Cup Runner-Up Pattern
Lefebre Threw 'Old-Style' Worm, Depressions Key

Photo: BassFan Dave Lefebre was one of only two anglers to weigh a limit all 4 days – in fact, he caught what he said was "a bunch" of keepers the final day (when three of the Top 10 weighed two fish or less).

The final 2 days became a battle of old water vs. new, river vs. lake, run-and-gun vs. area-haunting, size vs. numbers, and topwater vs. pitching/flipping.

Michael Bennett won all those battles. He ran a ton of new water, made a ton of stops around the lake in different areas, and threw a topwater frog for quality bites.

Dave Lefebre, who finished 2nd and 5 pounds behind Bennett, took the opposite approach. He fished the Saluda River and stayed largely within a single expansive area, were he pitched a worm.

His pattern demands study for a couple of reasons. One, it was potentially the winning pattern, but he lost the bites on day 4 that would have put him on top of Bennett. Also, there were two other Top-10 anglers in the area – Dion Hibdon (6th) and Jay Yelas (10th). Yet more evidence that it was potentially the winning area. If it could support three Top 10 anglers for 4 days, plus the others who fished there but missed the cut, think what it could have done for one angler fishing it solo.

Thus, here's an examination of Lefebre's 2nd-place pattern.

Pattern Notes

> Day 1: 5, 10-14
> Day 2: 5, 12-02 (10, 23-00)
> Day 3: 5, 13-04
> Day 4: 5, 6-08 (10, 19-12)

Lefebre caught every fish he weighed on a new bait that could easily be called a throwback (or vintage) bait – the Berkley Powerbait Flippin'Tail worm in junebug.

He chose that particular worm because he wanted one bait that he could use on all the cover up there.

"I was real tight to cover – skipping it around bushes, docks, deadheads," he said. "But the spots I was fishing were small depressions – like a foot deeper than the areas around it. The water had been falling a little bit by inches, and they were in those depression spots. I was worm fishing for 4 days in practice and constantly staring at the flasher (see Performance Edge below).

"You'd flip the bank and it was 2 1/2 or 3 feet, but some places had one piece of cover – a deadhead or a bush – in a 4-foot depression. That was huge."

About his worm choice, he said: "When conditions get tough, and this was overall a super-tough tournament, Powerbait's tough to argue with. That's one part. The other part is that worm's got a huge tail. It's like an old gatortail worm. And a 3/16-ounce maroon Penetrater weight was the perfect weight.

Photo: Berkley Lefebre's only bait was the new Berkley Powerbait Flippin'Tail worm.

He was also fishing comparatively light 10- and 12-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon. The entire setup, he said, was "perfect" and that's why he continued to catch numbers of fish, even on day 4, and often behind Yelas and Hibdon. And he hooked and lost a 2 1/2, a 4 and a 5 that day.

Part of the reason for those lost fish, he noted, was his hook, which was a big deal, considering how well-balanced the rest of his presentation was.

"I struggled with that," he said. "I never lost a fish on day 2 and I used a 3/0 Yamamoto Sugoi hook. That's the perfect hook for when I was throwing to the outside or in-between. I went to a lightweight Gamakatsu for heavy cover (on day 4) and I lost two big ones out of heavy cover – I went to flipping when the sun came out."

Perhaps the most important part of his pattern, he said, was mastering the large area. "I spent practice and 4 days in that one area. I was just putting the trolling motor down and covering 50 miles and knowing every single spot. I didn't even fish all my stuff."

Gear Notes

> Worm gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Setyr Premier ECR190MH rod, 10- and 12-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, 3/16-ounce Penetrater weight (maroon), 3/0 Yamamoto Sugoi hook, Berkley Powerbait Flippin'Tail worm (junebug).

The Bottom Line