By MLF Communications Staff

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 REDCREST 2022 on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. 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 47-08, 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 5 anglers from each day advance to the fifth and final day of competition on 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,” he 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 3/4-inch Big Bite (Baits) Jerk Minnow.”

Although Neal spent his day targeting 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.”

Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, won Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 5-12 largemouth during Period 3.

The 10 anglers who will compete in the Group A Knockout Round on Friday are:

Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla.
Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C.
Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash.
Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala.
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn.
Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky.
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C.
James Elam, Tulsa, Okla.

The 10 anglers who will compete in the Group B Knockout Round on Saturday are:

Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala.
Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C.
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.
Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn.
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala.
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn.
Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala.
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark.

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. Anglers will depart daily at 7:30 a.m. from the park and return after competition ends at 4 p.m.

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 breaks 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.



Final Qualifying Round Standings

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for Day 2)

1. Michael Neal -- 35-10 (12) -- 21-13 (8) -- 57-07 (20) -- 4-01

2. Edwin Evers -- 39-11 (13) -- 15-13 (4) -- 55-08 (17) -- 5-07

3. Zack Birge -- 19-09 (7) -- 27-15 (8) -- 47-08 (15) -- 4-12

4. Jordan Lee -- 9-00 (3) -- 34-14 (11) -- 43-14 (14) -- 5-03

5. Casey Ashley -- 14-15 (4) -- 25-07 (8) -- 40-06 (12) -- 4-10

6. Bryan Thrift -- 24-14 (9) -- 14-15 (5) -- 39-13 (14) -- 5-07

7. Takahiro Omori -- 21-03 (6) -- 16-15 (6) -- 38-02 (12) -- 3-09

8. Bobby Lane -- 26-12 (8) -- 9-09 (4) -- 36-05 (12) -- 3-02

9. Brandon Coulter -- 27-02 (9) -- 8-14 (3) -- 36-00 (12) -- 3-09

10. Luke Clausen -- 16-06 (5) -- 19-05 (6) -- 35-11 (11) -- 4-03

11. Fletcher Shryock -- 20-15 (6) -- 13-02 (4) -- 34-01 (10) -- 5-04

12. Dustin Connell -- 16-06 (6) -- 17-06 (5) -- 33-12 (11) -- 5-12

13. Jacob Wheeler -- 29-14 (9) -- 3-13 (1) -- 33-11 (10) -- 3-13

14. Wesley Strader -- 10-09 (3) -- 22-01 (7) -- 32-10 (10) -- 5-05

15. Bradley Roy -- 20-04 (7) -- 11-15 (4) -- 32-03 (11) -- 3-10

16. Greg Vinson -- 17-12 (5) -- 11-07 (3) -- 29-03 (8) -- 5-07

17. Mark Davis -- 8-12 (3) -- 20-00 (7) -- 28-12 (10) -- 4-01

18. Andy Montgomery -- 11-03 (4) -- 17-05 (6) -- 28-08 (10) -- 4-01

19. James Elam -- 12-10 (4) -- 15-10 (6) -- 28-04 (10) -- 3-03

20. Scott Suggs -- 27-12 (9) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-12 (9) -- 0-00

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Rounds

21. Mark Rose -- 12-10 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 27-07 (10) -- 3-07

22. Alton Jones -- 12-08 (4) -- 14-14 (5) -- 27-06 (9) -- 3-10

23. Stephen Browning -- 11-12 (3) -- 13-09 (4) -- 25-05 (7) -- 4-07

24. Brent Chapman -- 16-00 (5) -- 9-01 (4) -- 25-01 (9) -- 2-09

25. Adrian Avena -- 10-09 (5) -- 13-09 (4) -- 24-02 (9) -- 4-05

26. Justin Lucas -- 4-10 (2) -- 18-04 (6) -- 22-14 (8) -- 5-01

27. Ott DeFoe -- 12-06 (4) -- 9-09 (3) -- 21-15 (7) -- 4-14

28. David Dudley -- 18-06 (7) -- 2-01 (1) -- 20-07 (8) -- 2-01

29. Alton Jones Jr. -- 8-13 (3) -- 11-05 (4) -- 20-02 (7) -- 3-13

30. Jeff Sprague -- 14-06 (4) -- 5-11 (2) -- 20-01 (6) -- 2-14

31. Brent Ehrler -- 7-10 (3) -- 12-00 (4) -- 19-10 (7) -- 3-06

32. Kevin VanDam -- 13-13 (5) -- 5-04 (2) -- 19-01 (7) -- 3-01

33. Skeet Reese -- 12-10 (4) -- 6-03 (3) -- 18-13 (7) -- 2-02

34. Jesse Wiggins -- 14-05 (5) -- 2-07 (1) -- 16-12 (6) -- 2-07

35. Russ Lane -- 5-03 (2) -- 11-01 (4) -- 16-04 (6) -- 3-12

36. Gerald Spohrer -- 10-02 (3) -- 5-07 (2) -- 15-09 (5) -- 3-04

37. Andy Morgan -- 15-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-08 (5) -- 0-00

38. Josh Bertrand -- 12-09 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-09 (3) -- 0-00

39. Shin Fukae -- 8-00 (3) -- 3-12 (1) -- 11-12 (4) -- 3-12

40. John Cox -- 11-12 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-12 (3) -- 0-00

41. Anthony Gagliardi -- 7-13 (3) -- 2-00 (1) -- 9-13 (4) -- 2-00