds lighter on day 2, which he began on a duck blind. He quickly caught a 3-pounder and then hooked into a giant that wrapped his line around some sub-surface wire and broke off.
"That was a little bit of a momentum-killer, but I ended up having three for about 8 1/2 pounds at 8:30. Then I went 4 hours without a bite."
He moved to a small island where he'd gotten a few bites on a frog on the official practice day and finished his limit with two solid keepers. With about an hour and a half left, he picked up a "heavy 3" on a crankbait that accounted for his lone cull of the day.
He was the equivalent of one good fish behind Deaver with 1 day to go. He made up his mind to throw the crankbait the entire day.
"I went out thinking that Randy was going to catch them and I needed at least 20 pounds to have a chance at running him down," he said. "I knew the crankbait was the only way of doing that.
"I told my wife that I was fishing to win and I might fall all the way to 10th place, but that's what I was going to do. I had to keep the crankbait in my hand and stay where I knew the big ones lived."
He pieced together a mediocre stringer from several locations and toward the end of the day he made a long idle and troll back into the woods to fish three cypress trees. The first two didn't produce any bites, but the third surrendered a 5-pounder that provided his winning margin.
"When I got it near the boat and it opened its mouth, I could see it had one treble hook in the very top of its lip. My co-angler (Mike Allen of Mississippi) did a great job of netting it really quick and it came off in the net. That was a $100,000 fish.
"The whole thing happened in about 5 seconds. I get chills describing that moment – it was so awesome!"
Pattern Notes
The water around the cypress trees that LeBrun fished with his crankbait was only about 2 feet deep.
"I had to make real short, precise casts and take that 17-pound fluorocarbon and lay it on the tree underwater, then make it deflect off the tree. On day 1 I got a few bites without deflecting it, but generally I had to almost try to get it hung up and I did that a lot.
"Some of (the hung-up baits) I'd break off because I didn't want to roll up to the tree or blind and spook a fish, and I'd put a new one on and go retrieve the other one after after I was done fishing there."
Winning Gear Notes
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-heavy Fitzgerald Rods Bryan Thrift signature series cranking rod, Quantum Smoke S3 casting reel (6:1 ratio), 17-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, 6th Sense Movement 80X (bluegill spawn).
> Jig gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Fitzgerald Rods Stunner HD rod, same reel (7:1 ratio) and line, 1/2-ounce V&M Baits Pacemaker jig (blue shadow), V&M Baits Flat Wild trailer (blue shadow).
> The frog that produced two fish on day 2 was a SPRO Bronzeye in the killer gill color.
The Bottom Line
> Main factor in his success – "I think the biggest thing was timing. Me and Randy were sharing a few different areas and you could to through one and not get bit, and then come back later and catch a 5 and a 4. You had to be there at the right time and throwing the right kind of baits."
> Performance edge – "I'd say it was the whole setup for the 6th Sense Movement, from the bait to the rood, reel and line. I had that in my hand 90 percent of the time and I have to give it a lot of credit."
Notable
> LeBrun and wife Jolene are the parents of 2-year-old twin sons Jaxon and Jayce.
> He's 8th on the Southwestern FLW Series with one event remaining. If he finishes among the top 10, he'll receive an invitation to fish the FLW Tour next year, which he would accept.
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here..
Final Standings
1. Nick Lebrun -- Bossier City, La -- 26-9 (5) -- 16-0 (5) -- 19-15 (5) -- 62-8 (15) -- $100,000
2. Randy Deaver -- Blanchard, La -- 21-0 (5) -- 25-3 (5) -- 14-2 (5) -- 60-5 (15) -- $20,200
3. Adam Wagner -- Cookeville, Tn -- 22-12 (5) -- 15-5 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 53-13 (15) -- $15,100
4. Roger Fitzpatrick -- Eldon, Mo -- 19-4 (5) -- 20-6 (5) -- 12-13 (4) -- 52-7 (14) -- $14,000
5. Tyler Morgan -- Columbus, Ga -- 22-4 (5) -- 15-5 (5) -- 13-5 (5) -- 50-14 (15) -- $13,000
6. John Duvall -- Madison, Ga -- 19-7 (5) -- 15-15 (5) -- 15-3 (5) -- 50-9 (15) -- $12,000
7. Rob Jordan -- Flowery Branch, Ga -- 21-11 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 11-0 (4) -- 49-5 (14) -- $11,000
8. Marty Sisk -- Evansville, In -- 15-8 (5) -- 18-3 (5) -- 15-2 (5) -- 48-13 (15) -- $14,000
9. Heath Pack -- Ellijay, Ga -- 20-3 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 5-15 (3) -- 39-0 (13) -- $9,000
10. Ben Blaschke -- Muldrow, Ok -- 16-10 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 5-4 (2) -- 37-11 (12) -- $8,000
The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on day 3.
