Louisiana pro catches 38 largemouth weighing 83-6 to lead after Day 1 on Lake Conroe, full field to complete Qualifying Round Friday

CONROE, Texas (Jan. 30, 2025) – The first day of the Bass Pro Tour season at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole on Lake Conroe was a tale of two bites. With Major League Fishing’s new forward-facing sonar restrictions only allowing pros to use the technology for one of three periods, the forward-facing bite dominated Period 1, while winding through submerged grass emerged as the best secondary pattern.

No one combined the two better than pro Nick LeBrun. Like most in the field, the Louisiana pro used forward-facing sonar to target bass chasing baitfish offshore to start the day, stacking up 17 scorable bass for 35 pounds, 11 ounces in the opening period. He then slid to the back of a creek and added nearly 50 more pounds over the next two frames, bringing his total to 83-6 on 38 scorable bass, which earned the top spot on SCORETRACKER®. A late flurry allowed LeBrun to swipe the top spot from Tokyo, Japan’s Takahiro Omori , whom he leads by 8-14. Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, sits in third with 69-1.

LeBrun was one of many pros who found practice tough on Conroe, a result of the recent cold snap that moved through the south. So, he admitted he didn’t see an 80-pound opening day coming.

“Today caught me by surprise,” he said. “I had a few areas that I knew had potential, but I didn’t know what was really there. So, I’m really excited about that.”

The most discussed aspect of the forward-facing sonar limitations was which period most anglers would decide to turn on their transducers. Like more than half the field, LeBrun opted to do so in Period 1. His reasoning was two-fold: He didn’t want others to pressure those fish before he had a chance to target them, and he was concerned the weather system that moved through the area Thursday afternoon would mess up the bite.

That proved prescient. Utilizing forward-facing sonar in Period 1 was not only the most popular decision Thursday, it appeared to be the wise one. All of the Top 10 anglers on SCORETRACKER® began the day with all their technology online.

“I was pretty certain that a lot of competitors found the same suspended fish that I had found,” LeBrun said. “And they did; we kind of split them up. Another factor was just the weather. I didn’t want to risk going into the third period with bad storms and rain and really high winds and not even be effective.”

LeBrun’s opening period was solid, putting him in seventh place. But he separated himself from the rest of the field with his ability to continue boating bass after Period 1. Even as effective as forward-facing sonar was Thursday, he believes the ability to produce both with and without the technology is going to be mandatory to compete at a high level both on Conroe this week and all year long on the BPT.

“I don’t think you can win an event unless you do both well,” he said. “I think that you’re going to have to really maximize forward-facing and have a great period with that, but then you’re also going to have to go fishing and catch them other ways, too.”

After he turned off his transducers, LeBrun headed to the back of a creek that’s full of submerged hydrilla and covered the area with moving baits. While he shared the area with several other boats, he employed a slightly different approach that he thinks might have garnered a few extra bites.

“I got keyed in on a very unique, specific bait and a specific retrieve to go with it,” he said. “I was around some other competitors, and some were catching them, and some were not, so I’m not real sure how special the bait and the retrieve is. But we’ll find out tomorrow, I guess.”

LeBrun admitted he’s concerned that the fishing pressure could take a toll on the suspended bass he targeted with forward-facing sonar and, especially, on the hydrilla fish. The good news is he found a new sweet spot late in Period 3 that he hadn’t fished during practice. It produced a pair of 4-pounders, part of a 13-pound spree in the final 35 minutes that boosted him into the lead.

“I’m a little concerned about the pressure,” LeBrun said. “There’s a lot of boats – a lot of fish got caught in there today. I actually expanded my water in the third period. I kind of just went fishing, looking for some new stuff, and caught two 4-pounders. So, I’m really excited about that.”

