In my first year as a pro staffer with Rapala, I was down at Lake Amistad for the Walmart FLW Series East-West Fish-Off. Rapala wanted to get photos of its pro staffers with some new lures after the tournament was over. I had finished third in the tournament, and I knew that the school I had been fishing would still be there, so that’s where we started. I tied on one of the new shiny DT Fat 3 prototypes, cast it out and immediately hooked up a 7-pounder. First cast – and that was just the beginning; it was phenomenal. What was really interesting is that the DT Fat 3 I was using was a crawfish pattern – an orange body with a black back because it would show up well in the photos.

Now, remember, this was at Amistad, and it’s as clear as a bell. Bright orange in clear water – that’s crazy; you don’t fish a loud color in clear water. The only thing I could think of was that maybe those bass thought the orange lure was a tilapia or something. However, it taught me a good lesson that any fisherman can benefit from: Never stick with what you think should work. Some of your best days on the water come when you experiment. Fish are smarter where they see a lot of fishing pressure. And there are times you need to forget conventional wisdom and go with something that they probably haven’t seen before.

—- Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa.

To read more about Dave’s life on the road as a professional angler, check out On Tour With Dave and Anne, sponsored by Chevy.