This week brings us REDCREST, the BPT championship and crowning achievement of Major League Fishing. For the first time since its inception, the event will be host to a major expo along with competition, and will be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the city originally intended to decide the title. Forty-one anglers will compete for two days before the field is cut, then cut again, to decide the final 10 who will duke it out on Sunday.

This event will be an eye-opener for bass fishing. First, and most importantly, REDCREST ’22 will gather the greatest field of competitive anglers ever in a Championship. While this topic is often open for debate regarding bass fishing competition, make no mistake about this one. Kevin Vandam, Jacob Wheeler, Bryan Thrift, Edwin Evers, Ott Defoe, Andy Morgan … the list of household names goes on.

The talent level is what immediately drew me to this event. As a fan, I’ve always enjoyed that aspect of the BPT; knowing that no competitor is safe, despite the lead. A tournament heavyweight is always lurking, ready to blow the competition wide open. It’s a thrilling format, right down to the buzzer.

But it’s that format that will likely decide this tournament. For the first time, Grand Lake will host a catch-weigh-release event where all scorable bass count. That’s a major change from the past.

So, looking to those past events for a future prediction will be tough. Immediately, all eyes will be on Edwin Evers. Evers won the Classic at Grand in 2016, took down the first REDCREST in 2019 while also winning the season points title, and is truly one of the greatest ever to play the game. But Evers’ win at Grand came under the five-fish format, and mainly included bass surpassing four pounds each. His strategy, therefore, will have to change.

The upcoming REDCREST features a two-pound minimum for scorable bass, and Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees is full of them. Biologists coordinating with MLF fisheries folks confirm three out of four bass at Grand weigh two pounds or more. It’s likely that the winning angler will target fish in this size range. Finding the motherlode will be more valuable than sticking a few pigs each day, forcing anglers to adjust accordingly.

Lake conditions will challenge. Currently, the water is much colder than what most competitors expected. A few main lake areas are holding in the 40s – surprising everyone – and the upper end of Grand usually runs fairly dirty. Cold, muddy water. The spring bass curse?

Probably not. This is just another day in the life of Grand Lake, and the place seems to always crank out good prespawn bags. Add to the mix a small field of anglers and a huge body of water, and we’ve got the makings for a bunch of fish catches.

So who will have the best shot this week? Let’s take a look.

Zack Birge. Easy pick. Local with a bunch of knowledge at Grand, as well as multiple wins there, including a Toyota Series event. One factor against Birge taking the title is he’s too local, and has less experience than a bunch of his competition. This will simply get in the way of him getting the job done. I look for Birge to come out strong, but get beat by a hammer in the end. Sorry, Zack.

Edwin Evers. Okay, I mentioned all the reasons why Edwin shouldn’t win, but there’s an equal number of reasons why he should. As mentioned, Evers occupies a short list of anglers who have the accolades to be considered an all-time great, though his competition this week includes many of the others. He’s a fierce competitor and won’t get rattled. And Evers has as much experience as anyone facing Grand Lake. In addition, Evers is a master with a jig, a lure that will likely play into the hands of the winner. But I fear he’ll get stuck on big-fish patterns.

Kevin VanDam. I don’t think I can ever predict a championship outcome and not list KVD, provided he’s in the mix. He’s won here before, in fact taking down his record-setting last Elite Series title on Grand before switching tours. VanDam is a monster in cold water; it’s never too cold for him to figure out a way to get reaction bites with cast-and-retrieve baits. But I’m not sure if KVD is up to par on the forward-facing sonar game. True, he may not need it to win. But VanDam’s allegiance to electronic manufacturer Humminbird, and their inability to produce a forward-looker until very recently, may have put KVD behind the 8-ball.

Jacob Wheeler. If you’re gambling on this thing, just pick Wheeler and get it over with. The odds-on favorite to win anything and everything, Wheeler is currently in a league all his own. I’m not sure we’ll ever figure out exactly what Wheeler’s up to, but, if momentum counts for anything (which it certainly does), Wheeler is a safe bet. He’s coming into the event more confident that anybody on earth. Keep an eye on him.

Jeff Sprague. As his record illustrates, Sprague is one of the best to play the BPT game. And, while not an Oklahoman, Sprague isn’t far away in northeast Texas. He’ll know what to look for, and be able to clue into the stage of the spawn quick, if there is one. I look for Sprague to hide near the back until the final day, when he will conveniently make a run.

Michael Neal. Ditto. Look for Neal, again one of the best to adapt to the catch-all-you-can format, to stand in the shadows until Sunday. Neal is simply good at everything, everywhere. From Lake Erie to the heart of Dixie, Neal seems to always be on ‘em. If I were leading REDCREST in the final hours with Neal or Sprague behind me, I’d be a nervous wreck.

But Brent Ehrler will win REDCREST. Yep, that’s my prediction. I hope I don’t jinx Ehrler; he’s a real likable guy. But Ehrler has flown under the radar a bit since the inception of the BPT. Remember, Ehrler was once a terror on the FLW circuit, wining or nearly winning constantly, bringing to light a finesse approach combined with power that shaped into what tournament bass fishing is today. It’s simply impossible to win anymore as a specialist, and Ehrler is anything but. I don’t see Ehrler getting wrapped up in strictly fishing for big fish, he won’t be married to shallow-water patterns, and he’s happy to catch anything weighing 2-00. Also, Ehrler is a spinning rod master, has embraced the video game fishing age, and knows his way around a Neko rig and dropshot. I foresee Ehrler fishing the lower end of the lake, getting on a school of bass behind in the prespawn migration,and riding it to victory, two pounds at a time, while his competition catches a handful a day.

I’m excited to see REDCREST get underway. At the same time, I’ll stay involved as an open-eyed observer, reporting back to you with my findings.

Will the expo be all it’s cracked up to be? How will competition be impacted by format? Attendance. Country music concert. Pulse of the crowd. Check, check, check. I’ll be there, and bring it all back to you next week.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)