Team 7Brew Coffee catches 26 bass weighing 62-1 to earn victory in first Fishing Clash Team Series event of season
PORT HURON, Mich. (Aug. 29, 2025) – The Championship Round of the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® at Port Huron on Michigan’s Thumbcoast ended in dramatic fashion Friday. Team 7Brew Coffee, made up of the father-son duo Alton Jones Jr. and Alton Jones Sr., rallied late to capture the title on the St. Clair River. The Joneses overcame a furious charge from Team YETI’s Dustin Connell and Adrian Avena , sealing the win with four scorable smallmouth in the final 30 minutes of competition to end the day with 26 bass weighing 62-1.
The Championship Round featured four powerhouse teams, but the third period came down to a two-horse race. Team YETI’s Connell and Avena surged late with a six-bass rally and nearly pulled off the comeback, finishing just short of the win in second place with 26 bass weighing 59-5. Team O’Reilly Auto Parts – made up of Ron Nelson and Martin Villa – caught a mixed bag of both largemouth and smallmouth early before fading to third with 23 bass for 40-8, while Team B&W Trailer Hitches’ Gary Klein and Mark Davis capped off a strong week with a fourth-place showing, ending the day with a total of 14 bass for 26-13.
Link to HD Video Clip of Challenge Cup Championship Round Highlights
Link to Morning Photo Gallery: Top four teams face off for Challenge Cup Championship Round
Link to Afternoon Photo Gallery: Jones duo wins Team Series Challenge Cup
The father-son duo’s victory delivered a long-awaited first Team Series trophy for both anglers and marked a career-defining moment for the Texas natives.
“My heart rate is through the roof. That was so intense,” Jones Jr. said immediately after the win. “We just got the win, and really all week, one bait is what we danced to. That Geecrack Bellows Shad in the new 2.8-inch version – in AJ’s Juice and electric shad – was the ticket. We caught 99% of our fish on it, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was the best bait for us to be using.”
For Jones Sr., the moment was both emotional and deeply personal. With his own father battling health challenges back home, he said the win carried special weight.
“It worked out well,” Jones Sr. said. “We had conversations the night before about withdrawing from the competition to go home to be with my dad, but my mom and dad both wanted us to be here at this event, and to win it with my son makes this one of the biggest moments of my career. I’m 62 years old. I don’t know how many more wins I’ve got left, but I know I got one today. And getting to do it alongside my son – this is something we’ll never forget.”
The Joneses relied heavily on drop-shots rigged with the Bellows Shad, targeting current seams and seawalls where smallmouth were stacked. According to Jones Jr., his father’s river knowledge was the difference-maker.
“All the credit goes to him this week,” Jones Jr. said. “I might have brought the bait from Japan that got the job done, but without his experience on this river, there’s no way we could have caught what we did. We always could’ve executed better, but that’s just part of the game – he kept us in it, and together we closed it out.”
The pair overcame adversity throughout the day, including missed opportunities and a tense stretch when Team YETI surged into the lead with six straight smallmouth. But the Joneses stayed patient, and their final rally secured the win by 2 pounds, 12 ounces.
“Neither of us have ever won a Cup before,” Jones Sr. said. “To finally do it here, under these circumstances, is big. This week goes to my dad, Jr’s granddad, and our whole family. It’s been emotional, but it’s also been a blessing. At my age, after 36 years in this sport, this one means everything.”
The four teams at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® finished:
1st: Team 7Brew Coffee, 26 bass, 62-1
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 19 bass, 44-11
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, seven bass, 17-6
2nd: Team YETI, 26 bass, 59-5
Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 15 bass, 31-4
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 11 bass, 28-1
3rd: Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 23 bass, 40-8
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 11 bass, 22-9
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 12 bass, 17-15
4th: Team B&W Trailer Hitches, 14 bass, 26-13
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 17-14
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, four bass, 8-15
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 89 bass weighing 188 pounds, 11 ounces caught by the four teams competing in the Championship Round Friday on the St. Clair River. Team O’Reilly Auto Parts pro Ron Nelson caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a smallmouth weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces.
The B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®. the first of four Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops events of the 2025 season, was hosted by Discover the Blue Michigan’s Thumbcoast and took place over six days in Port Huron, Michigan. The competition water for each day was top-secret and only revealed to the anglers when they arrived at the boat ramp each morning.
The Challenge Cup featured 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 advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams competed 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 competed in a one-day shootout to determine which team was the winner of the 2025 B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®.
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.
Television coverage of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY® will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting January 3, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.