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What dreams are(n’t) made of

June 30, 2008

From Bassfan.com 6/30/2008

As BassFans, we’ve all dreamed about finding the ultimate spot. You know, a place that’ll kick out 20 pounds in five casts in a 13-pound-average tournament.

Several competitors found spots like that at the recent Ft. Loudoun-Tellico FLW Tour in Tennessee. Some we know about - the holes David Dudley and Art Ferguson III fished, for example. But one that slipped under the radar was the smallmouth hive that Dave Lefebre busted open. The reason we didn’t hear about it was the hole turned off on day 1, and when it exploded again on day 2, he couldn’t keep the brown fish buttoned up.

But his story proves two things: 1. Tellico has some absolutely mammoth smallmouths, and 2. A competitor could have made the cut, and perhaps even won, fishing Tellico (the Top 10 fished Ft. Loudoun).

The way Lefebre tells it, he came upon the smallmouth money hole during practice. It was a current eddy on the downside of an island. His first casts to the spot in practice yielded a double for him and his practice partner - a 4 1/2- and a 5 1/2-pounder. And each time he touched it in practice, it was loaded.

On day 1, though, he could barely get bit there and limped in with two fish for 4-08, which put him in 145th.

Then came day 2. “It was probably the worst day I’ve ever had as far as fish jumping off or getting hung,” he said. “I ran up there in the morning and it was on fire. I should have been culling 4-pounders in the first 45 minutes with the bites I had. I lost a few 4 1/2-pounders, and it just got stupid after a while. I lost a 23 1/2-pound bag for sure, and I lost one that I thought was a 6 1/2, so technically I think I could have weighed 26 pounds. They were huge. My co-angler was a local, and he was blown away. He couldn’t believe it.”

He weighed two fish again on day 2 (out of 13 or 14 that he hooked), and they weighed 7-13 (one, pictured to right, was a 5-pounder). The cut was 26-15, so if he’d landed those fish, he likely could have made the cut from 145th (with smallmouths).

He threw a swimbait.

Yes, Loudoun and Tellico have the reputation of two lakes with intense fishing pressure and difficult conditions. But that doesn’t mean world-class bags don’t swim there. And BassFans definitely shouldn’t ignore Tellico the next time they fish the system

One Response to “What dreams are(n’t) made of”

1. cleojennings Says:
   

   Dave, you should have had at least 26 lbs on Friday of the Flw Fort loudon / Tellico tournament. And yes I have been back up in the river so I could mark it on my GPS. so I can use it at a later tournment. you had enough weight on the line you should have been fishing for the 100,000.00 on Saturday & Sunday. Hope you do well on the Detroit river and at the FLW Championship. Your Friend Cleo

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