FIRST CAST : JOEL SHANGLE
redcrest note : connell ’ s win on lay lake seemed undeniable
There was no denying that Dustin Connell was going to win Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Powered by OPTIMA Lithium . As I walked up to Connell ’ s boat at Beeswax Landing shortly after he won the Knockout Round with 52 pounds , 15 ounces , the Alabama pro was already surrounded by family and friends while water from Lay Lake dripped from his boat .
Connell nodded his head at me and said , “ You all knew I was going to do that , right ?”, referring jokingly to the performance he had just completed in the next-to-last day of REDCREST .
Connell had started the Knockout Round slowly , boating four scorable fish for 10 pounds , 3 ounces in the first period . The first hour of the second period wasn ’ t much hotter ( two more fish ), and Connell headed into the second half of the day with a lot of real estate between him and SCORETRACKER ® leaders Michael Neal and Jesse Wiggins . Although probably not in danger of finishing outside of the Top 10 and out of the Championship Day cut , Connell didn ’ t seem like the favorite to win the round at that point in time .
As you probably know by now , the kid from nearby Clanton , Alabama , hit a higher gear for the rest of the day as he torched 12 fish for 36-3 over the final four hours of competition .
In the couple of minutes after he pulled his Triton out of the water – as friends , family and fans swarmed around Connell ’ s boat and he engaged in a high-energy , rapid-fire chit-chat with all of them – I surmised that the 2021 REDCREST champion was going to repeat . Right then and there , I had the feeling that Connell would be unbeatable in the Championship Round .
He had entered REDCREST as the runaway favorite to win , thanks to a lifetime of fishing on the Coosa River and career momentum from five Bass Pro Tour wins in three years . He had exploited a new pattern and location late in the day in the Knockout Round , and it seemed almost certain that he would do the same in the Championship Round the following day ( he actually didn ’ t , but that ’ s a whole ‘ nother story ).
More than all of that , though , Connell projected the kind of championship swagger and competitive confidence that only top-level athletes possess . He was going to win , and it didn ’ t matter what the other nine anglers might do .
I first saw that dominator personality face-to-face during a post-fight interview I conducted with a young Oscar De La Hoya , immediately after one of his first professional fights . It was clear to me then that , no matter what else happened around De La Hoya in the ring or what his opponent did , he was going to win . He went on to claim his first world title a year later and didn ’ t lose a fight for five years afterward .
Connell performed in the REDCREST Championship Round like a dominator . He roasted the rest of the field by 31-plus pounds en route to becoming the first and only repeat REDCREST champion . Needless to say , if Connell had asked me the same question on Championship Sunday that he asked me after the Knockout round – “ You all knew I was going to do that , right ?” – my answer would ’ ve been “ Oh yes . I knew .”
Congratulations , DC , you ’ re going to be a great champion again .
joel shangle , editor-in-chief
6 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2024