REDCREST Comes Home in 2021
TULSA, OKLA., TO HOST MLF’S PREMIER EVENT IN FEBRUARY
Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour will have a hometown event in
2021, and it comes in the form of REDCREST, the circuit’s premier
championship tournament, scheduled for Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees
Feb. 23-27.
Championship tournaments always tend to draw larger crowds and
broader appeal than regular-season events, and MLF wanted the epicenter
of REDCREST to be home in Tulsa, where the organization is
headquartered. Along with a tremendous fishery for the tournament
itself, Tulsa is a perfect destination for the REDCREST Expo (Feb. 26-28)
at the River Spirit Expo, which is one of the largest clear-span buildings
in the world – fitting for one of the biggest tournaments in professional
bass fishing.
“Always, it was going to be Tulsa. It was the only place I was going to
settle for,” says MLF President and CEO Jim Wilburn. “For the first big
expo, Tulsa has proven itself as a bass fishing mecca.”
REDCREST promises to be a boon for tourism and the local economy
of Tulsa. In turn, Tulsa offers a spectacular fishery and tailor-made expo
venue to go along with the symmetry of hosting REDCREST in MLF’s
hometown. It’s an ideal pairing.
With the tournament ending on Saturday and the expo running
through Sunday, it’ll be a perfect opportunity for fans to get to interact
with pros who didn’t make the cut, as well as MLF’s 30 REDCREST participants
after the dust has settled and a champion has been crowned. All 80
Bass Pro Tour anglers will be in attendance on the final day of the expo.
In addition to the expo, fans will have the opportunity to watch 50
hours of coverage from the five-day event, which will be streamed live
on MLFNOW! and MyOutdoor TV. The catch-weigh-release format and
all the live coverage make MLF events – REDCREST in particular – professional
bass fishing’s new frontier. There’s no better place for the next
great fan experience than Tulsa.
“One of the reasons MLF was born was we wanted to expand the
footprint of anglers,” says Wilburn. “We want to grow the sport of competitive
fishing.”
Tulsa hosting REDCREST is one heck of a way to further that mission.
heavy hitters
> FOLLOWING THE TEMPORARY HIATUS
in the tournament bass fishing world due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bass Pro Tour
resumes its 2020 schedule with a unique event
on June 7 at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.
Heavy Hitters was originally billed as a
mid-season qualifier for the top big-bass
anglers through the first five events of the
season, but will now include all 80 BPT
anglers and feature bigger payouts across
the field.
“After working with state, local and public
health officials, we feel we can return to the
water for two final tournaments in 2020,”
says Boyd Duckett, MLF co-founder and pro.
Heavy Hitters will feature a massive
$745,000 prize pool with payouts for the
entire field of anglers and serve as Stage
Four of the BPT season.
In addition to the traditional payout
schedule based on finishing order, the
biggest bass caught for each group over the
two-day Qualifying Rounds (June 7-10) will
pay a $25,000 big bass bonus ($50,000
total). The Knockout Round on day five (June
11) will feature a $50,000 big bass bonus,
while the Championship Round (June 12) will
feature a $100,000 big bass bonus, on top of
the Stage Title $100,000 prize.
REMAINING 2020 BPT SCHEDULE
This revised BPT schedule permits MLF to deliver an additional 100-plus hours of live-action sports as well as meet television production deadlines to
fulfill sponsorship agreements despite the unprecedented season.
2020 Heavy Hitters Presented by Venmo – Kissimmee Chain, Fla. – June 7-12
2020 Bass Pro Tour Evinrude Stage Five Presented by Covercraft – Lake Champlain, Burlington, Vt. – July 10-15
2021 REDCREST – Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Tulsa, Okla. – Feb. 23-27
JUNE-JULY 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | FLWFISHING.COM 19