Major League Fishing's REDCREST Championship Comes To Grand Lake
Major League Fishing is bringing its REDCREST Championship home to Green Country. The MLF headquarters are in Tulsa and it's tried twice to bring REDCREST to Grand Lake, but Mother Nature had other plans both times.
“At first there was flooding and then last year we had so much ice that we couldn't fish, and we had to move the event, so it's a long time coming,” said MLF host Chad McKee.
The MLF hosts live broadcasts of all its Bass Pro Tour events from its studio at the MLF headquarters in Tulsa. Anytime the professional anglers are on the water competing, a production team is back in Tulsa watching every cast and every catch.
“We can have 10 cameras out there feeding immediately back to a central location to do the broadcast,” McKee said. “One season of Bass fishing is the equivalent of what four college football seasons would be.”
The REDCREST Championship is what wraps up a season. Grand Lake is hosting the 2022 REDCREST where 41 of the world’s best professional anglers will compete for the $300,000 grand prize.
“To be able to bring our signature event right back here to where Major League Fishing is based and bring it to the people and Grand Lake has been so great,” said McKee.
The anglers will launch into the five-day competition on Wednesday, March 23. From March 25-27 the MLF is hosting a free Outdoor Sports Expo at the Tulsa State Fairgrounds Expo Square.
Fans will get to watch Chad and his team in action for the live broadcasts. Fans will also get a chance to meet the pros in person.
“Even on days when the competitors are out on the water the anglers who aren't fishing will be there [at expo] and you get hands on tips, explanation on products,” said McKee. “You’ll have access to the pros being there at the booth telling you ‘why I use this pair of sunglasses, why I use this reel, why I use this line,’”
It’s an opportunity that McKee believes could inspire our next generation of pro anglers.
"The hope is some young person that comes to REDCREST eventually becomes a high school angler, the comes up through the colligate ranks and fishes the Bass Pro tour 10 years from now. Who knows what this might inspire,” said McKee.
Major League Fishing has more information online about the REDCREST Championship and the Outdoor Sports Expo.