BFM_AugSept_2023 | Page 50

Josh Bertrand , Edwin Evers and Marty Robinson : the first official Team Series squad for 2024 .

DRAFT DAY

2023 General Tire Team Series Draft sets the stage for Season 2 of MLF ’ s unique made-for-TV competition
Story and photography by Joel Shangle
Team captains track available players as the draft goes on .
Scott Suggs , Wesley Strader and Casey Ashley discuss draft strategy .
“ With the first pick of the 2023 General Tire Team Series Draft , I choose Edwin Evers .”
And with that statement , Arizona pro Josh Bertrand kicked off the second team draft in professional tournament bass-fishing history , laying the foundation for the second run of Major League Fishing ’ s wildly successful , shot-for-TV competition series , the General Tire Team Series on Outdoor Channel .
MLF fans and viewers had just watched the mid-June TV premiere of the final round of the 2022 General Tire Team Series Championship Presented by B & W Trailer Hitches when the 80-man Bass Pro Tour field assembled at St . Clair Metropark in Harrison Township , Michigan , for the 2023 draft . Bertrand ’ s selection of Evers — the 2019 BPT Angler of the Year and one of the top five tournament money-winners of all time — marked the first chess move among the 27 team captains gathered in the “ war room ” to build their three-man squads , and certainly was one with which Bertrand was extremely pleased .
“ I got a future Hall of Famer and one of the best fishermen in the history of the sport . I can ’ t think of a better way to start a team ,” Bertrand said .
48 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2023