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NEWELL’S NOTES
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NEWELL
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10
“Cecil-Dine” Joins the Tour
or a decade, Texans Russell Cecil and Todd Castledine
have spent their fishing careers as regional pros in the
Lone Star State. In that time, both anglers experienced
a great deal of success competing in the Costa FLW Series
and T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League, as well as other
local and regional circuits. Yet the point when their careers
experienced a real uptick occurred in 2011, when the two
joined forces and started working together in competition to
really make some bank.
Since then, they’ve racked up numerous wins and AOY
titles across multiple team circuits in Texas. Their reputation
as a deadly duo even earned them the nickname “Cecil-Dine.”
It’s been a productive partnership ever since, and in 2018
the members of Cecil-Dine will test the waters of the big
leagues as FLW Tour rookies. Though both have fished out-
side of Texas before, this will be the first time either has
fished competitively for an entire season in the East.
The duo’s debut on the FLW Tour bears watching. I believe
that winning on the regional level is a prerequisite to finding
success on the FLW Tour, and both Cecil and Castledine have
certainly done that. However, the fisheries of the 2018 FLW
Tour are a long way from their grassy, bass-filled wheelhouse
in Texas. Also, a lot of the competition on the FLW Tour has
fished multiple tournaments on the lakes that figure in the
2018 schedule.
Can they take the same teamwork that has garnered so
much regional success and employ it with similar results
nationally on unfamiliar waters? My guess is that considering
the backing they have and the cooperation they showcase,
that’s exactly what will happen.
Meeting of the Minds
Cecil and Castledine met at a Costa FLW Series event on
Toledo Bend in 2011. Prior to that, Cecil was well aware of
Castledine’s reputation as an up-and-coming talent in Texas.
“Basically, I kept running into him on some of my best
spots on the lakes where we were competing,” Cecil says. “To
find those kinds of places you have to know what you’re look-
ing for and put in a lot of homework to search them out, and
he seemed pretty dialed in on what to look for.”
At that point, Cecil, who works for Sunbelt Sales, a sport-
ing goods rep group in Texas, used some of his business
savvy and effectively removed Castledine as his competitor
by making him his team partner in fishing.
“We got to know each other at that Toledo Bend event, and
Todd ended up winning the tournament,” Cecil recalls. “I knew
right then I could either spend the rest of my career compet-
ing against him in Texas and lose money or join forces, fish
together and make money. So I went with the join forces
option, and since then we have become really good friends.”
FLWFISHING.COM I JANUARY 2018