Carson and Nelson Combine for 36-10 to Pace Field and Advance to Knockout Round

SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. (Nov. 18, 2025) – A dominant late-day rally powered Team Fishing Clash to the top of the leaderboard Tuesday at the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni, as teammates Keith Carson of DeBary, Florida, and Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan , posted 17 bass for 36 pounds, 10 ounces to win Elimination Round Match 3 on Caddo Lake and secure a berth into the Knockout Round.

Team Star brite, pros Bobby Lane and Jacob Wall, also advanced after tallying 16 bass for 36-0, finishing just 10 ounces behind Fishing Clash in a tight race for the top spot.

Teams YETI – Fred Roumbanis and Jeff Sprague – and O’Reilly Auto Parts – Adrian Avena and Mark Daniels Jr. – were eliminated.

Carson and Nelson spent most of the first two periods relying on a methodical punching pattern, but a visible shift in fish behavior late in the day forced an adjustment, and the team capitalized.

“We started really slow, but once we got that first bite punching, it settled us down,” Nelson said. “Then the winding bite just wasn’t happening at all. Late in the afternoon, Keith caught one winding and said, ‘They’re switching.’ From that moment on, everything changed.”

Carson agreed the momentum swing was unmistakable.

“Once those fish pushed up and got active, the swimjig took over,” Carson said. “It almost felt like a topwater bite – they were eating it that aggressively. We kept it moving, covered water and that flurry in the last 45 minutes is what won us the round.”

The team combined for 19 pounds in the final period, overtaking Star brite during the closing stretch of Toyota Overdrive. Throughout the afternoon, both anglers recognized the environmental shift that triggered the winning pattern.

“You could feel it coming,” Nelson explained. “The fish stopped wanting that slow presentation. Then we started seeing a few bust on top, a little bait moving – that’s when we knew we had to pick up something winding.”

Carson credited the team’s ability to stay open-minded.

“After losing several flipping fish in Period 2, we had to pivot,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this format – when it changes, you change with it. Today that decision saved our day.”

Lane and Wall controlled much of the match through two periods, using a mix of mat-punching and mid-lake crankbait fishing to stay ahead of the cut line. Despite falling just short of the daily win, their 36-0 total comfortably advanced the team into tomorrow’s Knockout Round Match 1.

Team YETI finished third with 15 bass for 26-15, highlighted by Jeff Sprague’s 3-12, which tied for Berkley Big Bass Honors of the Day. Despite a strong final-period push. Team O’Reilly Auto Parts finished fourth with 15 bass for 24-3.

The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 3 at Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni that now advance to the Knockout Round are:

1st:        Team Fishing Clash, 17 bass, 36-10
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., nine bass, 17-1
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., eight bass, 19-9
2nd:       Team Star brite, 16 bass, 36-0
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 11 bass, 25-1
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 10-15

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd:       Team YETI, 15 bass, 26-15
Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., two bass, 2-12
Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 13 bass, 24-3
4th:        Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 15 bass, 24-3
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 11 bass, 18-4
Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., four bass, 5-15

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 63 bass weighing 123 pounds, 12 ounces caught by the four teams Tuesday in Knockout Round Match 3 on Caddo Lake. Team Fishing Clash pro Ron Nelson and Team YETI pro Jeff Sprague both caught largemouth bass weighing in at 3 pounds, 12 ounces, to share the Berkley Big Bass of the Day honors.

The three teams that will compete Wednesday in Knockout Round Match 1 at the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni are:

Team B&W Trailer Hitches:
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.

Team Star brite:
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala.

Team Lucas Oil:
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill.
Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C.

The Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission and takes place over six days in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana. The competition water for each day is top secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 9:15 a.m.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT.

The Summit Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they entered the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches featured four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round now advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni.

The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops features four Cup events in 2025 – the Challenge, Heritage, Patriot, and Summit Cups – with 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing for a share of  $560,000 in prize money. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2025.

The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni will also air on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting May 9, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, NITRO Boats, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Smokey Mountain Caffeinated Pouches, Star brite, Toyota, YETI and Zenni.

For complete details and updated information on the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series, 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, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV and Game & Fish TV, 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 20 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.