By MLF Communications Staff


Major League Fishing’s REDCREST 2022, the Bass Pro Tour championship, is set to visit Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees this week to crown professional bass fishing’s newest world champion. Competition days are Wednesday through Sunday (March 23-27).

The five-day tournament will showcase the top 41 Bass Pro Tour anglers from the 2021 season competing for the prestigious REDCREST Championship and the top prize of $300,000.

Originally scheduled to be held at Grand Lake last year, MLF officials shifted REDCREST 2021 to another venue after the cancellation of the REDCREST Outdoor Sports Expo (due to COVID-19) that had been scheduled to be held in conjunction with the event.

The takeoff ceremony will begin each day at 6:45 a.m. at the Wolf Creek Park and Boating Facility, located at 963 N. 16th St. in Grove, Oklahoma. Anglers will depart daily at 7:30 a.m. from the park and return after competition ends at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! live stream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

“Guys are going to be able to catch them every way you can possibly imagine,” said Oklahoma resident and 2019 REDCREST champion Edwin Evers. “I expect that it will mainly be a prespawn, staging-type bite, but I would not at all be shocked if there were fish spawning by the end of the week. The key to doing well is going to be staying fluid and changing with the conditions.”

Evers said he thinks if an angler can catch 10 to 12 scorable bass per day, he will be doing alright.

“The Bass Pro Tour can be so hard to predict because of the catch-all-you-can format and the zeroing of the weights – it could be anywhere from 45 to 90 pounds on that final day,” Evers said. “But the lake is in really good shape and guys are going to be spread out.

“I’m most excited about this event happening right here, in the heart of the country,” Evers said. “This community eats, sleeps, and breathes bass fishing. I expect that a lot of people are going to have a lot of fun, and this one is going to be a really special event.”

As part of the event, MLF is hosting a free, family-friendly Outdoor Sports Expo throughout the weekend (Friday through Sunday) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day at the SageNet Center at Expo Square in Tulsa. Fishing and outdoor enthusiasts will have the opportunity to visit more than 130 booths and vendors, showcasing the latest and greatest in fishing, boating, hunting, camping and more.

Some of the biggest names in the outdoor industry will be on hand, including the professional anglers who compete on the Bass Pro Tour, fishing legend Jimmy Houston and The Bone Collector’s Michael Waddell. Children are welcome to visit the Bank of Oklahoma Kids Zone to meet Skye & Marshall from PAW Patrol, fish for catfish in the Kids Fishing Pond, show off their artistic skills at the coloring stations, and more.

Country music star Blane Howard will perform free concerts at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, while Clayton Anderson will headline the free concert series with a performance on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Giveaways and prizes include signed MLF angler jerseys, rods and reels, 50- and 60-inch TVs, gift cards, and more. On Friday and Saturday night, one lucky attendee will play for $100,000 in the Bully Dog Pick ‘Til You Win game, and on Sunday one lucky attendee will walk away with a new 2022 Toyota Tundra. For more information on the MLF Outdoor Sports Expo Presented by Costa, visit REDCRESTExpo.com.

The tournament will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

All 41 Anglers will compete on Days 1 (Wednesday) and 2 (Thursday) of the event. After two days of competition, the field is cut to just the top 20 based on two-day total cumulative weight. The remaining 20 anglers are split into two groups – 10 compete on Day 3 (Friday) and 10 compete on Day 4 (Saturday). The Top 5 anglers from each group based on total single-day weight will advance to the fifth and final day of competition (Sunday), where weights are zeroed and the angler who catches the highest total weight on the final day will be crowned the REDCREST 2022 champion.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all five days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MLF NOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of REDCREST 2022 Presented by Costa will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, July 2 and July 9 on the Discovery Channel. A one-hour special episode of MLF REDCREST 2022 will premiere at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, July 17 on CBS. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.