Bridgford Foods pro Luke Clausen is one of the few anglers who can claim both a Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup win. He's in exclusive company with those two victories and has a chance to do something nobody else fishing this year's REDCREST can: to claim all three major championship wins.
He'll be among the field fishing Lake Guntersville and can make history with another big win. Although he has a long history with the lake, it's been a few years since he fished there, and this will be the first time for him to compete on the lake under the every-fish-counts format that Major League Fishing is known for.
Fishing a Championship Tournament
Having a chance to win all three major titles is a huge deal, and Clausen almost pulled it off the last time he competed in REDCREST. In 2022, he finished as a runner-up to Bobby Lane. That was one of the wildest moments in Major League Fishing history as Lane re-weighed a last-second cast three times to get it to register as a scoreable bass and barely edged out Clausen.
Clausen remembers that like yesterday and wants to avenge that close call with another big win. He's hoping to fare better this time of year and has the experience to do it. With 10 Forrest Wood Cup appearances, 3 Bassmaster Classics fished, and now a third shot at REDCREST, Clausen has competed in several big events. He takes a different approach to these events than a regular season event.
"The great thing about these events is that you can fish freely and take some risks that you normally wouldn't take to try to win," said Clausen. "In a regular season event, you are so caught up in trying to cash a check or salvage points that you tend to play it safe a little more. These big events, points don't matter at all, and you can fish differently without as much stress, even though so much is on the line."
This approach is unique, and Clausen believes that he fishes best when fishing in the moment and adjusting based on what he sees on the water. "I always enjoy these types of tournaments where you can change based on the conditions or get one bite and get a clue of what you should be doing," he said. "That always seems to be when I do my best, going with the flow and fishing by instinct instead of getting caught up in what worked for me in the past."
All Eyes on Guntersville
The famed Lake Guntersville will be a great location for REDCREST, as it is fishing exceptionally well. Clausen has been here many times while fishing the FLW Tour and other circuits but believes it's in the best condition he's ever seen.
"Everything I've seen about Guntersville over the past few years is how well it's fishing," he said. "I have a lot of experience here, but this is like a new lake because of how well they have been catching them. That's good for us fishing at this event, and there should be quite a few fish caught this week."
With a lake on the upswing and some of the best anglers in the world competing, it's likely what it will take to win. While hard to guess, Clausen gave it a shot.
"It's impossible to predict what it will take to win or advance to each round, but I'm thinking catching 50 pounds a day, minimum, will be required to advance," he said. "It was good fishing the last time we were there on the Bass Pro Tour, but I think it's only improved since then."
One wrinkle to this event is the weather during REDCREST week, which forecasts a wild variety of spring weather from sun to thunderstorms and plenty of wind. Clausen was putting this into his game plan as he prepared for practice.
"It's supposed to blow every day, so that tells me that power fishing is going to be a bigger factor," he said. "I think this will be an event where you can fish fast, cover a lot of water, and have a chance to rack up some big weight. I'll rely heavily on baits like a ChatterBait that can be fished around the grass and allow me to quickly move along those grass flats where most of the fish should be this time of year."
Bridgford pro Luke Clausen is already in exclusive company with two championship wins and can make it a trifecta with a win at REDCREST. The chances for major wins don't come around often, and Clausen is doing everything he can to make this a week to remember.
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