Reel Chat with DAVE LEFEBRE

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Welcome to FLW Live Reel Chat. This week we’re joined by Dave Lefebre, winner of the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Series Angler of the Year award. As one of the circuit’s younger and most versatile anglers, Lefebre rose through the ranks of the BFL and Stren Series, eventually becoming a fixture on both the FLW Tour and FLW Series – two of the most competitive professional bass-fishing tours in the nation.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
With an astonishing 27 top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events over the past six years and more than $585,000 in winnings in his short pro career, Lefebre is one of the most impressive “young guns” currently fishing in FLW Outdoors circuits. Today the Lefebre is here to take questions from you, the fans. Let’s get started.

Q: First off, congratulations on your success this year, in particular becoming FLW Series AOY. My question involves one of your decisions while fishing tournaments. It makes sense to choose a higher pound-test line to eliminate potential breakoffs; however, when conditions warrant it, how light of line do you feel comfortable dropping down to?
— Matt (Indiana, Pa.)
A: It’s kind of an interesting question, considering that I just fished lines this season. I’ve been experimenting a lot with going down to 6-pound-test line on my baitcasting reels. I don’t use spinning reels that much. For largemouth fishing, pitching jigs, 8-pound-test is usually the limit for me. Since I started using Gamma line, that’s when I started experimenting more – the strength of that line is hard to compare with anything else on the market. I feel the lighter line you can use, the better advantage you’ll have against the rest of the competition.

Q: Congratulations on Angler of the Year. My question is this: What advice would you give to weekend anglers who want to take that next step? I currently fish as a co-angler in the BFL and would like to step up to the boater side and also into the Stren Series. Thanks.
— GaryThacker (Covington, Ga.)
A: It depends on how far you want to go. A good, small step is to go to the boater side of the BFL. However, if you feel confident, you can try going into the Stren Series as a co-angler – there’s not a big, big difference except that entry fees are a little bit more. If you want to move on to the boater side, there a lot more things to think about – doing that in the BFL is a great training ground, a first step to test the waters, so to speak. That’s basically how I did it. I started in 2001 following a similar approach. The BFL, in some respects, is harder to win than a Stren event because it’s only a one-day event and you don’t have too many opportunities to recover from mistakes or mishaps on the water.

Q: Hi, Dave. When fishing submerged grass in the 8- to 14-foot range, do you just fish the outside edge, or do you go into the weedbed, depending on how thick it is?
— Cory Berner (Averill Park, N.Y.)
A: I grew up fishing grass, and the short answer is that you have to fish it all. The edge of the grass line is just a starting point. It’s just like anything else. It’s easier if you picture the grass lines like a shoreline. You can follow a grass line and follow that to a point. And if you catch a fish there, you might want to move into the interior of the grass a little more. When you’re fishing grass, you want to look for schooling fish. A good way to approach it is to follow the weedline until you get a bite. Then you can expand the immediate area you’re fishing because the bass are probably feeding there.

Q: How do you fish a drop-shot rig, and what are the best baits for drop-shotting?
— Michael Robinson (Taylors, S.C.)
A: I use a really light line, 4- to 8-pound-test, and a palomar knot. I also use a Gamakatsu wide-gap finesse hook. I usually start with a No. 2 and up to a 1-0. Most of the drop-shotting I do is for smallmouth fishing up North, so it might not apply directly to fishing in the South. But up North, I used Kinami 4-inch flash baits and small worms. Also one of my main baits I use up here is a goby immitation bait.

Q: Dave, congratulations on your AOY title! What kind of patterns and water depth do you target when you practice before a tournament, especially during the fall with the dropping water temperatures and the die-off of vegetation?
— Tom Tracy (Bedford, Pa.)
A: During the fall, most of us are looking for baitfish movements – where the shad are. Everything is moving up shallow in the fall. In the back of creeks, deep bends or anywhere else bass can ambush their forage is where I’ll start looking. Dying grass is still a good place to look as well. But overall, once you find out where the baitfish are, you should be in good shape. As a general rule, the fish in the fall are usually in about the same place as they are in the spring.

Q: Congrats on your win. I have a question: About how much does it cost to fish the pro tour a year? I know the cost will change with the price of gas and a few other things, but I was just wondering about an approximate cost.
— Matt Robertson (Central City, Ky.)
A: When you add up gas, travel, hotels and entry fees, to fish a complete FLW Tour season and a complete FLW Series season, you’d probably need to spend about $80,000. You can cut cost by camping, which is something I do with my wife occasionally. Obviously, the entry fees for the Stren Series and BFL tournament trails are a lot cheaper, so that factors in as well. But to be a pro and fish the FLW Tour and FLW Series, you’re talking about $80,000.

