ON TOUR
BFL ALL-AMERICAN
L E BRUN DELIVERS WITH DEFLECTION AT ALL-AMERICAN
d
LOUISIANA ANGLER WINS BFL TITLE AT HOME
eflection was the key ingredient
to Nick LeBrun’s 2018 T-H
Marine FLW Bass Fishing League
All-American win on Cross Lake at the
first of June.
Specifically, LeBrun deflected a 6th
Sense Movement 80X shallow-running
crankbait off Cross Lake’s numerous
cypress tree bases and roots to amass
62 pounds, 8 ounces over three days.
LeBrun was considered a favorite
going into the All-American due to his
Bossier City address. He grew up in the
Shreveport area competing in tourna-
ments on Cross Lake, which gave him a
home court advantage.
On day one, he got off to a quick
start for the home team, boating an 8-
pound bass on his first bite of the tour-
nament. That monster laid the founda-
tion for LeBrun’s day-one catch of 26
By Rob Newell
pounds, 9 ounces – the biggest limit of
the tournament – all caught crashing
the Movement 8X into cypress trees.
On day two, LeBrun’s deflection bite
dwindled, producing just three bass
and forcing him to scramble. He need-
ed two keepers to fill a limit and got
them with a SPRO popping frog to sal-
vage his day with 16 pounds.
LeBrun’s day-two stumble allowed
Randy Deaver – another well-known
Cross Lake local from nearby Blanchard,
La. – to slip past him into the lead.
Deaver stole the show with the biggest
bag on day two, which weighed 25-3.
From that point on, the stage was
set for a good old-fashioned home-
town showdown between LeBrun and
Deaver, two long-time fishing friends
with their eyes on the $100,000 prize in
their own backyard.
When day three started, the score
was Deaver 46-3, LeBrun 42-9.
Deaver’s Cross Lake game plan was
a jig-pitching approach on the cypress
trees, backed up by a shaky-head skip-
ping program on docks.
LeBrun, however, was dedicated to
crashing a crankbait into cypress trees
to stimulate a bite. And that’s what he
stuck with in the final round.
“To me, that reaction bite on cypress
trees is unique,” LeBrun says. “There is
something about the crankbait con-
tacting the tree and then careening off
it erratically that bass just can’t handle.
When that deflection happens right in
their space, it’s purely instinctual for
them to attack. For me, forcing the fish
to react instead of waiting for a reac-
tion on a more subtle bait is just a
more effective way to fish.”
Cranking cypress in Cross Lake bayous was the winning program for Nick LeBrun.
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flWfIshIng.com I august-september 2018