Spencer Shuffield (left) and Matt Becker took over the lead in the second period of the Championship Round at Presque Isle Bay and never relinquished it.
August 30, 2024
By MLF Communications Staff ERIE, Pa. –The final four teams at the 2024 MLF Team Series Challenge Cup headed back to Presque Isle Bay on Friday to finish out the season-opening event. While the teams had some experience on the fishery earlier in the week, conditions changed, forcing them to hunt for new fish throughout the day.
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches – made up of Luke Clausen and John Hunter – put together a strong opening flurry, stacking 22 bass totaling 35 pounds, 3 ounces onto ScoreTracker within the first period alone.
But that wasn’t enough to hold off Team U.S. Air Force – Stephen Browning and Anthony Gagliardi – who took over the top spot at the beginning of Period 2. They held the lead for 28 mins before being overtaken by Team B&W Trailer Hitches – Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield – who grabbed the top spot and never looked back.
Becker and Shuffield finished the day with 64 bass totaling 113-5, a solid 34-10 ahead of Browning and Gagliardi. They started the morning in an area they’d fished during the Qualifying Round, but found it a bit lacking.
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“When we found out we were going back to Presque Isle Bay today it was pretty exciting because we’d had a really good Qualifying Round there and felt like we could have done even more, so we were excited to get back out there,” said Shuffield. “I’d caught a lot of our fish in the Qualifying Round on a ChatterBait, but it just wasn’t really working for us this morning. They just weren’t really committing to it.”
The duo decided to switch to their secondary plan and flip grass in deeper water.
“Once we made that move, Matt ended up catching several scorable bass quickly,” Shuffield said. “We knew that we would be able to keep pace with the other teams doing that, but weren’t sure if we’d be able to put up much weight.”
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“Really the second period is when we found the area where we ended up winning,” said Becker. “We made a move, and it’s so crazy to think about the little details that happened – one fish busted the surface of the water on baitfish, and that readjusted our game plan.
“Spencer threw over there and got a bite and that one fish changed our minds on what was happening there and what we needed to do the rest of the day,” Becker continued. “If we hadn’t noticed that fish, it may be a different story here today.”
Becker and Shuffield spent the second period running new water and locating a few new schools of bass before cycling through some of their prior sweet spots. The duo fished in roughly five different areas throughout the bay, all basically presenting the same characteristics – offshore milfoil grass beds in 7 to 8 feet of water with plenty of baitfish.
“We didn’t get off to the fastest of starts this morning,” said Becker. “It was just slow and steady, and I knew we just needed to survive that morning bite. Just keep the pace. The key for us today was fishing fresh water and hitting places we didn’t fish the first day we were on Presque Isle Bay.
“We found a fresh school of fish that looked like it hadn’t been touched by anyone this week and put some weight up in a hurry,” Becker continued. “We got that flurry and that really is what set us up for the day.”
Becker credits a two-pronged approach to his success at the Challenge Cup – flipping a tube and throwing a 3/8-ounce ChatterBait – but said the difference-maker was a small trailer attached to the back of the ChatterBait.
“The bass were feeding on real small baitfish, so putting that little 3-inch trailer on the back really allowed the bait to dance and dart very well and made it a little smaller profile for the fish to eat,” said Becker. “I threw that on 17-pound Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon Line on a 7-foot, 5-inch medium-heavy rod.”
While Becker’s experience on the fishery gave his team a distinct advantage, the duo agreed that the team as a whole made the right decisions at the right times throughout the day to get the job done.
“The right things ended up happening for us to win and it feels great,” said Shuffield. “To win the first buddy team tournament of the year – and the first two-man team ever – that’s something no one will ever be able to take away from us and something we’ll cherish forever.”
The duo will reunite to fish another Team Series event later this fall at the Summit Cup, set for Nov. 17-22.
Here are the final totals from the Championship Round:
1st: Team B&W Trailer Hitches, 64 bass, 113-5
2nd: Team U.S. Air Force, 47 bass, 78-11
3rd: Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches, 41 bass, 66-0
4th: Team Star Tron, 27 bass, 42-11
Gagliardi caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a largemouth weighing 4-3.
The next Team Series event, the Heritage Cup, will take place Sept. 15-20 in Wisconsin.
