COLD WATER HAMMER
The V & M Big LeBoom Spinnerbait in citrus . Nick LeBrun designed this bait to put tournament-winning fish in the boat .
NICK ’ S PRESPAWN FAVORITES Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps in red craw and chrome / black back .
Nick LeBrun
Bossier City , Louisiana
PRESPAWN WATERS : Toledo Bend , Sam Rayburn
With fabled waters like Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn close to home , Pro Circuit angler Nick LeBrun gears up for big fish in big numbers as winter fades .
Key conditions / habitat
“ I always look for a form of vegetation on a spawning flat or bank ,” LeBrun says . “ The fish pile up on the edges of hydrilla or milfoil in 4 to 7 feet of water .”
In February , the bigger schools of “ winning ” fish gather in the middle or back ends of a creek arm .
“ That main-lake bite won ’ t last long ,” he warns . “ When you find a school midcreek or back , there will be more fish and the bigger females . And these areas will reload .”
Keep in mind that …
There ’ s a broad window to the bass spawn .
“ Over the years , guys have come to think that all the bass in Louisiana and Texas spawn on the first full moon of February , up shallow … and it ’ s over ,” LeBrun says . “ A lot do spawn in mid-February , yet I ’ m often sight fishing on June 1 . A lot of fish are still spawning on the main lake in May .”
Favorite baits and techniques
LeBrun gets long mileage out of Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps in the prespawn period . Preferred colors are chrome and red
“ A lot of fish are still spawning on the main lake in May . That ’ s a hidden secret .”
PHOTO BY JODY WHITE crawfish . He changes out factory hooks with No . 4 Hayabusa TBL 930 trebles .
“ The key is to make long casts , because every time you catch one bass , you move that school closer to the boat ,” says LeBrun , who registered a 29-pound , 2-ounce Day 1 total on a craw-colored ‘ Trap during the first event of the Pro Circuit season on Sam Rayburn in 2019 en route to a secondplace finish . “ If they ’ re in 5 feet of water with 3-foot-high vegetation , I ’ m reeling the bait high . I just want to skirt the grass and make contact .”
He cautions against ripping the bait too hard to free it from vegetation .
“ The smaller the rip the better because the water is too cold for them to chase ,” he says . “ A short ‘ power punch ’ of a rip will trigger them . It ’ s almost like bringing that bait through a bear trap .”
In cold-water conditions , he relies on the 3 / 4-ounce Big LeBoom Spinnerbait , a long-armed bait that he designed for V & M Baits . Three years ago , a prototype LeBoom led him to that runner-up finish at Rayburn .
“ That long arm gives the bait a little different wiggle and frequency with a single No . 6 Colorado blade ,” he says . “ It helps me get fish positioned 8 to 12 feet deep or better .”
Tips & Tricks :
A lot of bass in early spawning waves are night feeders . “ You ’ ll get them at daylight ,” he says . “ I know they bite then .”
In high-water conditions , he fishes sunken trees , bushes or docks . “ The higher the water , the more bass move to the bank ,” LeBrun says . “ Sometimes I ’ m fishing an inside grass line . If it ’ s a dock-and-rock lake in Alabama , they ’ ll set up on the first couple docks .”
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