From third to first, Charlie Hanshaw and Jeffrey Hanshaw took advantage of their superb knowledge of Stonewall Jackson to not only win the final stop of the 2023 Malone’s Marine Marshall Bass Super Series but also capture the Team of the Year (TOY) Title on the series.

The Hanshaws came into the event needing to catch up to then points leaders Mike Samples and Luke Stewart who had taken the lead after the Kanawha River event. And they did exactly that and left no doubt as they took the win on a stingy Stonewall.

Before we dive into Stonewall let’s back up on the incredible season the Hanshaws had and their path to the 2023 Team of the Year Title.

Sutton Stop #1

Their worst finish of the 2023 season, the Hanshaws found themselves in 19th and quite the hole to dig out of to win Team of the Year. Add 82 TOY points.

“Only one of us was going to be able to fish Sutton,” Charlie said. “And so Jeffrey had to step in and fish for us. Just with our work schedule, we didn’t even get to practice. We just needed to get the season started and get on the board regardless of how we did.”

The Hanshaws weighed 6.31 pounds on Sutton and only finished ahead of 21st place by just 0.10 pounds. Had they finished 21st in that event we would’ve seen a tie for Team of the Year.

Summersville Stop #2

Going into Summersville, they knew they had to step up to the plate and they did exactly that with a 4th place finish. Good enough for 97 TOY points and $380.

“We caught a lot of keepers on Summersville, but we ran into the typical Summersville problem. They were all around the same size,” said Jeffrey. “We had one that saved our tournament there and it was a three-pound smallmouth in the last 30 minutes.”

The Hanshaws would weigh just over 10 pounds and then find themselves in 7th overall for TOY with 179 points after Summersville. Trailing the Fitzgeralds hot off two back-to-back wins by 21 points.

Stonewall Stop #3

Stonewall. Also could be considered ‘bread and butter’ for the Hanshaws. No stranger to success on West Virginia’s second-largest lake, the Hanshaws yet again capitalized on a rainy May day. They finished 2nd with 17.27 pounds, just a pound and a half behind winners Travis Heater and Erick Lipscomb.

And while the second-place finish looks good on paper, it was anything but that for them on a trying day.

“That tournament was tough mentally,” said Charlie. “The day before we broke our trolling motor in practice, so we had to load up and head back to Charleston that day. Spent all night replacing it and finished up around midnight that night. We got up at 4:00 AM and drove straight back and did our best.”

After most likely some exhaustion and being drenched in a dreary May rain they walked out of Stonewall $740 dollars richer and added 99 points to their TOY total. Sitting in 3rd place in TOY standings with 278 points total but still 12 points behind leaders Brian and Dylan Fitzgerald. Total winnings at this point were $1,120.

A TOY race was forming and it was getting exciting to watch. Brian subbed in Dylan’s older brother Hunter on Stonewall and they managed an 11th-place finish but Mike Samples and Luke Stewart were holding steady as well with 287 points.

Kanawha River Stop #4

Going into the Kanawha River event, it was apparent the Fitzgerald had a good grip on the season and most were thinking the Kanawha was their chance to pull away with the points lead. They have so much experience and success there, that one would’ve assumed it was their chance to try to gap the TOY race.

But of course, the Hanshaws had something to say about that. They weren’t done chasing after the Fitzgeralds.

“We knew the river was going to shake up the points. We fish on the river a good bit and knew it was going to be extremely tough,” said Jeffrey. “We knew it was our best chance to catch up and our good finish there put us in a position to win this Team of the Year Title.”

The Hanshaws would secure a 3rd place finish with 6.77 pounds good enough for 98 TOY points and $395. Adding up their season total to $1,515. And now closing the gap on the points after the Fitzgeralds struggled and found themselves in 2nd in TOY points. Samples and Stewart would take over the points lead and the Hanshaws would have 376 points and now only trailed them by 3 points and trailed the Fitzgeralds by only 1 point.

It was going to be a showdown at Stonewall.

Stonewall Stop #5

The ultimate showdown. Essentially whoever (Top 3 TOY teams) finished ahead of one another at Stonewall was going to win the TOY title. And everyone assumed it was going to be whoever won the event between the three. Samples and Stewart found themselves in the same position as they were in 2022. In the lead in the final event and needed to have another solid finish to clinch the Team of the Year title.

“We didn’t get to prepare for this one like we wanted to or would’ve liked to,” said Charlie. “I’ve been working out of town the last 9 out of 10 days, so I got back Thursday night. Came up here (Stonewall) Friday morning and fished daylight to dark and caught three keepers all day. So, we ran a bunch of history and all that knowledge from years past paid off big time for us.”

The Hanshaws won the event with 12.20 pounds and finished far enough ahead of the Fitzgeralds as well as Samples and Stewart to claim the Team of the Year title with 476 points. Just two points ahead of the Fitzgeralds with 474 who had a promising showing on a lake they’ve struggled with in the past.

Overall

The Hanshaws ended their season with a win worth $1,208 plus a Team of the Year title worth $860. Grand total on the season at $3,583 and a chance at more at the 2023 Marshall Fishing Cup. The Hanshaws never missed a check nor finished worse than 4th after the 19th-place finish at Sutton. They accredit their season to staying focused and being consistent.

“I think as far as points go the Kanawha saved us and we were able to make a comeback,” said Charlie. “For us, Team of the Year is where we always want to be. We want to be consistent and focused on winning that every season. Winning the last event and then the points on top of it, meant a lot to us. It’s not easy to beat these guys. We knew we had to win the event to win the points. If we didn’t win today we were gonna lose Team of the Year and that’s what we told ourselves.”

The next event is the 2023 Marshall Fishing Cup that will be held on Summersville Lake where the Marshall Bass Trail will crown their 5th Cup winners on Sunday October 29th.