Nick Lebrun Goes Back-to-Back with MLF Pro Circuit Win on the James River

Nick Lebrun has had one of the best years a professional bass angler can have. His recent success is nothing short of amazing, posting back-to-back wins at the Guntersville and James River stops of the Major League Fishing Pro Circuit. Lebrun’s recent run has catapulted him into the discussion box of many in the industry, many anxious to see how the Louisiana pro fares the rest of the season.

Lebrun’s first experience on the James River undoubtedly exceeded expectations. However, his tournament preparation was a little different than usual. He consciously decided to forego pre-practice since the fishery was more than 16 hours from home, leaving him only two days of official practice time to sort things out. At takeoff, he was comfortable with where he was going but wasn’t necessarily settled on an exact pattern.

The area he identified through research at home and in practice was similar to some of the fishing he has done in his home state, so he was ready for and comfortable with the opportunity to fish similar water. Growing up in Northwest Louisiana provided him with familiarity with cypress tree fishing, a vital part of his overall strategy.

“I spent the majority of my time in practice in the Chickahominy River. I found a little stretch where I could kind of live in for the tournament.”

Lebrun focused on a half-mile stretch of the river, where he had identified a few specific spots that played an important role in his success. He targeted cypress trees and docks as primary targets. In particular, he benefited from specific key areas that would replenish throughout the day.

By using the right tides to his advantage, Nick Lebrun could capitalize on certain times of the day when the fish were most active in his spots. Those areas would provide him multiple opportunities to catch fish out of specific locations.

“On day three, I started on a spot and made one cast with a crankbait and caught a three and a half and a two and a half on the same cast. At that moment, I realized that I may have a chance to win this thing because it told me that those fish were replenishing.”

Nick locked in on this unique area, but it came with a cost. Although he was dialed in on a productive stretch of water, Lebrun endured long travel times through water that was new to him, making navigation tricky and uncertain. He was quick to recognize that he was reliant on the performance of his Skeeter and Yamaha 250 SHO to get him to and from his spots quickly and safely.

“So, I had never been to the James River before. My area was about 55 miles from takeoff. The morning of day one was really the first time I had made that run. There were a lot of other boats in front of me, and I would like to think that they knew where they were going, but there were some places that I ran across that I probably should not have been running. I was constantly looking at my tide charts to make sure I knew where the tide was in that section of the river so I could stay safe.”

Lebrun’s tournament was dependent upon a series of interconnected decisions. In addition to constantly monitoring changing tides, he had to consider conditions, bait selection, wind, and more so he could devise an ultimate plan to fish in an area that he felt held the kind of fish necessary for his success.

“You’re constantly running through this stuff in your head, and it’s like decision after decision after decision.”

Nick’s long run turned into a home run. Entering the final day with a lead, he knew he would be faced with a tough day needing everything to line up perfectly for a James River win. Ultimately, his precise decisions paid off as all decisions aligned for an epic finish.

Knowing that he had a solid bag weighed on his mind as he planned the long trip back to the stage. Lebrun factored in a north wind coupled with strong tides to provide himself with plenty of time to get back to weigh in.

At a dramatic final weigh-in, Texan Dakota Ebare put up a solid final day bag of sixteen pounds, five ounces to challenge Nick Lebrun, but, in the end, Lebrun’s final day total of seventeen pounds, nine ounces gave him a one-pound, four-ounce edge over runner up, Ebare.

Lebrun’s primary bait throughout the tournament was a crankbait around cypress trees and docks. When the crankbait tapered off, he opted for a slower soft plastic presentation to tempt finicky bass.

Nick Lebrun is on fire as of late but has an extended outlook for his career broken down into smaller segments. When asked about the challenges of future tournament fishing, he showed his laser-like focus on short-term goals to achieve greater long-term success.

“I take one tournament at a time. Right now, all I’m thinking about is how I will catch fish on Lake Champlain for the next pro circuit event. I have some goals I’d like to achieve, but none of that really matters until this next tournament is behind me.”

“I like to focus on tournaments one at a time.”

With his latest win, Lebrun is in rare company. He is one of three professional anglers in Major League Fishing history to win back-to-back tournaments. In 2008, veteran professional angler Brett Hite won at Lake Toho and then on the California Delta. Mark Rose secured back-to-back wins at Lake Guntersville and Lake Travis in 2017.

When asked about his tremendous run of success, Lebrun deflected the attention like a veteran, quick to attribute success to his faith in God.

“It’s all God. I don’t know what he’s doing. I’m just along for the ride.”

Final results at the James River stop included a third-place finish by Mitch Cravens with fifteen pounds, fourteen ounces. Michael Neal finished in fourth place with fifteen pounds, eleven ounces, and Braxton Setzer came in 5th with fourteen pounds, seven ounces. The next event, the last MLF Pro Circuit regular-season series tournament, will be held at Lake Champlain from July 29 to August 1.

A big thank you to Bass Fishing Insider for submitting this article.