“When Takahiro had to bow out, we were in a bit of a bind,” according to show host Joe Thomas. “We had to come up with a angler quickly, and given the grueling tournament and appearance schedule these guys have, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. That’s when we had an idea. Who would jump at the chance to compete even if it meant changing schedules and sacrificing practice time…Dave Lefebre immediately came to mind.”

Not only did Lefebre accept the invitation, he jumped at it. “I was hoping to be able to return and show that the match on Guntersville was an extreme exception. That was probably the worst day I’ve ever spent on the water. I wanted a chance to prove that I can actually catch fish!”

For Lefebre, that chance would come against last season’s runner-up, Kelly Jordon.

“I couldn’t wait to get back at it after losing the title by 4 one-hundredths of a pound to Boyd Duckett last year,” said Jordon. “And when I heard Dave was coming back and that we had been paired up, I was thrilled.”

Both Lefebre and Jordon have a close association through their tackle company, TABU.

“I feel like I know his strengths and weaknesses, but he also knows mine”, added Jordon.

“Kelly Jordon is one of the best in the world, no doubt about it,” said Lefebre. “When we used to have the chance to fish against each other, Kelly was always lurking near the top of the pack. And the funny thing is, we both have such similar styles and approaches, that we’ve actually won tournaments at the same location doing much the same thing in the same season (Potomac River).”

The match began quickly with Lefebre taking control and boating two nice Lake Lanier spotted bass on the Fish Head spin. The one factor that both Dave and Kelly had to contend with however was their match was scheduled on a Saturday, so fishing pressure and weekend anglers determined where and how each angler approached the lake.

“That didn’t take long” was Lefebre’s response when he pulled up to a bridge piling only to see a local angler fighting a quality 3-pound spotted bass.

“That’s what made me move up into the river, and it almost cost me big time,” added Lefebre of his move up the Chestatee River only to watch Kelly Jordon boat two keepers from the back of the boat with a Lucky Craft LV 500.

“Those were bonus fish but I needed them badly”, said Jordon. “I know that spot and I know that the fish can load up on brush piles back away from the docks, so I figured what the heck, let’s give them a look.”

As the match progressed, it became like two boxers landing counterpunches. In the end, less than a pound separated the two.

“I’ve got a little history of coming out on the wrong side of these closes matches” said Jordon referring to his loss to Boyd Duckett in last year’s final.

And prophetically enough, the same result occurred on this day as Lefebre’s 12.45 pounds narrowly eliminated Jordon’s 11.76.

“It feels good…like I got a monkey off of my back” said Lefebre.