Starting championship Sunday with over a four pound lead over 2nd place, Abu Garcia and Berkley Pro Joey Cifuentes III brought a five bass limit to the scales weighing 18-pounds, 7-ounces on the final day sealing his first Bassmaster Elite Series win in just his second Elite event of his career.

“My goal this season first and foremost was to win an Elite Series event,” said Cifuentes. “I have been so close to victory the past couple years, so to get that done at Seminole this week, and have my family drive in 12-hours to surprise me, it was unbelievable. I pulled in after check-in and saw them; I instantly started crying.”

Cifuentes caught the biggest bag of the tournament on day two of competition weighing 26-pounds, 1-ounce. To catch his fish, he focused his efforts on offshore standing timber adjacent to spawning flats while the rest of the field focused predominantly on shallow vegetation where bass were moving in to spawn. Cifuentes worked an area in Spring Creek utilizing forward-facing sonar to catch bass on a dropshot rig, targeting staging bass that consisted of both pre and post-spawn females, holding near the bottom of specific submerged timber along the main creek channel.

“It was all about the drop shot for me this week, and the new line of Abu Garcia Revo reels with the 7-foot, 6-inch M Abu Garcia Fantasista X was the perfect set up for getting those bigger fish out of the timber and controlling them around the boat,” said Cifuentes III.

His three combos were complete with 15-pound Berkley x5 Braid mainline with either a 12 or 15-pound Berkley 100% Trilene Fluorocarbon leader, depending on the cover. He completed the rig with a ¼-ounce weight.

“The new Revo spinning reels have been built for anglers like Joey,” said Andrew Wheeler, Director, Freshwater Reels for Abu Garcia. “For those who need to rely on their gear when the moment matters and the tournament is on the line, these are the reels that give anglers like Joey the confidence to get every fish in the boat. We are extremely happy for him and this milestone in his career.”

To learn more about Abu Garcia’s new Revo reel lineup, click here.

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