Now, another key strategy decision awaits LeBrun: Keep his foot on the gas in an effort to remain atop SCORETRACKER® or switch gears into practice mode and search for fresh fish. This year, the winner of the Qualifying Round advances directly to the Championship Round, and an automatic Top 10 finish is tough to pass up. However, LeBrun is concerned the areas he plied Thursday won’t withstand another three days of pressure.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “I’ve got to pray about that and think about that, because I don’t want to just burn up a ton of fish. But at the same time, it would be cool to not have to worry about fishing the Knockout (Round).”

Forward-facing sonar dominated the chatter leading up to and during the opening day of the BPT season – when anglers would use it and how significant a role it would play amid the new restrictions.

Omori never gave it much thought. Instead, the power-fishing maestro fished his way, locking a casting rod in his hands and never putting it down.

Omori caught all but one of his 28 scorable bass on a bladed jig. Spending virtually the entire day fishing hydrilla in the back of a creek, he racked up 35-11 on 13 scorable bass in the first period, keeping pace even with the hot forward-facing sonar bite. He then took the lead in the second period, holding the top spot until LeBrun passed him late.

“I started back there with only two boats, and after the first period, everybody got done with the forward-facing sonar bite, they just came to me,” he said. “There ended up being like eight, nine boats back there sharing fish, so it’s getting tougher and tougher. But I kind of expected that to happen. I’m glad I caught them early.”

Omori not only generated numbers of bites, he triggered some of the big ones Conroe has been known to produce. The Japanese angler landed four bass that weighed 4-15 or larger, his biggest being 5-14.

Like LeBrun, he’s concerned about the number of competitors in the area. However, there’s no question that he plans to fish for the Qualifying Round win on Friday.

“I’m going to fish as hard as I can,” Omori said. “I don’t worry about saving the fish, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Omori is hopeful that the creek will continue to replenish as fish move shallow to stage prior to spawning. The weather should help. With the forecast calling for sunshine and highs in the low-70s for each of the next three days of competition, Omori thinks more fish should be heading to him.

“Once it warms up, the sun’s going to come out, it should have more fish coming in,” he said. “So, it’s got a lot of potential. It depends on how many boats, all that fishing pressure. But I haven’t seen sunshine in like five days since I got here, so I’m looking forward to the next couple of days, for it to warm up and bring more fish to the bank.”

The top 20 pros in after Day 1 on Lake Conroe are:

1st:        Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 38 bass, 83-6
2nd:      Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 28 bass, 74-8
3rd:       Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 27 bass, 69-1
4th:        Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 28 bass, 60-3
5th:        Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Illinois, 25 bass, 59-0
6th:        Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 24 bass, 58-1
7th:        Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 23 bass, 56-8
8th:        Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 23 bass, 53-7
9th:        Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 20 bass, 53-6
10th:     Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 23 bass, 53-3
11th:     Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 21 bass, 50-15
12th:     Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 20. bass, 49-5
13th:     Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 18 bass, 46-7
14th:     Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 19 bass, 46-1
15th:     Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 22 bass, 45-9
16th:     Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 15 bass, 45-0
17th:     Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 19 bass, 44-3
18th:     Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 16 bass, 41-3
19th:     Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 16 bass, 40-11
20th:     Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 18 bass, 39-15

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

San Mateo, Florida’s “Big Show” Terry Scroggins earned the Day 1 Berkley Big Bass Award Thursday with a beautiful 9-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that he caught in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

The full field of anglers compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the highest two-day total advances directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers that finish 2nd through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

Anglers will arrive each morning at 5:30 a.m. CT to the Outlets at Conroe, located at 1111 League Line Road in Conroe. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Outlets each morning at 6:30 a.m. to one of five optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Outlets at Conroe each evening, following the end of competition at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 1-2, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Outlets at Conroe for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day. The Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand both days to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2025 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 66 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2026 championship.

Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 at Lake Conroe Presented by Power-Pole will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Aug. 30 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering the following Saturday on Sept. 6. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X,  Instagram and  YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.