Team Builders FirstSource was the final team to qualify for the Championship .
Match 2 was never a doubt for Team Fox Rent A Car ( Mark Daniels Jr ., Adrian Avena and Randy Howell ), who finished with a two-day total of 170-9 . Daniels kept a solid pace for two days , piling up 71-6 while primarily cranking Stockton ’ s steep , rocky banks . Howell and Avena followed his lead to the tune of a 30-pound victory for the team .
Team Star brite ( Skeet Reese , Shaw Grigsby and Jeremy Lawyer ) led Match 3 from the start , finishing the first day with a scant 2-pound cushion and then expanding on the second day for a 21-3 win . Lawyer — a Missouri native — brought a stout history of Ozarks knowledge to the match , advising Reese and Grigsby to focus on Stockton ’ s shallow creeks as opposed to heading down the river to locate standing timber . The team caught 61 bass for 104-3 over two days .
BUILDERS FIRSTSOURCE QUALIFIER
Gibbons Creek Reservoir , Lake Sommerville College Station , Texas Nov . 8 – 13
The first match of the final Team Series Qualifier saw Team Fox Rent A Car ( Ott DeFoe , Keith Poche and Kelly Jordon ) rack up 110 bass for 204-1 over two days for a 34-pound win . DeFoe accounted for 95-13 , capitalizing on
“ Sprague ’ s 37-15 on Day 2 proved to be the difference maker .”
standing timber on Gibbons Creek Reservoir with a crankbait , a strategy that Jordon and Poche quickly picked up en route to the win .
In Match 2 , Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches ( Bryan Thrift , Terry Scroggins and Anthony Gagliardi ) weighed 58 bass for 108-6 , more than 40 pounds ahead of the second-place team . Thrift led the charge with 23 bass for 44-4 , mostly on a variety of topwater baits . Scroggins and Gagliardi followed suit , but both also capitalized on vibrating jigs in deeper water .
With the final spot in the Team Series Championship up for grabs , Team Builders FirstSource ( Jeff Sprague , Randall Tharp and Cliff Crochet ) held off a surging Team Ferguson ( Mark Rose , Jordan Lee and Luke Clausen ) by just 1-13 . Sprague and company began their second day with a 17-5 cushion , but saw that lead quickly dissipate as the day went on . Sprague ’ s 37-15 on Day 2 proved to be the difference maker .
GENERAL TIRE TEAM SERIES BASS PRO SHOPS CHAMPIONSHIP
Clermont Chain of Lakes Clermont , Florida Dec . 5-11 , 2022
Nine teams , four matches , one championship squad and a reward of $ 300,000 for the last team standing on Florida ’ s Clermont Chain of Lakes .
The Bass Pro Shops Championship began with Sprague , Tharp and Crochet ( Builders FirstSource ) advancing to the final day thanks to a 1-2 punch of topwater and vibrating jigs ( and a 7-1 big fish from Tharp ). The team caught 61 bass for 104-2 in two days of competition .
On to Match 2 , where the Wheeler , Hays and Lambert ( Crockett Creek ) were able to hold off Kevin VanDam , Faircloth and Walker ( B & W ) by just 11 pounds . Vibrating jigs , swim jigs and jerkbaits were the keys for Wheeler ’ s team in advancing to the final .
Despite starting the second day of Match 3 in last place by more than 15 pounds , Thrift , Gagliardi and Scroggins ( Smokey Mountain ) mounted a furious comeback over the final few hours to win the match by 4 pounds and lock in the three-team roster for the Championship Match . The trio mixed it up with crankbaits and a variety of plastic baits to get the finicky Florida bass to bite in December .
EDITOR ’ S NOTE : The Championship Final of the General Tire Team Series Bass Pro Shops Championship had not yet aired at press time . For a full rundown of how the battle for Team Series supremacy played out , this QR code will take you to full coverage ( plus photos and video ) at majorleaguefishing . com .
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