SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. (Major League Fishing) — The last Major League Fishing tournament of 2025 will take place Nov. 16-21 when the Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops heads to Louisiana for its fourth and final event, the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni.
Bossier City native Nick LeBrun, who’s in the field alongside Todd Faircloth for Team B&W Trailer Hitches, predicted a solid bite with lots of shallow, power fishing action. However, with the competition waters for each round kept a secret until pros arrive at the ramp each morning, no one knows exactly what’s in store for the 12 tandems.
Here’s LeBrun’s lowdown on the area, as well as a few other teams to watch:
LeBrun Hopes Local Knowledge Pays Off
On one hand, LeBrun was thrilled when he found out that the Summit Cup was coming to his hometown. (When Faircloth picked him as a teammate for this event, the location hadn’t yet been made public.) However, the chance to compete in his backyard came with a cost – he hasn’t been able to fish within a 60-mile radius of Bossier City since the announcement.
“The past 40 days have been torturous,” LeBrun said. “I normally fish five days a week this time of year when I’m home, but I haven’t been able to.”
Of course, hoisting his first Team Series trophy would be worth the sacrifice. LeBrun’s knowledge of the area could be a major boon. No surprise, given the no-practice, no-information format, we’ve seen local knowledge pay off in a few recent Team Series events – Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield won the 2024 Challenge Cup in Erie, Pennsylvania, near where Becker grew up, while Dustin Connell’s Alabama knowledge helped him and Jacob Wheeler win the Patriot Cup last month.
Whether or not LeBrun ultimately has a leg up will depend on the competition venue.
“It’s either going to be extremely valuable or worthless,” he said with a chuckle. “What I mean by that is there are some lakes that I fish all the time, and especially this time of year, I’ve fished a bunch – filming content, just fishing with my boys. But there’s other lakes that are the same proximity that I haven’t fished in 10 years. I’m really anxious to see where we’re going to be at, especially the first day, because it could be really good, or we could just be another boat out there. There’s not going to be any in between.”
Regardless of where the teams compete, LeBrun expects the bass to be biting and baitcasters to rule. Most of the water in the area is shallow and dirty, so he expects to see lots of pitching and flipping. Reaction baits and topwaters could play, too, if anglers get overcast conditions.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re fishing a man-made reservoir or you’re fishing a natural lake that’s full of trees and grass, it’s very rare to catch a fish deeper than about 5 foot,” LeBrun said. “Not saying you can’t, but for the most part, it’s shallow fishing.”
While the fishery and conditions will obviously impact the weights, LeBrun said this is usually the time of year when the bite starts to turn on in Northwest Louisiana. He expects to see bass hitting SCORETRACKER® in solid numbers.
“We’ve had some cold weather, and that’s always what I’m kind of waiting on is the water temps to be cooling off,” he explained. “I think we’ve had that. Normally, November is a great time to catch numbers – depending on what lake you’re on. Some lakes, 10 fish is a good day, and other lakes, it’s not uncommon to catch 50 fish in a day. But November is a great month to fish around here.”
Other Teams to Watch
Drew Gill and Marshall Robinson will look to defend their Summit Cup title after they ran away with the win in Florida last November. The two youngsters have been dangerous every time they’ve competed together; they also finished second at the Heritage Cup earlier this fall.
Adrian Avena and Mark Daniels Jr. have both already tasted Team Series success this year, albeit with different partners. Avena finished second in the Challenge Cup alongside Connell, while Daniels and Wheeler won the Heritage Cup. They’ll look to keep the good times rolling for their four-man traveling crew after Wheeler and Connell won the recent Patriot Cup.
Zack Birge and Keith Poche had a heartbreaking exit at the Heritage Cup, when they caught more than 100 pounds yet still finished third in their Knockout Round match. The two shallow-water experts will look for redemption this week and should find plenty of habitat that suits their strengths.
While Jacob Wall and Bobby Lane might seem like a bit of an odd match on paper, the duo clearly has chemistry together. They’ve competed alongside one another in two previous Team Series events – the 2024 and 2025 Challenge Cups – and advanced to at least the Knockout Round both times.
Brent Ehrler and Justin Lucas will represent the West Coast. The two Californians made the Championship Round when they teamed up for the 2024 Patriot Cup.
As noted above, Becker and Shuffield teamed up to win the very first two-man Team Series event, the 2024 Challenge Cup. In two events together, though, they’ve failed to advance past the Elimination Round. They’ll look to reverse that trend this week.
From Junior Heifer Shows to Mustang Magic competitions, the 23-day event brings together 4-H and FFA participants, livestock enthusiasts, and families to celebrate North Texas’ rich Western heritage.