Q: Congratulations, Dave, on a fantastic year! What tips would you give a co-angler to consistently catch fish behind the pros like yourself?
— Kenneth Shaw (Caledonia, Miss.)
A: It’s a great question. My advice for catching fish behind the pro is to be more passive and less aggressive. It might be a little more boring, but stick with small baits and light line. I’ve fished with a lot of successful co-anglers, and with the best ones, that’s what they do.

Q: You are a young guy, and with all of the new technology in depth finders (like LCDs and CRTs, etc.), why do you still use old-fashioned flashers most of the time?
— Lee Duer (Ingleside, Ill.)
A: This is probably the question I get asked the most: What is that (flasher)? Although I still use the top-of-the-line Garmin equipment, the flashers are what I grew up using, so I’ve just stuck with it. And there are so many advantages. The main one is that it’s in real time. There is no delay in signal, so if I’m going 70 miles down the lake and I go over a 10-foot hump, the flasher goes off immediately. The ones I use are Vexilar models. I also like to fish shallow, and they read really well in shallow water. They’ll never go off and say you’re in like 13,000 feet. They read through grass, and it’s really easy to detect different types of bottom hardness and contours.

Q: Hi, Dave. When you are fishing jigs in millfoil that’s about 12 feet deep in the summer, what size jig do you use? And how often do you change up your jig size untill you find the right size?
— Cory (Averill Park, N.Y.)
A: I usually start with a 3/8-ounce to 1/2-ounce – those are two great sizes to start with. It also depends on the thickness of the weeds. If you start with a 1/2-ounce, a good size to start with, you can use it for both thick cover and lighter cover to figure out what’s going on. You can fish it in clumps or on the edge. Then once you find out what’s going on, you can go up to 1 ounce or 1 1/4-ounce to bust through the matts if that’s where the fish are. Also, you can downsize your jigs if you’re fishing in lighter cover. But another good approach is to have two rods rigged up with two different jig sizes, so if you come across a hole, you can pick up the rod with the bait that makes the most sense to use. Then you can go right back to fishing thicker cover with your other rod.

Q: How do you fish a jig? I seem to not be able to get any fish to hit a jig any time of the year.
— Tyler Hoopaugh (Shelby, N.C.)
A: A jig is the best bait to immitate a crayfish with, and it’s really important to be able to fish a jig. You catch bigger fish on them, and there are many advantages. So, I’d say, don’t give up on the jig. Keep practicing. And as soon as you catch your first fish on a jig, you’ll never stop learning. One thing you can do is go on a trip and just take your jigs and force yourself to learn. You can fish them anywhere, open water, under docks, etc. They’re the most versatile bait there is. One mistake people make is not using a heavy enough rod and not setting the hook hard enough. It really takes a jolt with those guards to get it through the fish’s mouth. It’s not like a soft-plastic bait where a fish will swim away with it. With a jig, they’ll hit it and then swim away, so you really have to set the hook fast. I hope those tips help.

Q: Great win, Dave. What would you do if you had an idea for lures to catch more bass?
— Allan Boyd (Mamaroneck, N.Y.)
A: I’m definitely into bait designs, but I haven’t really put too much time into that yet. However, if I do come up with an idea, it’s important to try to get a patent as soon as you can. I’ve actually thought of some ideas, and a few years later, realized that a similar idea found its way to the marketplace.

Q: What is the best bait to use on a pond?
— Jonathan Gager (San Antonio, Texas)
A: I grew up sneaking around, fishing every pond in my area. Pond bass, in general, are a lot less pressured. So I’d say there are three baits I’d throw. You can’t beat a topwater frog-type bait, at least the first time you try. It’s a fun way to fish. But the bass will quickly get educated on what you’re using, so you have to keep that in mind. Also, buzzbaits work well. Spinnerbaits are really good as well. But there are also many things that will work, especially the baits that are more versatile. Ponds are a great place to experiment.

Q: Hey, Dave, we fished together on day one of the Potomac tourney. Congrats on your daughter. I was wondering, does that make bass fishing seem pretty trivial? Hope all is well with you and your family, and don’t stop catching those smallies on Erie!
— Andrew Roberts (Spotsylvania, Va.)
A: Thanks for the nice note. Actually, it makes bass fishing seem more important now because I have to support my family.

