Lefebre Loose as TTBC Approaches
Dave Lefebre is the defending TTBC champion.
CONROE, Texas – Dave Lefebre celebrated his 40th birthday Wednesday with family and friends, one of them being fellow pro angler Randall Tharp of Alabama.
Tharp’s gift for his buddy? A two-pack of scissors … in a plastic-wrap security package. Lefebre had to flex his muscles to get the sealed package open Thursday morning prior to the start of the U.S. Reel Pro-Am on Lake Conroe, the kickoff of the Toyota Texas Bass Classic festivities.
“Oh, I get it now … you have to have the scissors out to open the package,” Lefebre said, obviously tongue in cheek. He and his pro-am partners, Walter Brumley and Keith Fitzgerald, were wrapping up last-minute preparations for the five-hour event that went out of La Torretta Spa & Resort.
“That’s what happens when you turn 40,” someone said. “Your strength is the first thing to go.”
It was a lighthearted moment on a fun day of fishing, with prizes for the biggest pro-am team limit and big bass to be awarded. Lefebre was tying on a Texas-rig for a plastic he hadn’t yet pulled from his cache of goodies.
“We’re out here to win … this isn’t fun time,” Lefebre said, tongue still firmly planted … sort of. “We don’t need luck! It’s over. Should we let the rest of the teams go on out before us?”
Lefebre hit his Yamaha 250 and backed his Ranger away from the docks at La Torretta, Within 10 minutes his team was on the board with a keeper bass measuring about 16 inches and 3 pounds.
Lefebre could afford to be lighthearted. The TTBC is serious – more than $420,000 in cash and merchandise, with the winner earning $110,000 and a Legend/Evinrude package. But it’s also a fun week for the 50 pros who qualify or are invited to participate, along with the wide range of TTBC festivities taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Lone Star Convention & Expo Center.
It’s even more fun given that Lefebre is the defending TTBC champion. He won the 2009 title with a last-minute bass that pushed him to the title with 46 pounds, 12 ounces.
“I’m excited to be back at Conroe,” Lefebre said. “It’s not the same as it was, obviously, than last year. It’s a different lake. We had a major cold front that moved in last year, but the majority of fish aren’t in the same type of places that I caught them last year. I’m a little nervous about that.”
Thursday’s U.S. Reel Pro-Am gave the field a final day to look at the lake after three practice days. Some will check their spots and others will avoid them completely. Lefebre wasn’t sure what will transpire once competition begins Friday morning.
“I have a little something going on,” he said. “I guess you could say I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Last year I really knew I was going to blast them. This year I’m no feeling the same way, but you never know.”
For more information on the TTBC, visit www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com
