PITTSBURGH – His tournament jersey sports pins for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins – both of which have brought home championships. Today, Pennsylvania pro Dave Lefebre sets out with hopes of moving a step closer to his own moment of victory in the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup on Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers.

A limit catch on day one gave the Union City angler an 8-pound, 13-ounce total. Lefebre will likely return to his undisclosed location on the Ohio River, where he’ll make precise presentations to specific rocks. His day one strategy yielded 25 keeper smallmouth.

Grabbing a gridiron analogy, Lefebre described his day one performance: “I thought it was going to be a running game and it ended up being a passing game. There were so many fish, it really surprised me.”

Of course, maximizing such a resource is like playing ball control offense – even if you can go long, keeping it conservative is often the wiser call.

“You always hear people talk about managing fish,” Lebere said, “but this is going to be one of those tournaments where I’m really going to have to make the right call. If this turns out to be four days for me, then I have to be careful.”

That strategy will prove particularly important with Texas pro David Curtis trailing by one ounce at 8-12. At nine ounces off the lead, Arkansas legend Larry Nixon fished within eyesight of Lefebre and caught 8-4. Lefebre said that keeping close tabs on the competition helps him know what he’ll need to catch – and what to leave – on day two.

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