By MLF Communications Staff

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Bass Pro Tour newcomer Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, La., caught 13 scorable largemouth bass Monday, with his best five weighing 25 pounds, 10 ounces to take the early lead for the 40 anglers competing in Group B at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Lake Murray. LeBrun will bring a 2-09 advantage into Day 2 of competition Wednesday over second-place angler Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala., who weighed his best five today totaling 23-01.

The 40 anglers in Group B will now have an off day on Tuesday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will conclude their Qualifying Round on Wednesday.

“What a day,” said LeBrun, a former BFL All-American champion. “To catch 25 pounds out on Lake Murray on Day 1 for Group B – I couldn’t be more excited. The Lord just blessed me today, above and beyond what I thought I could do. I’m excited to get back out there.”

LeBrun spent the majority of his day targeting largemouth feeding on blueback herring on points and humps.

“It’s not a secret, but you have to find the right areas that are holding the quality largemouth and not the stripers,” LeBrun said. “The striped bass are everywhere. I probably caught 100 stripers today, but I caught the big bass, too.”

LeBrun said he rotated between a 1/2-ounce Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap and “a couple of different swim-style baits.”

“Every fish that I weighed in today was caught on a Hayabusa TBL 930 (NRB Treble) hook,” LeBrun said. “That treble hook has the NRB coat on it and I’ve won a couple of major events using it. It really helps you get a few more fish to the boat, especially when they’re not aggressive.

“I threw everything on a 7-foot, 3-inch medium-heavy TFO (Tackle Fork Outfitters) Resolve rod, with 16-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon, and it’s been a lot of fun. I look forward to getting back out on Wednesday for Day 2.”

LeBrun earned Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 7-01 largemouth that bit his swimbait in Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the Top 20 anglers from each group advance to Thursday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round where weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Dreher Island State Park, located at 3677 State Park Road in Prosperity. Each day’s takeout is held at the launch location beginning at 4 p.m.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Qualifying Group B – Day 1

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)

1. Nick LeBrun -- 25-10 (5) -- 7-01

2. Dustin Connell -- 23-01 (5) -- 5-08

3. Stephen Browning -- 21-02 (5) -- 6-00

4. Jesse Wiggins -- 19-11 (5) -- 6-00

5. Chris Lane -- 19-09 (5) -- 4-08

6. Ryan Salzman -- 19-06 (5) -- 6-11

7. Cliff Crochet -- 19-06 (5) -- 4-11

8. Takahiro Omori -- 19-02 (5) -- 5-15

9. Terry Scroggins -- 18-15 (5) -- 4-03

10. Michael Neal -- 18-05 (5) -- 4-01

11. Kevin VanDam -- 17-15 (5) -- 4-04

12. Josh Butler -- 17-11 (5) -- 5-06

13. Randy Howell -- 17-10 (5) -- 4-03

14. Russ Lane -- 17-03 (5) -- 5-03

15. Dave Lefebre -- 17-02 (5) -- 4-07

16. Edwin Evers -- 17-02 (5) -- 3-09

17. Jeff Sprague -- 17-00 (5) -- 4-02

18. Andy Morgan -- 16-15 (5) -- 5-11

19. Mark Davis -- 16-13 (5) -- 5-03

20. Ott DeFoe -- 16-12 (5) -- 4-04

21. Randall Tharp -- 16-01 (5) -- 4-11

22. Alton Jones Jr. -- 15-11 (5) -- 3-06

23. James Watson -- 15-07 (5) -- 3-08

24. Roy Hawk -- 15-06 (5) -- 3-08

25. Adrian Avena -- 15-04 (5) -- 4-03

26. Justin Lucas -- 15-03 (5) -- 3-05

27. Fletcher Shryock -- 14-15 (5) -- 3-10

28. Spencer Shuffield -- 14-01 (5) -- 4-02

29. Wesley Strader -- 13-15 (5) -- 3-05

30. Luke Clausen -- 13-05 (5) -- 3-06

31. Timmy Horton -- 13-01 (5) -- 3-07

32. Dean Rojas -- 12-06 (5) -- 3-03

33. Cody Meyer -- 11-15 (5) -- 3-01

34. Skeet Reese -- 11-12 (5) -- 2-11

35. Greg Vinson -- 11-05 (5) -- 2-11

36. Jacob Wall -- 11-04 (5) -- 3-00

37. Zack Birge -- 10-12 (4) -- 4-15

38. Cliff Pace -- 10-07 (5) -- 2-07

39. Josh Bertrand -- 8-02 (4) -- 2-05

40. Kelly Jordon -- 4-00 (2) -- 2-03