Major League Fishing and 27 top pro anglers officially wrapped production Friday at the third and final regular season event of the 2024 Team Series season in Longview, Texas. The competition was filmed entirely for television broadcast and shot over six days last week, featuring nine teams of three anglers competing to finish in the Top 3 and advance to the Team Series Championship.
The event featured anglers visiting East Texas to compete in select areas of Lake O’ the Pines, Lake Bob Sandlin, Brady Branch Reservoir and Martin Creek Lake. The competition waters for each day of the event were not disclosed until the anglers arrived at the launch ramp each morning, creating a reality-based television episode that showcases how anglers work with their teammates to break down new and unfamiliar waters.
The nine teams that competed were:
Team B&W Trailer Hitches
Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla.
Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La.
Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala.
Team Builders FirstSource
Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala.
Kyle Hall, Granbury, Texas
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas
Team Crockett Creek
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C.
Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn.
Team Ferguson
Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark.
Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C.
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala.
Team Knighten Industries
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Team Kubota
Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.
Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C.
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches
Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz.
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C.
Team Sqwincher
Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala.
Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala.
Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La.
Team Star brite
Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas
Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan.
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa.
The event will air on Outdoor Channel as six, two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting March 30, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT. The full television schedule can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com/tv-schedule.
The Team Series is comprised of three Qualifying Events, filmed for production in the fall of 2023, where teams compete for advancement to the Team Series Championship, set to film in early December 2023. Each of the three Team Series Qualifiers consist of nine teams, each comprising three anglers.
Nearly half a million dollars will be paid out over the three no-entry fee Qualifiers, and the total season-long purse for the Team Series is more than $720,000.
