Countdown To A Full Livewell

Tournament fishermen like Pennsylvania's Dave Lefebre are always trying to find something that will give them an edge on the competition. Sometimes that's a new prototype lure not yet available to the public, or a low-production handmade model. Other times, it's an old out-of-production lure that's hard to find, such as the decades-old Smithwick Rogue that Kevin VanDam used to win the 2005 Bassmaster Classic in Pittsburgh.

Lefebre has been playing with another old and seemingly forgotten favorite, the CountDown Rapala minnow. It first became popular in the 1960's, when it and the floating model were all the rage. It's still being made, but you don't hear about it much in tournament bass fishing circles.

That may change before long.

Another Tough-Bite Bait

"We caught over 100 bass on a CountDown Rapala a few days ago," Lefebre said during a stopover on his way to Mobile, Ala. for the Stren Series Championship. "It was really more like 180, but just say 100 because nobody would believe we caught almost 200 on it."

We're talking mostly about the CD9 model, which is 9 centimeters (about 3 1/2 inches) long, though he sometimes uses the smaller one (CD7), and occasionally the larger (CD11) size.

"It's working now in the fall when you're fishing a baitfish pattern," he noted. "It also works in spring, again when they're after baitfish. And it doesn't work just up north. I've caught fish all across country on it."

He uses it when the bite is tough and bass are sulking in grass or brush in fairly shallow water, no more than 12 to 14 feet deep. "It's mostly a grass type thing, for when they're turned off and buried in something. It doesn't work all the time, but like with a swimbait, when it's working, you can't beat it."

How to Fish It

Lefebre has been fishing this technique for 20 years, and started off using monofilament line. Now he uses nothing but Gamma Edge fluorocarbon.

"I think you need the fluorocarbon for feel," he said. "There isn't a strong wobble like a crankbait, and you need to feel that very slight vibration and know if a leaf or something gets on it and kills the action."

He will often have five or six rods on the deck, all rigged slightly differently, when he's really tuned into the CountDown bite. All have high-speed reels to take up slack quickly, and are loaded with 10- to 12-pound Gamma line when he's fishing around grass, and up to 14-pound line for brush.

His favorite rod is a 7 1/2-foot, medium-action Setyr cranking rod, but he may opt for a 6 1/2-foot, medium-action at times, and a stiffer rod for thick cover.

The CountDown Rapala sinks about a foot a second, but contrary to the name, he doesn't count it down. Instead, he fishes it much like a very light jig.

"You fish it real slow," he said. "You cast it out over the grass, and let it sink down on a semi-slack line. It'll settle on top the grass and your line goes slack, like with a jig. You don't sweep the rod up, you just lift it until you feel the bait wobbling. Keep lifting until the rod tip gets to 12 o'clock, and then let it fall again.

"Most bites are on the fall, and they're a good, solid tick. If you lift and feel resistance when it's slightly snagged in the grass, or the nose is just touching the grass and it doesn't easily move forward, then give it just a little pop to free it."

Tackle and Tweaks

"When I use the CountDown Rapala, I'm often fishing old grass that's dying, especially up north," Lefebre said. "I change the hooks out to Daiichi round-bend trebles, and mostly use a No. 6 size. I'll downsize to No. 8 hooks – which are super tiny – over old grass sometimes, because you can't just snap the bait free from that decaying stuff. The smaller hooks come out of grass better."

In open water situations, he'll upsize to No. 4 hooks, but that's a limited application.

"The only time I use No. 4 hooks is for open-water schooling fish that are biting like crazy. I'm talking about like early spring when the water is 45 to 50 degrees, just after ice-out, and you get a 70-degree day, and late in the day they bite everything."

Most of the time he is trying to draw lethargic bass up out of cover.

"When I'm fishing over brush, I sometimes use just one hook on the tail," he added. "I'll remove the front hook entirely. I'll put a No. 4 or No. 6 size on the tail and cut off the barb facing forward, so it has just two barbs, both facing backwards.

"They rarely snag when you pull it slowly over the brush, since they face up as the hook drags over the limb. The hookup ratio is surprisingly good."

Notable

> Lefebre has three large Plano boxes full of CountDown Rapalas. "One box is all black back on silver (foil), one is black on gold, and the other is all different colors," he said. "I also carry about 13 colors of spray and I color the baits different ways. I like the silver ones best for that."

> He ties a Palomar knot with his Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, and sometimes will tuck the tag end back down into the knot before cinching it tight. "That will reduce the slime blobs that often gather up on the front of the knot."

> His favorite CountDown is a well-used, battle-scarred warrior. "That bait has got three big holes in it and a chunk of wood sticking out of the bottom. It doesn't matter if it soaks up some water, since it's a sinker anyway, and you don't worry about the balance since you move it so slow. I've even used a wire brush to make new ones look chewed on, and some even have chunks out of them like a musky bit it."

> He's a minimalist when it comes to hardware on crankbaits. He replaces the stock copper-colored split rings with tiny silver ones for the hooks, and uses the smallest Duo-Lok or Arkie snap he can on the nose of the bait. "In really tough conditions I'll tie a loop-knot to the nose and not use a snap."

> Lefebre is not sponsored by Rapala VMC. (The Rapala pro staff includes Bernie Schultz, David Fritts, and Larry Nixon).