Spencer Shuffield Wins Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE Presented by Mercury on the St. Lawrence River
Arkansas Pro Weighs Five-Bass Limit of 22 pounds, 12 ounces to Win TITLE Belt and Top Prize of $200,000
MASSENA, N.Y. – Weights were again stacked atop the leaderboard, but 11-time Championship Qualifier Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, brought a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 12 ounces across the stage Sunday to win the first major event of his professional career, earning $200,000 and the TITLE belt at the third annual Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury – the Pro Circuit Championship – on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York. Shuffield earned the win by a 12-ounce margin over pro Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, who weighed a limit of 22 pounds even, good for second place and $50,000. Alabama pro Jacob Wall of New Hope, rounded out the top three, weighing a five-bass limit of 21 pounds even to take home $30,000.
Link to Photo of MLF Tackle Warehouse TITLE Winner Pro Spencer Shuffield
Link to HD video of Championship Day Highlights
Sunday’s final day of competition marked the finale of the six-day Tackle Warehouse TITLE, which featured the top 48 pros in the 2022 Pro Circuit standings, along with last year’s reigning TITLE champion and reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) – all competing for a purse of more than $800,000. The event was hosted by the Town of Massena.
Shuffield had been near a win several times on the Pro Circuit, including the well-known 2020 TITLE Championship on Sturgeon Bay, where bad weather prevented him from getting to his primary area on Championship Day, resulting in a heart-breaking sixth-place finish.
“I had 18 pounds pretty quick this morning, and then the storm hit, and the wind kicked in and I thought ‘not again,’” Shuffield said. “But thankfully the wind never got out of control, and I was still able to manage it and fish my areas effectively enough to catch the fish.
“I had about a 25-minute lull where I wasn’t able to fish as hard or cover as much ground as I had been, due to the wind and the current. I was seeing the big ones and trying to pitch that perfect cast in front of them, but it was nearly impossible during the storm.”
Finally, the wind died down just enough that Shuffield was able to make more precise pitches in front of the stingy smallmouth and get them to bite.
“I caught most of my fish today on a 7-foot, 4-inch medium Phenix M1 rod with 6-pound test Yo-Zuri T-7 Premium Fluorocarbon leader, throwing a ½-ounce Ark Tungsten Drop-Shot Weight and a No. 2 Gamakatsu Drop Shot Hook with a green-pumpkin party or brown-back-colored Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm,” Shuffield said. “The rest came on a 7-foot, 2-inch Phenix M1 rod, with an 8-pound test Yo-Zuri leader, a 3/8-ounce WOO! Tungsten Ned Head Jig and a Goby Bryant-colored Z-Man Finesse TRD.”
Shuffield said he’d always dreamed of being on the big stage and winning tournaments. Although he never realized just how hard he’d have to work to get to this point, he was always determined that this was going to be his path in life.
“To get my first win right here, and for my first major win to be a championship event is huge,” Shuffield said. “God has blessed me. This last year has been a trying year, and I definitely don’t feel like I deserve it. But I’m thankful He does.”
That achievement is even more meaningful to Shuffield, who said he lost his fishing career six years ago, and went into one of the deepest, darkest places of depression he’d ever experienced.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever get this opportunity back, but I fought hard, knowing I would eventually get back here, even if it was the death of me,” Shuffield said. “I was able to make it back to fishing as a pro strictly off of local tournaments. I earned seven boats in four years back home winning local championships, which, combined with my families’ support and the good Lord above, enabled me to be here today.
“I wouldn’t have cared if a regular-season Tour win had been my first win – I’m not stingy, I just wanted to get that first one under my belt. For it to be in a championship event against the best of the best, I just can’t believe it,” said an emotional Shuffield. “Tournament wins are necessary to sustain a career, but championship wins are worth so much more. I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was three years old.”
Shuffield recounted taking a Walmart sack out to the backyard when he was a kid, gathering up the five biggest pinecones he could find and pretending to pull them out of the bag one at a time, practicing for the day he would be winning on stage and in this moment.
“To be living that out and doing it in real-life now is just unreal. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into being a pro angler, that a lot of people don’t ever see, so to finally make it happen – it’s by the grace of God, no doubt. I’m most thankful to Him, for giving me the opportunity to be standing here today,” said a tearful Shuffield. “I give it 110% out here every day and some days it’s not good enough, but the days that it is, it really counts and puts things into perspective and is a reminder how far hard work truly goes. The appreciation of just being able to see your hard work come to fruition is really special.”
The Top 10 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE on the St. Lawrence River are:
- 1st: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 22-12, $200,000
- 2nd: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 22-0, $50,000
- 3rd: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 21-0, $30,000
- 4th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., five bass, 20-10, $25,000
- 5th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 20-6, $19,000
- 6th: Josh Bragg, Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 20-1, $18,000
- 7th: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., five bass, 18-5, $17,000
- 8th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 17-3, $16,000
- 9th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., five bass, 17-1, $15,000
- 10th: Kyle Cortiana, Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 16-1, $14,000
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 50 bass weighing 195 pounds, 7 ounces caught by the 10 pros on Sunday, all with five-bass limits.
The Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury – the Pro Circuit Championship – featured a hybrid tournament format. All 50 anglers were seeded into two groups of 25 – Group A and Group B, based on points earned in 2022 qualifying events – where they competed in Qualifying Rounds over the first four days of the tournament and the winner from each group advanced directly to the Championship Round.
The top nine anglers in each group moved on to the Knockout Round on Day 5, with zeroed weights, to compete for the chance to fish on the final day. The top eight anglers from the Knockout Round then advanced to Championship Sunday, where weights were again zeroed as 10 anglers competed for the $235,000 prize. Winners were determined by the heaviest five-bass limit of each round.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury event will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, Oct. 8 on CBS Sports Network. Episodes premiere Sunday mornings on Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition. Episodes will run through Nov. 13.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Fuel Me, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.