Becker, Shuffield claim General Tire Team Series Challenge Cup in dominant fashion

Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield of Team B&W Trailer Hitches won the first event of the new-look General Tire Team Series with 113-5 during the Championship Round. Photo by Phoenix Moore. Anglers: Matt Becker, Spencer Shuffield.

August 30, 2024 • Charity Muehlenweg • General Tire Team Series

ERIE, Pa. — Prior to the start of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by Toyota, it wasn’t hard to tell that Matt Becker and Spencer Shuffield liked their chances.

The duo, which represented Team B&W Trailer Hitches in the first event of the fall 2024 General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, gave themselves a nickname – the “Brownie Boys,” due to their affinity for catching smallmouth bass. They had friends and family armed with giant printouts of their heads cheering them on from the water. According to a handful of social media posts by Drew Gill and Matthew Stefan, who roomed with Becker and Shuffield during the Bass Pro Tour season and represented Team Coign in Erie, they didn’t shy away from talking smack to their competitors.

Safe to say Becker and Shuffield backed it up.

After a wire-to-wire win in the second Knockout Round match cemented their spot in Friday’s Championship Round, they put together a decisive performance to claim victory. Becker and Shuffield combined to boat 64 Presque Isle Bay bass totaling 113 pounds, 5 ounces. The best day for any team all week, it put them nearly 35 pounds clear of Team U.S. Air Force (Anthony Gagliardi and Stephen Browning), which finished with 78-11 on 47 bass. Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches (Luke Clausen and John Hunter) finished third with 66-0, while Bobby Lane and Jacob Wall of Team Star Tron took fourth place with 42-11.

For the win, Becker and Shuffield earned $20,000 apiece in addition to the distinction of being the first two-man team to win out of the same boat in the new Team Series format.

Second-period adjustment sparks beatdown

Becker and Shuffield took the lead after finding a school of offshore largemouth during the second period and never slowed down. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Competitors discovered Friday morning that they would contest the Championship Round in Presque Isle Bay, the site of the three-day Elimination Round. Becker and Shuffield, who stacked more than 88 pounds on the scale during their Elimination Match, initially started in one of the areas that had produced for them four days prior, but found it lacking. At the end of the first period, they trailed Clausen and Hunter by more than 5 pounds.

The duo decided to switch to their secondary plan and flip grass in deeper water. While doing so, they saw a bass chase a baitfish to the surface. That lone clue told them there were fish in the area, and they commenced to catching them in bunches.

“Really, the second period is when we found the area where we ended up winning,” Becker said. “We made a move, and it’s so crazy to think about the little details that happened – one fish busted the surface of the water on baitfish, and that readjusted our game plan.

“Spencer threw over there and got a bite, and that one fish changed our minds on what was happening there and what we needed to do the rest of the day. If we hadn’t noticed that fish, it may be a different story here today.”

Over the course of just over an hour during the second period, Becker and Shuffield reeled in 18 bass totaling 31-9. That flurry gave them the lead, and they never slowed down, adding another 26 bass for more than 45 pounds during the third period.

Once they knew what ingredients to look for, the duo located a few new schools of bass before cycling through some of their prior sweet spots. They fished in roughly five different areas throughout the bay, all presenting the same characteristics — offshore milfoil grass beds in 7 to 8 feet of water with plenty of baitfish.

“The key for us today was fishing fresh water and hitting places we didn’t fish the first day we were on Presque Isle Bay,” said Becker, who was also a member of the winning team at the Team Series Championship last fall. “We found a fresh school of fish that looked like it hadn’t been touched by anyone this week and put some weight up in a hurry. We got that flurry, and that really is what set us up for the day.”

Becker led the way with 35 bass for 60-12 on the day, while Shuffield added 52-9 on 29 bass. The pair caught fish on a variety of baits, but most of their damage came via the one-two punch of flipping a tube and winding a 3/8-ounce ChatterBait. Becker said the difference-maker was a small trailer attached to the back of the ChatterBait.

“The bass were feeding on real small baitfish, so putting that little 3-inch trailer on the back really allowed the bait to dance and dart very well and made it a little smaller profile for the fish to eat,” Becker said. “I threw that on 17-pound Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon Line on a 7-foot, 5-inch medium-heavy rod.”

Needless to say, Becker and Shuffield felt they worked together well as they navigated the unique Team Series format from the same boat. They confirmed that they will team up once again this fall at the Summit Cup, which will take place Nov. 17-22.

“The right things ended up happening for us to win and it feels great,” Shuffield said. “To win the first buddy team tournament of the year — and the first two-man team ever — that’s something no one will ever be able to take away from us and something we’ll cherish forever.”