It’s been a little more than a week since we wrapped up the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni in Louisiana, and I’m still smiling from that win with Justin Lucas. These Fishing Clash Team Series events are a lot of fun, and the current format is great. I’ve been fishing these types of events since the very beginning of Major League Fishing – then the old Cup format (I actually won the very first one on Lake Amistad in 2012), and now the Team Series.
We started the three-angler team thing a few years ago, and I was part of the pilot episode for that before it even started. Now that’s evolved, and we’ve settled on the two-man team format in a single boat, and I think we’ve nailed it as far as a fun format goes.
It’s a blast fishing this way, for many reasons. You get to fish with one of your buddies, and the whole dynamic of the day is different than our regular season events. Last year, I fished one Team Series event with Skeet Reese, and I’ve now fished three with Justin, and we finally got it done with a win. It was a cool way to end the year and gave me a confidence boost as we get ready to start the new Bass Pro Tour season.
Back to fishing with a buddy
Fishing team tournaments are how most of us got started in tournament fishing. You’d call your buddy up and ask if they wanted to jump in a tournament at a local lake, have fun, and try to win. That’s how this format feels, and it’s cool to go back to that.
Even though we were still serious about winning, there were no points towards REDCREST to worry about; it was a low-stress format, and honestly, way more fun than a regular-season event. I got a lot more sleep than during a regular-season tournament week. Without knowing where we are going to fish each round, there’s not as much you can analyze about how to catch them the next day; plus you have a partner to strategize with.
Both Skeet and Justin were guys that I’ve competed against for years and know very well off the water, but I never really got a chance to fish with them before the Team Series came along. I’d never shared a boat with Justin before we teamed up, and I’d only spent a couple hours with Skeet once, when we had a shared off day a few years back. It’s great to see these guys, who are excellent fishermen, in their element during a tournament. Plus, you get to banter back and forth and bounce ideas off each other for our next move.
Complementing not competing
It’s also great to work together to win as a team, which happened on the last day on Cross Lake. Justin was catching them on a crankbait, and one thing you should do in any team event is try to find something different rather than fishing for the same fish as your partner. I tried a slightly deeper or shallower diving crankbait, a ChatterBait and a spinnerbait – not getting in the way of what he was doing when he had the hot hand. You have to remember that you aren’t competing against your partner, and it doesn’t matter who catches the fish; it all goes to the same total.
Toward the end of the day, I picked up a Yamamoto Yama Bug and started pitching to targets while he cranked down the bank. I was able to catch some key fish doing that, and it might have been the difference between us winning or losing it. Fishing something that complements what the other angler is doing is always the way to go in any team event. There’s no sense in casting for the same fish they are targeting.
Fishing these Team Series events was great, and everyone I talked to seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope those watching at home felt some of that. This format is about perfect, and I’m already looking forward to next fall.