By MLF Communications Staff

Oklahoma's Edwin Evers owns a Bassmaster Classic title from Grand Lake. He's now taken the first step toward adding a REDCREST Championship victory on his home-state venue.

Evers caught 13 scorable bass that combined to weigh 39 pounds, 11 ounces as the event got under way. Right behind him in 2nd and 3rd place are the two anglers many consider to be the hottest on the planet at the moment – Tennessee residents Michael Neal, who boated 12 bass totaling 35-10, and Jacob Wheeler, who caught nine bass for 29-14.

Competition will continue Thursday, as the 41 anglers will again catch as much weight as possible before the field is cut to the Top 20 at the end of the day.

“I’m really happy with how the day turned out,” said Evers, who won the inaugural REDCREST championship in 2019 and is seeking to become the first angler to win two. “I focused on jerkbaiting in 6 to 15 feet of water. I didn’t lose any fish today and my plan all seemed to come together.”

Evers said that he threw one jerkbait on two different setups. He used a Berkley Stunna 112, one with 10-pound fluorocarbon line and one with 12-pound. He threw them on a Johnny Morris 6-foot, 8-inch medium-action rod with a high speed 8:3:1 gear ratio reel.

“The big key for me today was watching the bait on my (Lowrance) ActiveTarget to know what depth I needed to keep my jerkbait in when I got near the structure,” Evers said. “And they’re still biting the jerkbait, which I like. I was kind of afraid they were getting off of that bite.

“I feel like if I can catch just a couple of more fish tomorrow, I should be safe and moving into the Knockout Round,” Evers went on to say. “I’ve got a couple of areas that I found in practice that I didn’t touch today, so we’ll find out how good those spots are. I feel really good about this event so far and I am looking forward to getting back out here.”

Wheeler caught a 6-10 bass in Period 2, throwing a jerkbait near boat docks to earn the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award.

All 41 Anglers compete on Days 1 and 2 of the event. After two days of competition, the field is cut to 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 and receive the $300,000 top prize.

The takeoff begins 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! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The event features 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.

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



Day 1 Standings

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the day)

1. Edwin Evers -- 39-11 (13) -- 4-11

2. Michael Neal -- 35-10 (12) -- 4-15

3. Jacob Wheeler -- 29-14 (9) -- 6-10

4. Scott Suggs -- 27-12 (9) -- 4-14

5. Brandon Coulter -- 27-02 (9) -- 4-03

6. Bobby Lane -- 26-12 (8) -- 5-03

7. Bryan Thrift -- 24-14 (9) -- 3-10

8. Takahiro Omori -- 21-03 (6) -- 5-13

9. Fletcher Shryock -- 20-15 (6) -- 6-03

10. Bradley Roy -- 20-04 (7) -- 3-14

11. Zack Birge -- 19-09 (7) -- 5-03

12. David Dudley -- 18-06 (7) -- 3-13

13. Greg Vinson -- 17-12 (5) -- 6-04

14. Dustin Connell -- 16-06 (6) -- 3-05

15. Luke Clausen -- 16-06 (5) -- 4-15

16. Brent Chapman -- 16-00 (5) -- 5-00

17. Andy Morgan -- 15-08 (5) -- 4-14

18. Casey Ashley -- 14-15 (4) -- 4-02

19. Jeff Sprague -- 14-06 (4) -- 5-11

20. Jesse Wiggins -- 14-05 (5) -- 4-09

21. Kevin VanDam -- 13-13 (5) -- 3-12

22. Mark Rose -- 12-10 (5) -- 3-06

23. James Elam -- 12-10 (4) -- 4-12

24. Skeet Reese -- 12-10 (4) -- 4-07

25. Josh Bertrand -- 12-09 (3) -- 5-15

26. Alton Jones -- 12-08 (4) -- 4-05

27. Ott DeFoe -- 12-06 (4) -- 4-10

28. Stephen Browning -- 11-12 (3) -- 5-10

29. John Cox -- 11-12 (3) -- 5-03

30. Andy Montgomery -- 11-03 (4) -- 3-08

31. Adrian Avena -- 10-09 (5) -- 2-04

32. Wesley Strader -- 10-09 (3) -- 4-07

33. Gerald Spohrer -- 10-02 (3) -- 4-03

34. Jordan Lee -- 9-00 (3) -- 4-01

35. Alton Jones Jr. -- 8-13 (3) -- 3-02

36. Mark Davis -- 8-12 (3) -- 3-03

37. Shin Fukae -- 8-00 (3) -- 3-00

38. Anthony Gagliardi -- 7-13 (3) -- 2-11

39. Brent Ehrler -- 7-10 (3) -- 3-07

40. Russ Lane -- 5-03 (2) -- 2-15

41. Justin Lucas -- 4-10 (2) -- 2-07