11. Kyle Weisenburger -- Ottawa, Oh -- 15-6 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 32-4 (10) -- $3,000
12. Jeremy Strong -- Elberton, Ga -- 19-0 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 31-10 (10) -- $8,000
13. Randy Despino -- Colfax, La -- 15-2 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 31-6 (10) -- $3,000
14. John Shore -- Owasso, Ok -- 22-3 (5) -- 9-1 (4) -- 31-4 (9) -- $3,000
15. Austin Wilson -- Citrus Heights, Ca -- 15-15 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 30-10 (10) -- $5,000
16. Chris Daves -- Spring Grove, Va -- 22-12 (5) -- 6-13 (3) -- 29-9 (8) -- $3,000
17. Kip Carter -- Mansfield, Ga -- 17-13 (5) -- 11-8 (5) -- 29-5 (10) -- $3,000
18. Clint Bissonett -- Beavercreek, Oh -- 12-6 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 29-4 (10) -- $3,000
19. Tim Rhoades -- Bowling Green, Ky -- 17-14 (5) -- 10-11 (3) -- 28-9 (8) -- $3,000
20. James Wall -- Greensboro, Nc -- 14-3 (5) -- 13-9 (5) -- 27-12 (10) -- $5,000
21. BJ Nelson -- Louisa, Ky -- 14-14 (5) -- 12-7 (5) -- 27-5 (10) -- $5,000
22. Loren Torok -- Hayden , Id -- 17-12 (5) -- 9-6 (4) -- 27-2 (9) -- $2,000
23. Brandon McGinnis -- Pell City, Al -- 14-1 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 27-0 (10) -- $2,000
24. Brent Anderson -- Kingston Springs, Tn -- 12-5 (5) -- 14-8 (5) -- 26-13 (10) -- $2,000
25. Brad Leifermann -- Andover, Mn -- 9-1 (3) -- 17-10 (5) -- 26-11 (8) -- $3,500
26. Mike Webster -- Atkins, Ar -- 15-4 (5) -- 10-8 (4) -- 25-12 (9) -- $2,000
27. Justin Royal -- Vidor, Tx -- 15-0 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 25-10 (10) -- $2,000
28. Jayme Rampey -- Liberty, Sc -- 13-9 (5) -- 12-1 (5) -- 25-10 (10) -- $2,000
29. Jason Sandidge -- Centerton, Ar -- 17-6 (5) -- 8-2 (4) -- 25-8 (9) -- $3,500
30. Eric Sanders -- Lexington, Ky -- 5-8 (2) -- 19-2 (5) -- 24-10 (7) -- $2,000
31. Grant Kelly -- Milledgeville, Ga -- 13-4 (5) -- 11-5 (4) -- 24-9 (9) -- $1,500
32. Steve Ruff -- Saint Charles, Mo -- 13-3 (5) -- 11-2 (3) -- 24-5 (8) -- $1,500
33. Kevin Powers -- Unicoi, Tn -- 13-13 (5) -- 10-7 (5) -- 24-4 (10) -- $2,500
34. John Devries -- Fishers, In -- 14-13 (5) -- 8-2 (5) -- 22-15 (10) -- $1,500
35. Pat Upthagrove -- Monroe, Mi -- 9-11 (4) -- 11-1 (4) -- 20-12 (8) -- $1,500
36. Danny Holloway -- Corinth, Ms -- 5-15 (2) -- 10-11 (5) -- 16-10 (7) -- $2,500
37. Roger Vinson -- Flowery Branch, Ga -- 3-10 (2) -- 12-11 (5) -- 16-5 (7) -- $1,500
38. Richard Owen -- Chester, Va -- 7-4 (4) -- 8-15 (4) -- 16-3 (8) -- $2,500
39. Justin Berger -- Almo, Ky -- 14-15 (5) -- 1-3 (1) -- 16-2 (6) -- $1,500
40. Billy Schroeder -- Paducah, Ky -- 5-11 (2) -- 10-2 (4) -- 15-13 (6) -- $2,500
41. Chris Panetta -- West Simsbury, Ct -- 10-7 (5) -- 4-1 (2) -- 14-8 (7) -- $2,500
42. Jackson Pleasant -- Raleigh, Nc -- 9-5 (3) -- 4-11 (2) -- 14-0 (5) -- $2,500
43. Ralph Ray -- Youngsville, Nc -- 2-13 (1) -- 11-1 (5) -- 13-14 (6) -- $1,500
44. Freddy Palmer -- Estill Springs, Tn -- 8-11 (3) -- 4-12 (2) -- 13-7 (5) -- $1,500
45. Nick Deering -- Portland, Me -- 9-3 (4) -- 3-14 (2) -- 13-1 (6) -- $2,500
46. Brian Trieschman -- Ellicott City, Md -- 7-0 (2) -- 4-2 (2) -- 11-2 (4) -- $1,500
47. Jack Dalzell -- Elyria, Oh -- 5-7 (2) -- 2-9 (1) -- 8-0 (3) -- $2,500
48. Edward Gettys -- Paris, Tn -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-9 (2) -- 3-9 (2) -- $2,500
49. David Nichol -- Gainesville, Ga -- 2-8 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 2-8 (2) -- $2,500