Q: Dave, I just want to get pointed in the right direction to get noticed. No free ride here; I will do all the work. I made the state team for 2007 in first place as a co-angler. Thanks for any help.
— Robert McNeill (Bethlehem, Pa.)
A: The best way to get noticed is to win. The other way is to make sure you get written about. You can contact a local writer in your area, and if you make yourself available to them, pitch some stories, they might take you up on it. Offer to take local writers fishing. But basically, those are the best ways to approach that.

Q: Dave, do you pefer clear water, stained, skinny water, deep? What would be your “comfort” water?
— Terry (Tyler, Texas)
A: My comfort water is stained to muddy shallow water with a little bit of current. But I also like to be versatile, so it’s important to be good at fishing in any environment. But if I had to pick my perfect water, that’s what I’d pick.

Q: Hi, Dave. Do you have any tips for fishing Cayuga Lake in New York? I know you have won there before, back in your BFL days.
— Cory Berner (Averill Park, N.Y.)
A: It’s an awesome lake, one of my favorites. If I had to choose to fish for largemouth or smallmouth, I’d choose largemouth on that lake. Mainly the fish relate to the grass on that lake. By fishing weed lines and learning underwater weed points is basically how I learned to fish there. It’s a good jig lake, and it’s a good spinnerbait lake – white, 1/2-ounce with spinner blades. Targeting schooling fish has always been a key on that lake as well. Those fish will always relate to weeds, but they won’t necessarily be in them. Sometimes they’ll be out in 20 to 25 feet of water, but they’ll usually be close to those weeds. A Senko works well when the lake is calm. Overall, it’s a pretty unique lake.

Q: Dave, what all baits do you use fluorocarbon for, and what pound-test do you use?
— Jon Hardin (Pickwick Dam, Tenn.)
A: I use fluorocarbon line all the time – there are just too many advantages to it, in my opinion. One of the disadvantages of that line in the past has been the shock resistance; the line is very brittle. But with the new Gamma line, that disadvantage is wiped away. Realistically, the only time I don’t use fluorocarbon line is when I’m fishing a topwater bait.

Q: Congrats on a great year, Dave! This is a Lake Erie-specific question: How do you approach finding offshore structure for smallmouths?
— John (New Castle, Pa.)
A: The first thing is having good electronics and GPS units – especially one on the front AND back of your boat. The main thing on Lake Erie is trying to figure out what depth the fish are at – that’s pretty much the only thing you need know. Depending on what time of year, I may start in 20 feet and fish up to 45 feet. That’s pretty much where the fish are going to be. Look for little tiny bumps or changes to the bottom contours at the key depth that you discover. So if I find the fish are in the 35-foot depth range, I’ll just run along that depth looking for changes in the bottom. Lake Erie, overall, is actually a pretty easy lake to figure out.

Q: Dave, how long do you usually practice for a tournament, and what is your process in approaching a new lake?
— Barry Kenelly (Erie, Pa.)
A: Most of it starts at home studying past tournament results. You can cut out a lot of variables just by knowing what kind of weights you need, what kind of fish you want to catch, etc. When I show up at a place, I give myself four days to practice. I like to look at the whole lake or most of it throughout some of my practice days. Then I’ll log things on my GPS that might come into play later. That’s really helped me a lot, especially the last six tournaments I’ve fished. So, if a pattern developes during a tournament, I won’t have to go looking for spots as I’ll already have those logged into my GPS. You also need to know seasonal patterns, which will help you to eliminate 70 percent of the lake right there.

Q: Dave, congrats on the Series! What do you do to stay in shape in the offseason? Run or jog, play Ping-Pong or what?
— PP Champ (North Wilkesboro, N.C.)
A: During the offseason, I try to go to bed the same time I do during the season so I don’t get screwed up. My wife and I go walking every day, and we’re just in the process of building an excercise room. You have to eat healthy and try to stay active. I’ve gotten a little out of shape now, so I’m really working on getting back to where I was before.

Q: Where do you see the sport in five years? What do you think needs to happen to make it what we all want it to be?
— John (South HIll, Va.)
A: If you pattern the sport and look at everything that’s happened in the last five years, it should continue to grow at that pace into the future. What FLW has done to raise the bar has been amazing. It’s an extremely exciting time to be involved in this sport. We’re already up to $1 million in the FLW Championship, and that says a lot. Also, there are more and more nonendemic sponsors coming onboard every year, and that’s really important to grow the sport. In short, the sky is the limit.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Dave, thanks for your time and for joining us today on FLW Live Reel Chat. Congratulations on a tremendous season and your AOY title, and good luck next year.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
And thanks to the fishing fans who took part in today’s chat. Join us again soon for a live discussion with another compelling pro.