2025 REDCREST TOURNAMENT

Dustin Connell Makes History with Third REDCREST Victory at Lake Guntersville

Connell Dominates 2025 Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by MillerTech with Record-Breaking Performance

GUNTERSVILLE, AL (April 6, 2025) — The 2025 iteration of Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by MillerTech returned to the legendary bass waters of Lake Guntersville, Alabama, for the third time—and for the third time, Alabama native Dustin Connell kept the championship trophy on home turf.

Connell delivered a dominant performance on Championship Sunday, making a 70-mile run to the tailrace below the Nickajack Dam and landing 27 scorable bass for a jaw-dropping total of 87 pounds, 11 ounces—the highest single-day weight of the entire event. Despite a 65-minute weather delay, Connell held off a late surge from Wesley Strader to secure an 8-pound, 5-ounce margin of victory.

With the win, Connell not only earned $300,000 in prize money, but also made history. He became the only angler to win REDCREST three times, adding to previous titles at Lake Eufaula (2021) and Lay Lake (2024). This places him in elite company as just the third angler with three tour championship titles, trailing only bass fishing legends Kevin VanDam and Rick Clunn, who each hold four.

“This one means a lot,” Connell said. “I think just me winning the tournament doing my own deal, winning it with my style of fishing that I love, and then coming off of a couple tough tournaments and just a lot of adversity—I was very, very, very shook up.”

This victory also marks Connell’s seventh career win on the Bass Pro Tour, further solidifying his status as one of the sport’s greatest big-stage performers.

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