A MATTER OF TIME
IT SEEMED LIKE a long time coming , but Spencer Shuffield is now a tour-level winner after capturing the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE on New York ’ s St . Lawrence River
By Tyler Brinks rkansas pro Spencer Shuffield ’ s ascension through the ranks of tour-level tournament bass fishing has been well documented . The son of legendary pro Ron Shuffield and a standout co-angler on the FLW Tour from the minute he stepped onto the back deck at age 18 , Shuffield seemed born to catch and weigh bass for a living .
Shuffield racked up Top 5s all five years he fished the FLW Tour as a coangler , claiming Co-Angler of the Year honors in 2011 before moving to the front deck in 2012 . He again succeeded almost immediately , finishing second in his second-ever tour-level event as a pro and racking up Top-20 finishes in Tour AOY races in 2013 and 2014 .
… and then , after the 2015 season , Shuffield just disappeared .
Still in his 20s and in need of a “ reset ,” Shuffield spent four seasons ( from 2016 through 2019 ) focusing on his personal life and quietly working to become a better all-around angler . The time away ate at him , but he spent it fishing every local tournament he could , amassing victories , knowledge and new skills along the way .
The reset worked like a charm : Shuffield reappeared on the national tournament scene in 2020 and immediately established himself as an AOY contender , stacking up three Top 10s , finishing second in AOY ( and sixth in
PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF
“ A win of this magnitude is like winning five events , in my opinion .”
the inaugural TITLE event ) and cashing a career-high $ 107,000 in checks .
Two more successful seasons later , Shuffield is now on top of the world with the 2022 Tackle Warehouse TITLE belt in his possession and an invitation to fish the 2023 Bass Pro Tour awaiting following his third-place finish in the 2022 Pro Circuit AOY .
Shuffield ’ s comeback story – and how he was eventually able to win the biggest tournament of his life – are
Shuffield ’ s special spot on the St . Lawrence produced highquality smallmouth bass .
both the result of trusting his instincts and testimony to his incredible dedication to a fishing career that ’ s just getting re-started .
Notching His First Win
Shuffield ’ s first major win – at the 2022 Tackle Warehouse TITLE on New York ’ s St . Lawrence River in early August – came after multiple Top 5s as both a pro and co-angler and a handful of close calls where he seemed to be on the winning fish , only to have something go slightly awry on the final day . Shuffield readily admits that , despite his overall success , doubt had begun to creep into his mind that he might never claim a major win .
“ So many people were telling me that my time was coming , but I was starting to believe that it wasn ’ t in the cards for me to win one ,” Shuffield admits . “ I was so close , so many times ,
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 41