Team Ferguson rallies late with LeBrun’s smallmouth surge to secure second-place finish
MINOCQUA, Wis. (Sept. 14, 2025) – Team Fishing Clash wasted no time setting the pace on Day 1 of the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies, as Florida pro Keith Carson and Washington veteran Luke Clausen went wire-to-wire to claim the opening victory and advance to the Knockout Round of the second Major League Fishing (MLF) Fishing Clash Team Series event of the season.
The duo’s simple but deadly formula – weightless stick worms, wacky-rigged around boat docks – delivered 29 scorable bass and nearly 60 total catches in six hours of competition.
Link to HD Video Clip of Heritage Cup Elimination Round Match 1 Highlights
Link to Afternoon Photo Gallery: Team Series action resumes with Heritage Cup on Minocqua Lake
“It was a really good day,” Carson said. “We got the lead early, we stayed steady, and we just kept fishing the way we knew we could. To get that many bites and put together that kind of day, it feels really good to lock in a win right out of the gate.”
Clausen credited the conditions for steering them toward finesse.
“The fish just weren’t aggressive today,” Clausen said. “It was calm and sunny, and you could tell they weren’t in the mood to chase anything. Once we picked up the wacky rig, it was game on. My very first cast with it, I caught one, and from that point forward it was locked in our hands.”
Carson noted how consistent the dock bite proved to be.
“We caught two on one of the first docks we pulled up to this morning, and that gave us confidence,” Carson said. “From there, we just kept rolling, and on a lot of those docks, there was more than one fish waiting. The wacky rig just flat-out got more bites than anything else.”
Clausen added that versatility kept them moving.
“We threw it around docks, pads, laydowns, grass, even seawalls,” Clausen said. “It didn’t matter what kind of cover it was, if it looked fishy, we fired a wacky worm in there. We tried some other things, but nothing else compared. That bait was our best chance to get bit.”
“Six hours of fishing, close to 60 bass. That’s about as fun as it gets. Hopefully we can carry this momentum all the way to Championship Day,” Carson went on to say.
While Carson and Clausen ran away with the top spot, the Team Ferguson duo of Nick LeBrun and Marty Robinson made the loudest noise in the closing stretch. LeBrun ignited a third-period rally offshore, catching 11 scorable smallmouth for more than 17½ pounds using Lowrance ActiveTarget to locate schools. His surge lifted Ferguson past Team Lucas Oil into second place and safely into the next round.
“Going into that final period, we were six pounds down and on the bubble,” LeBrun said. “But once we found those smallmouth offshore, the whole match flipped for us. That last-hour push was exactly what we needed.”
The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 1 at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies that now advance to the Knockout Round are:
1st: Team Fishing Clash, 29 bass, 45-2
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 14 bass, 20-10
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 15 bass, 24-8
2nd: Team Ferguson, 18 bass, 29-4
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 13 bass, 22-4
Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., five bass, 7-0
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team Lucas Oil, 18 bass, 24-0
James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 11 bass, 14-10
Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., seven bass, 9-6
4th: Team YETI, 12 bass, 17-9
Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, six bass, 11-1
Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., six bass, 6-8
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 77 bass weighing 115 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the four teams in Elimination Round Match 1 on Lake Minocqua. Team YETI pro Jeff Sprague caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a largemouth weighing 3 pounds, 10 ounces.
The four teams that will compete Monday in Elimination Round Match 2 at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies are:
Team BUBBA:
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C.
Team Knighten:
Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn.
Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark.
Team Kubota:
Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio
Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn.
Team Star Tron:
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill.
Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies is hosted by the Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in Minocqua, Wisconsin. 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 8:45 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 live streamed 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 Heritage 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 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies.
The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops will feature 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 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies will also air on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting Feb. 14, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
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.