FIRST CAST : JOEL SHANGLE
a tale of two anglers , redcrest edition
While chatting with Bass Fishing magazine writer Tyler Brinks about the field for REDCREST 2024 , it struck me how diverse and interesting this 50-man group of competitors is . As has been the case for the four previous REDCREST competitions , the 2024 field is loaded with a Who ’ s Who of champions and Anglers of the Year – 14 of the 50 are major-tour-level AOY winners , and they ’ ve accounted for 20-plus world-championship-level trophies ( REDCREST , Forrest Wood Cup , Bassmaster Classic ).
But in addition to the AOY pedigree and championship-winning firepower that will be on display at Alabama ’ s Lay Lake in March , two names jumped right off the roster at me because of the intrigue of their individual stories : 21-year-old Dalton Head from Moody , Alabama , and the greatest of all time , 56-year-old Kevin VanDam .
Head , a senior at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo , Alabama – just 23.4 miles west of RED- CREST takeoff at Beeswax Landing – will make history on Lay Lake as the first college angler to compete in REDCREST . As you ’ ll read in this issue ’ s Q & A ( page 72 ), Head is currently riding the momentum of a 2023 fishing season that saw him capture a share of the College Fishing National Championship in February and a golden ticket to REDCREST with his performance at the 2023 Toyota Series Championship .
He ’ s remarkably calm for a 21-year-old college senior who ’ s just days away from backing his boat into the same water as his tournament idols : “ I ’ ve fished Lay Lake my whole life and I ’ m going to know a lot about the place , especially that time of year ,” Head says . “ Whatever happens , happens . I just want to have fun with it .”
For VanDam , REDCREST 2024 represents a potential exclamation point at the end of the most storied tournament-fishing career in history . The Kalamazoo Kid already owns four Bassmaster Classic trophies , eight AOY titles and more tour-level hardware than any bass angler who has ever picked up a rod . Knowing Kevin ’ s competitive drive and “ kill or be killed ” tournament psychology , I ’ m 100 % positive that he ’ s approaching REDCREST and Lay Lake with the attitude that he ’ s going to add yet another trophy to his collection .
Any why shouldn ’ t he feel that way ? VanDam won the 2010 Classic on Lay Lake and finished third there in the 2007 Classic . His track record in Alabama is unassailable , with 22 career wins in the Yellowhammer State ( a handful of those from Lay and the other lakes on the Coosa River system ). VanDam knows a thing our two about catching Alabama bass . He ’ s also a veritable Michigan wolverine when a championship trophy is on the line , with 15 Top 10s in world-championship-level events .
Head was an 8-year-old third grader at Moody Elementary School when VanDam won on Lay Lake in 2010 . He admitted to Bass Fishing magazine writer Matt Naber that he plans to chase the dream of fishing as a full-time pro upon graduation from Montevallo . VanDam , meanwhile , will turn his focus to the multitude of media opportunities he ’ s exploring at the sunset of his tournament career .
One just starting a journey , the other finishing one . There are 48 other compelling stories to watch come March 9-12 , but these are two that I ’ ll be monitoring closely .
Check out Brinks ’ REDCREST preview on ( page 30 ), and hit me up with any other storylines that you ’ re looking forward to when action gets started on Lay Lake .
Joel . Shangle @ MajorLeagueFishing . com
joel shangle , editor-in-chief
6 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2024