LeBrun uses scorching start to take lead on James River
RICHMOND, Va. — The last time Nick LeBrun visited the James River prior to General Tire Stage Six Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts, he left with a trophy, winning a Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit event on the Virginia fishery in 2022 en route to qualifying for the Bass Pro Tour.
While that win remains a highlight of LeBrun’s fishing career, to say he picked up where he left off doesn’t do justice to how he started Wednesday.
LeBrun wasted no time claiming the top spot on SCORETRACKER® and racing away from the rest of the field during Group B’s first day of qualifying. In the first hour, 45 minutes after lines in, the Louisiana native boated 22 scorable bass totaling 51 pounds, 4 ounces. From there, he cruised to a 73-10 total, which has him more than 20 pounds clear of second-place angler Terry Scroggins at the top of the leaderboard.
“I don’t know what else to say besides just praise the Lord,” LeBrun said. “It was just an incredible day. I’ll never forget it the rest of my life.”
While LeBrun’s first period alone (54-2) would have eclipsed everyone else’s total for the day, he was far from the only angler to find the bite just as hot as the weather during another blazing day on the James. For the second day in a row, it took more than 40 pounds to claim a spot in the Top 10, and 29 of the 39 anglers on the water topped 20 pounds on the day.
Full results can be found here.
LeBrun takes full advantage of low-tide bite
The Louisiana pro knew he’d found some areas on the tidal river system during practice that would produce on a falling tide, which was the case for the entire first period Wednesday. However, he had no idea just how good they would be.
In fact, at one point he joked with his boat official that the two of them should jump into the water to cool off if he amassed 70 pounds on the day, not thinking he’d actually hit that mark. Once he got there early in the third period, though, he made good on his word.
“When the tide is right, I had a few places in practice where I just got a few bites and went on, and I didn’t really know what was there,” LeBrun said. “I knew that there were some fish there, but today, I got to see what was there, and man, it was incredible.”
LeBrun didn’t want to share too many details about his approach but said he caught almost all his weight power fishing — chunking and winding with his Temple Fork Outfitters baitcasting rods. Once low tide passed and the tide changed, that pattern waned, and LeBrun used the rest of the day to explore new water.
“When the tide gets low and it starts coming back in, my spots aren’t as productive,” he said. “So, I really used the last period to try to just go and figure out something new and caught a few fish here and there.”
The good news for LeBrun is that the field will fish an outgoing tide longer and longer as the event progresses. The concern, though, is that as low tide gets later each day, the heat might make the bass less active. After temperatures reached triple digits Wednesday, the weather is forecast to cool off a bit in the days to come, but not much, with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s.
“I think I could ride it a little bit longer,” LeBrun said of his starting pattern. “It’s definitely an outgoing tide type of a thing, and so with these tidal days, the tide shifts about 30 minutes to an hour every day, and so if I whacked them in the first period, my bite might shift more toward the second period on Day 2. So, we’ll see.
“The heat is definitely not helping. Because in practice, when we had outgoing tide closer to daylight, it was really easy to get bites. But now that it’s so hot and the outgoing is getting pushed further in the morning and kind of midday, it’s making it more challenging.”
With a cushion of nearly 35 pounds over 11th place, LeBrun’s spot in the Knockout Round should be nearly secure. As a result, he plans to use the second day of qualifying as “a day of learning,” focusing especially on identifying a productive pattern around high tide.
While he knows he’ll need to make the right adjustments to have a shot at going back-to-back on the James, he made sure to soak in his special start. LeBrun called the day his most fun on the water in nearly two years on the BPT.
“This is a fun place,” LeBrun said. “I feel at home fishing here. It’s a special place to me and my wife. And it would be real special to do well here again. I’m just really humbled, because the guys in my group and the guys on the Bass Pro Tour in general are such top-notch competitors, and man, to be leading the round is just really special to me, especially against this group of names. It’s really special to be competing against these guys and be doing well, because they’re the best out there.”
What’s next for Stage Six
Group A will return to the water Thursday for its second day of qualifying, with the 39 competitors battling for 10 spots in Saturday’s Knockout Round. Group B will then do the same on Friday.
Once again, it looks like it’ll be a heated battle to secure a spot among the Top 10, as 11 anglers are bunched within 11 1/2 pounds of one another on either side of the cut line. Justin Lucas currently sits in 10th place with 40-15.
All the action Thursday through Sunday will be streamed live on MLFNOW! from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, so be sure to tune in at MajorLeagueFishing.com or the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Fishing Clash Angler of the Year
Fishing Clash Angler of the Year leader Jacob Wheeler threw down the gauntlet on Day 1, jumping out to a big lead in Group A with 78-8 and all but assuring himself a spot in the Knockout Round. Wednesday, his two closest pursuers showed they’re not going to let Wheeler run away with his third AOY award.
Alton Jones Jr., who entered Stage Six 14 points back of Wheeler in the season-long competition, currently sits eighth in Group B with 42-13, while Dustin Connell is fourth with 50-15. Connell arrived at the James in third place, 24.5 points off Wheeler’s total. As of now, all three anglers are positioned to meet in the Knockout Round, although Connell and Jones still have some work to do to assure their spots in Saturday’s field.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game played by over 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.