TULSA, Okla. (March 24, 2022) – Bass Pro Tour angler Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee, weighed in a two-day total of 20 bass weighing 57 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Qualifying Round of the Major League Fishing (MLF) REDCREST 2022, the Bass Pro Tour championship, on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Neal narrowly edged out two Oklahoma favorites – Talala’s Edwin Evers, who weighed in 17 bass for 55-8 to end the round in second place, and Blanchard’s Zack Birge, who boated 15 scorable bass for 47-8, good for third.
The field is now cut to 20, and weights are zeroed as competition moves into the Knockout Round. A field of 10 anglers (Group A) will compete on Friday and the remaining 10 anglers (Group B) will compete Saturday. The top five anglers from each day advance to the fifth and final day of competition, Championship Sunday. The five-day event features anglers competing for a total purse of $730,000, including a top cash prize of $300,000 to the winner.
“Well, the top of the leaderboard is a good place to be,” said Neal, who is competing in his third career REDCREST championship and finished second in the event last year. “I would have rather finished in second or third, because that would mean I would be fishing tomorrow. But I’m going to enjoy my day off tomorrow and get ready to get back out there on Saturday.
“Today was totally unexpected – I totally changed from yesterday,” the Tennessee pro continued. “Yesterday was all about cranking. Today was all about finding the suspended fish that were out chasing bait. I found one little area that had a lot of fish on it. I caught them on a Damiki rig, using a 3/8-ounce Big Bite (Baits) Swimmer head with a ¾-inch Big Bite (Baits) Jerk Minnow.”
Although Neal spent his day chasing the suspended fish chasing bait, it was mainly because he wanted to conserve his other areas for the Knockout and Championship Rounds.
“I was worried about those fish. I wasn’t sure I could go down there and catch one. They were there, and they’ve been there since practice started (last Sunday). So, I feel like one extra day won’t hurt them too bad and hopefully they’re still there Saturday and Sunday for the Championship Round.”
The top 20 pros that made the Qualifying Round cut and will advance in competition on Grand Lake are:
1st: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 20 bass, 57-7
2nd: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 17 bass, 55-8
3rd: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 15 bass, 47-8
4th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 14 bass, 43-14
5th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 12 bass, 40-6
6th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 14 bass, 39-13
7th: Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 12 bass, 38-2
8th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 12 bass, 36-5
9th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 12 bass, 36-0
10th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 11 bass, 35-11
11th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 34-1
12th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 11 bass, 33-12
13th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-11
14th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-10
15th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 11 bass, 32-3
16th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., eight bass, 29-3
17th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 28-12
18th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 10 bass, 28-8
19th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 28-4
20th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., nine bass, 27-12
Finishing in 21st through 41st are:
21st: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 10 bass, 27-7, $5,000
22nd: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, nine bass, 27-6, $5,000
23rd: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., seven bass, 25-5, $5,000
24th: Brent Chapman, Lenexa, Kan., nine bass, 25-1, $5,000
25th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., nine bass, 24-2, $5,000
26th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., eight bass, 22-14, $5,000
27th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., seven bass, 21-15, $5,000
28th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., eight bass, 20-7, $5,000
29th: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, seven bass, 20-2, $5,000
30th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, six bass, 20-1, $5,000
31st: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., seven bass, 19-10, $5,000
32nd: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., seven bass, 19-1, $5,000
33rd: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., seven bass, 18-13, $5,000
34th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., six bass, 16-12, $5,000
35th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., six bass, 16-4, $5,000
36th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., five bass, 15-9, $5,000
37th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 15-8, $5,000
38th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., three bass, 12-9, $5,000
39th: Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, four bass, 11-12, $5,000
40th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., three bass, 11-12, $5,000
41st: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., four bass, 9-13, $5,000
Overall, there were 162 scorable bass weighing 489 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 37 pros Thursday.
Favorite Fishing pro Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, won Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 5-pound, 12-ounce largemouth during Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $1,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
https://dev.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/mlf-grand-lake-32422.html
Major League Fishing (MLF) Archive