SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. (Major League Fishing) — A dominant late-day rally powered Team Fishing Clash to the top of the leaderboard Tuesday at the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni, as teammates Keith Carson and Ron Nelson boated 17 bass for 36 pounds, 10 ounces to win Elimination Match 3 on Caddo Lake and secure a berth into the Knockout Round.
Team Star brite, comprised of pros Bobby Lane and Jacob Wall, also advanced after tallying 16 bass for 36-0, finishing just 10 ounces behind Fishing Clash in a tight race for the top spot.
Team YETI (Fred Roumbanis and Jeff Sprague) and Team O’Reilly Auto Parts (Adrian Avena and Mark Daniels Jr.) were eliminated.
Afternoon audible pays off for Nelson and Carson
Carson and Nelson spent most of the first two periods relying on a methodical punching pattern, but a visible shift in fish behavior late in the day forced an adjustment, and the team capitalized on it.
“We started really slow, but once we got that first bite punching, it settled us down,” Nelson said. “Then, the winding bite just wasn’t happening at all. Late in the afternoon, Keith caught one winding and said, ‘They’re switching.’ From that moment on, everything changed.”
Carson agreed the momentum swing was unmistakable.
“Once those fish pushed up and got active, the swim jig took over,” Carson said. “It almost felt like a topwater bite – they were eating it that aggressively. We kept it moving, covered water, and that flurry in the last 45 minutes is what won us the round.”
The team combined for 19 pounds in the final period, overtaking Wall and Lane about 25 minutes before lines out. Throughout the afternoon, both anglers recognized the environmental shift that triggered the winning pattern.
“You could feel it coming,” Nelson explained. “The fish stopped wanting that slow presentation. Then we started seeing a few bust on top, a little bait moving – that’s when we knew we had to pick up something winding.”
Carson credited the team’s ability to stay open-minded.
“After losing several flipping fish in Period 2, we had to pivot,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this format – when it changes, you change with it. Today, that decision saved our day.”
Lane and Wall controlled much of the match through two periods, using a mixture of mat-punching and mid-lake crankbait fishing to stay ahead of the cut line. Despite falling just short of the daily win, their 36-0 total comfortably advanced the team into tomorrow’s first Knockout Match.
Team YETI finished third with 15 bass for 26-15, highlighted by Sprague’s 3-12, which tied for Berkley Big Bass honors. Despite a strong final-period push, Avena and Daniels finished fourth with 15 bass for 24-3.
Knockout Round Roster Set
The first of two Knockout Round matches will take three teams to a new, unknown fishery on Wednesday. Team B&W Trailer Hitches (Todd Faircloth and Nick LeBrun), Team Lucas Oil (Drew Gill and Marshall Robinson), and Team Star Brite will take the water first, with only the top two finishers advancing to Friday’s Championship Round.
Stream all the action on RFD-TV Now from 10 AM - 5 PM ET each day through Nov. 21 at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, Game & Fish TV, and the Major League Fishing channel on Rumble.
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