Bass Pro Tour anglers compete as two-man teams on unknown west-central Texas fisheries in third event of season, all six days of competition livestreamed and filmed for broadcast on Outdoor Channel

EARLY, Texas (Oct. 16, 2024) – For the first time ever, a major professional bass-fishing tournament is taking place in Early, Texas. Major League Fishing (MLF) is bringing the 2024 General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops to west-central Texas, next week, Oct. 24-29, for the third Team Series event of the season – the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq.

Hosted by Visit Early, the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq will feature 12 two-man teams of professional anglers from the Bass Pro Tour competing at fisheries in the region that are unknown to the competitors until they arrive to the launch ramp each morning.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Major League Fishing and some of the world’s best anglers to Early, Texas,” said Denise Hudson-Brian, Tourism Director for Visit Early. “It’s exciting to feature the best in the sport, showcasing their skills in our area’s diverse fisheries and exploring the fantastic experiences that Early and Brown County offer. We’re confident this event will have a substantial economic impact on our local hotels, restaurants and businesses throughout the competition and into the future.”

The General Tire Team Series is livestreamed daily, meaning every cast and every catch is covered live and fans can watch teammates work together to break down a new body of water in real time. The MLFNOW!  broadcast is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and on Rumble. The broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition at the Patriot Cup from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT.

In keeping with traditional MLF Cup protocols, Early, Texas was not revealed to Team Series anglers until 30 days prior to the start of the tournament. All fishable waters within 60 miles of Early then went off limits to anglers. Fans watching the MLFNOW! livestream will find out the day’s competition waters right along with the anglers each morning, and then watch all the action unfold live as teams work together and share their knowledge as they compete for the Patriot Cup and to claim a part of a season-long purse of more than $720,000.

“Well, I don’t know where exactly we’re heading, but we grow big ones in Texas and there are a couple of lakes within the 60-mile limit that are absolute giant factories,” said Wills Point, Texas pro Jeff Sprague, who will be fishing alongside Bryan Thrift for Team Coign. “This is a really exciting Team Series event to go to. It won’t be like the northern fisheries where you catch 100 fish a day. But we have the potential to see some absolute giants here.”

Sprague said he expects the fish will be fully into their fall patterns by the time the tournament begins.

“We have a cool system coming in this week, which is really going to change things up,” Sprague said. “Water temperatures are already down into the high 70s around here, and that cold front is going to drop the temperatures a bit more. It will really set those fall patterns in motion.

“The bass will be chasing the baitfish,” he continued. “We’ll see a lot of topwater action, a lot of crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits – just power-fishing. And you can still throw the finesse stuff at them, chasing the bait balls. That’s one of the things that make this event so cool – we don’t know which pattern is going to be the strongest. And every cast has the potential to catch a giant.”

Despite the potential to catch giant bass and the numerous different patterns available, Sprague said he’s most excited to be sharing the boat again with Thrift, who was his partner last month at the Heritage Cup in Wisconsin. Although they had a disappointing event and didn’t advance past the Elimination Round, Sprague said he thinks their experience fishing together will be beneficial in this tournament.

“We learned so much from each other at the last event,” Sprague said. “Even though we’ve fished together a lot as friends, we’d never competed together on the same boat, and we learned a lot. I feel like we’ll work together, better, and fish faster and more efficiently at this one. I’m more excited for this one than I have been in quite a while.”

The 12 teams that will compete in the General Tire Team Series Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq in Early, Texas are:

Team 7 Brew Coffee:
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif.

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C.
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas

Team Builders FirstSource:
Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.

Team Coign:
Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas
Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C.

Team Ferguson:
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.
Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala.

Team Knighten Industries:
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn.
Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan.

Team Kubota:
Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La.
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.

Team Lucas Oil:
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.

Team REDCON1:
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn.

Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches:
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash.
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va.

Team Star brite:
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala.
Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark.

Team U.S. Air Force:
Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La.
James Elam, Tulsa, Okla.

On Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to join MLF pros, Visit Early and the Texas Forest Service (TFS) for Fishing with the Pros at the TFS inaugural Arbor Day event. The event will be held at Town Center Lake, located at 109 Kelcy Way in Early, and will provide local youth and community members an opportunity to fish up close and personal alongside MLF pros. Tackle and bait will be provided and the event is free and open to the public.

The MLF General Tire Team Series Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq will also air on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting March 29, 2025, airing from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT. The complete television schedule for the 2024 General Tire Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and  YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.