SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. — On a day when every bite felt earned, local favorite Nick LeBrun and veteran hammer Todd Faircloth leaned on heavy punching gear and steady teamwork to power Team B&W Trailer Hitches to the top of SCORETRACKER® in Elimination Match 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni at Caddo Lake.
The duo caught 15 scorable bass for 27 pounds, 5 ounces, securing the win and a spot in the first Knockout Match on Wednesday.
Right behind them – and riding a heroic solo performance – Team Kubota grabbed the second advancing position with 24 pounds, 13 ounces – all caught by Ohio pro Cole Floyd, who carried his squad into Thursday’s Knockout Round Match 2.
Team Knighten Industries – Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield – made things interesting in the final period, cutting the deficit to around 5 pounds with less than 2 minutes remaining. Shuffield’s late 1-9 gave the duo hope, but their run stalled, and they finished the day in third with 19-4. Team 7Brew Coffee’s Zack Birge and Keith Poche struggled to generate consistent bites and ended the day in fourth with 8-15.
LeBrun makes another good memory on Caddo
For LeBrun, the win carried emotional weight. Fishing a lake he knows well near his hometown, LeBrun said the day felt significant from the moment he made his first run.
“I got pretty emotional this morning running across the lake and passing the island where my dad and I used to wade fish,” LeBrun said. “I miss my dad a lot, and it was special to be back on this lake, fishing a major event with Todd. Today was a really good day.”
LeBrun set the pace with 10 of the team’s 15 scorable bass – the most of any angler in the field – contributing 18-11 of the tandem’s winning total. Faircloth added five bass for 8-10, and the pair protected their lead throughout the final period.
The key for Team B&W was an early commitment to punching matted vegetation. LeBrun and Faircloth identified the pattern before any other team and leaned on it all day, rotating targets and angles to stay efficient.
Faircloth relied on a 7-foot, 6-inch Lew’s Signature Series rod paired with an 8:1 gear ratio Lew’s skipping and pitching reel, a 1 1/4-ounce Strike King tungsten weight and 50-pound Sunline braid. He focused on probing deeper sections of the thick mats while LeBrun targeted the outer edges.
“The key for our team was keeping fresh water in front of us and staying efficient with every pitch,” Faircloth said. “Nick set us up perfectly, and I just needed to settle in, fish clean and keep the momentum going.”
He credited the team dynamic for their success.
“Nick and I communicate extremely well, and that’s what makes this format so much fun,” Faircloth said. “We trust each other’s instincts, and when you get in sync like that, these results happen.”
LeBrun used a similar setup, anchored by a TFO Resolve 7-foot, 2-inch, heavy-action rod, a 4/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight hook and Elite Tungsten weights – both 1 and 1 1/4 ounces. Both anglers flipped compact creature-style plastics designed to slip through the dense vegetation.
LeBrun also gave a lot of credit to the Lowrance Ghost trolling motor, as the team maneuvered through heavy cover for most of the day.
“We were in the sticks all day long, and that Ghost was quiet and reliable,” LeBrun said. “I put it through the test.”
It was a little bit of a different story for Team Kubota. While Nick Hatfield went scoreless, Floyd delivered a dominant solo effort, boating all eight of the team’s fish for 24-13 – the highest individual weight of the round.
Floyd also boated the Berkley Big Bass of the Day with a 5-pound, 13-ounce largemouth caught on a frog – more than 2 pounds heavier than the next-largest fish. He added multiple bass over 3 pounds and briefly put Team Kubota in the lead before B&W Trailer Hitches pulled away late.
