Team Ferguson rallies to claim second advancing spot, four new teams set for Elimination Match 3 on Tuesday

SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. (Nov. 17, 2025) – On a day defined by dramatic swings and one unforgettable giant, Team Lucas Oil’s Drew Gill and Marshall Robinson surged to the top of SCORETRACKER® to go wire-to-wire in Elimination Round Match 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni at Caddo Lake. With 27 scorable bass for 62 pounds even – anchored by the biggest bass of the event thus far – Gill and Robinson punched their ticket to the Knockout Round and reminded the field why they’re the reigning Summit Cup champions.

Right behind them, Team Ferguson – made up of Brent Ehrler and Justin Lucas – used an explosive final-period rally to lock down the second advancing spot, stacking up 37 pounds, 4 ounces in the final period alone.

The pairing of Gill and Robinson continues to prove formidable. The duo teamed up last season to win the 2024 Summit Cup in Florida, and their chemistry was on full display again as they dismantled Caddo Lake with the same blend of efficiency, communication and precision that carried them to that championship. Their comfort fishing together – and their shared understanding of how to break down water with forward-facing sonar – has quickly made them one of the most dangerous teams in the field.

Their Day 2 victory was built on a disciplined, straightforward approach – target bass loosely relating to bait in 10 to 12 feet of water, then pick them apart with a drop-shot rig once they slid away from the main bait balls.

“We targeted fish in drains and holes, and fish that were chasing bait and relating to divots with the drop-shot rig,” said Gill. “That rig was an absolute bass catcher in a situation like this.”

Robinson agreed that the pattern worked spectacularly.

“Today was a really good day and Caddo Lake was great to us,” he said. “The fish were pretty much where we thought they’d be after looking at the map this morning. We had good weather and a solid average weight across our fish throughout the day.”

Gill leaned on a classic setup – a 7-inch green-pumpkin-colored worm on a 1/0 hook with a ¼-ounce weight – while Robinson threw a 3/8-ounce drop-shot rig with a Roboworm to keep the numbers climbing. Together, they caught 27 scorable bass and left no doubt that forward-facing sonar could be a winning tool this week.

“We absolutely smashed them,” Gill said in his post-game interview. “That was so fun.”

The signature moment of the day came courtesy of Robinson, who launched a vibrating jig toward a cypress-studded point and connected with the heaviest bass caught so far this week – a 7-pound, 14-ounce Caddo Lake giant.

“I caught it on a shad-colored, 3/8-ounce Z-Man Original ChatterBait,” Robinson said. “We pulled up to a cypress island we’d looked at earlier, and I made a long cast. When it locked up, I thought I was hung. That was one of the biggest tournament fish I’ve ever caught.”

Gill was equally stunned.

“When it came up and jumped, I freaked out,” he said. “That was awesome. Top-tier experience right there.”

The fish was more than a highlight – it was the exclamation point on a dominant day that secured Lucas Oil’s advancement to the Knockout Round and gave notice to the remaining field.

Though they finished the day in second place, Ehrler and Lucas delivered one of the most electric periods of the Summit Cup thus far in Period 3. After identifying a jerkbait bite over hydrilla in 3 feet of water, the duo returned to the area late – and unleashed a flurry.

“We had a great start to the third period that carried us, and I think we did everything right,” Ehrler said. “We let that spot rest, and when we came back, they were ready.”

Lucas could only laugh at the chaos.

“There were a lot more in that area than we realized,” he said. “We caught about 30 pounds in, what, forty minutes? That doesn’t happen every day. Everything was right about that spot.”

Team Ferguson ended the day with 23 scorable bass in the final period alone, securing their move into the Knockout Round.

Team BUBBA, Wesley Strader and Brent Chapman , entered the final period only 4 pounds, 4 ounces below the Lucas Oil cutline, but despite several quality fish – including a 4-8 on a bladed swim jig and a 4-3 on a buzzbait – the bite fizzled late. They managed just three scorable bass in the last period and finished the day in third.

Team Smokey Mountain’s Terry Scroggins and Britt Myers committed early to punching thick mats of salvinia and hyacinth – a pattern that showed promise – but the momentum didn’t hold. After a solid start, the bite evaporated through the second and third periods, dropping them below the cutline to finish in fourth place and end their Summit Cup hopes.

The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 2 at Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni that now advance to the Knockout Round are:

1st:          Team Lucas Oil, 27 bass, 62-0
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 19 bass, 41-6
Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., eight bass, 20-10
2nd:        Team Ferguson, 34 bass, 59-1
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 21 bass, 35-0
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 13 bass, 24-1

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd:         Team BUBBA, 12 bass, 25-10
Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., one bass, 2-2
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 11 bass, 23-8
4th:         Team Smokey Mountain, 10 bass, 22-9
Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., five bass, 12-8
Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 10-1

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

Overall, there were 83 bass weighing 169 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the four teams Monday in Elimination Round Match 2 on Caddo Lake. Team Lucas Oil pro Marshall Robinson caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a chunky 7-pound, 13-ounce largemouth bass.

The four teams that will compete Tuesday in Elimination Round Match 3 at the Bass Pro Shops Summit Cup Presented by Zenni are:

Team Fishing Clash:
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla.

Team O’Reilly Auto Parts:
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J.
Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala.

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

Team YETI:
Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas
Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark.

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 enter the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches will feature four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round 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.