https://www.fishermanswarehouse.com/
EUFAULA, Ala. (Feb. 23, 2021) – Pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, weighed in 15 bass totaling 50 pounds, 4 ounces over the first two days of competition to win the two-day Qualifying Round at REDCREST 2021, the Bass Pro Tour championship at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama. The five-day competition features a field of 40 of the best anglers in the world from the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour competing for a top cash prize of $300,000.
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 Wednesday and the remaining 10 anglers (Group B) will compete Thursday. The top five anglers from each day advance to the fifth and final day of competition, Championship Friday.
Lake Eufaula was a bit tougher for anglers on Tuesday, however quite a few anglers, including Thrift, spent most of the day practicing and searching for new areas to fish during the upcoming Knockout Round.
“I didn’t catch a lot of fish today – only two scorable bass – but it was a fun day because I eliminated a lot of water,” Thrift said. “That’s pretty much all we got accomplished today, but that’s just a part of it. Sometimes that’s almost as good as finding the winning hole, because now I’ve got a great idea of what not to do when I get back out there, and that’s definitely a plus.
“It feels great to be leading in my very first REDCREST, but I’ve still got some work left to do,” Thrift said. “You can’t win if you don’t make it to the Championship Round. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and seeing what we can do.”
Reigning REDCREST champion, Oklahoma’s Edwin Evers, had a great day Tuesday, catching eight bass weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces – the largest weight of the day – to vault from 25th place to inside the Toro Top 20 Cut and end the day in 8th place.
“I caught the largest weight of the day, and I know that doesn’t mean a lot to some of the guys that laid off their fish, but it gives me a lot of confidence going into the Knockout Round,” Evers said. “The majority of my fish today came on a Berkley PowerBait Power Hog. I’m learning more and putting more pieces of the puzzle together each day and I can’t wait to get back out there and compete in the Knockout Round.”
The top 20 pros that made the cut and will advance in competition at Lake Eufaula are:
1st: Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 50-4
2nd: Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., 12 bass, 39-7
3rd: Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 36-3
4th: Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-8
5th: Takahiro Omori of Tokyo, Japan, 10 bass, 33-2
6th: Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Ark., 11 bass, 31-1
7th: Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., nine bass, 31-1
8th: Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., 11 bass, 30-0
9th: Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas, 10 bass, 29-7
10th: Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., nine bass, 28-12
11th: David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., eight bass, 28-7
12th: Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 27-4
13th: Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., eight bass, 27-0
14th: Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark., seven bass, 26-8
15th: Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., eight bass, 26-4
16th: Brent Chapman of Lake Quivira, Kan., nine bass, 26-3
17th: Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala., six bass, 23-5
18th: Fred Roumbanis of Russellville, Ark., nine bass, 23-3
19th: Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala., seven bass, 22-15
20th: Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 20-10
Full results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Advertising