HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (April 3, 2025) – It’s been a little while since pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, felt nervous butterflies at takeoff. But after a strong practice on Lake Guntersville prior to the REDCREST tournament, the longtime veteran knew he’d have a chance to contend for the $300,000 top prize, and as he launched his Tomcat for Day 1, he was anxious to capitalize on the opportunity.
“I did have a good practice, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “And I haven’t had that nervous, excited feeling in a while.”
Capitalize he did. While a few anglers who used forward-facing sonar in Period 1 got out to early leads, Dudley steadily climbed SCORETRACKER® throughout the day, then closed with a flourish, boating eight scorable bass for 27 pounds, 6 ounces during the final hour. That brought his Day 1 total to 71-8 on 23 bass, which gave him a 9-10 lead over Springville, Alabama’s Jacob Walker at the top of the standings.
Plenty of anglers remain within reach of pushing Dudley for the automatic Championship Round berth on the line for the winner of the Qualifying Round. Berrien Springs, Michigan, pro Ron Nelson sits 2-1 back of Walker, and pro Justin Cooper of Zwolle, Louisiana, is 3-0 behind him. On the day, seven pros topped the 50-pound mark.
Across a touring career that has spanned more than three decades, Dudley has prided himself on qualifying for championship events. Since 1997, he’s competed in the Forrest Wood Cup or REDCREST 24 times – and two of the years he didn’t, he qualified but the event was canceled (2001 and 2020). Only three times in the past 28 seasons has he failed to make the cut.
One of those rare misses came in 2023. So, Dudley was extra fired up about being back in the REDCREST field on Guntersville.
“Not fishing a REDCREST or a championship, it stung a little bit,” said the Virginia pro.
The conditions that greeted him on the legendary lake made him even more excited. Dudley has long excelled around the spawn. So, with fish flocking to their shallow spawning grounds on Guntersville, he found his comfort zone, locking a spinning rod in his hands and fishing slowly.
“It’s my strength,” Dudley said. “When it comes to spawn and postspawn style of fishing, I think I’m comfortable. When they get up there susceptible, I just think I do well.”
Like the rest of the field, Dudley had to adjust to the strong south wind that churned the waters of Guntersville over the past couple days, which blew out at least one area he wanted to fish. But he found a few productive zones, and as the day progressed and temperatures rose, his bite got better and better. Dudley added 37-10 to his total in the final period to climb from eighth at the start of the frame into the lead.
“They just started firing for what I was doing,” he said.
That strong finish could loom large for Dudley. He believes he’ll need to find new water to have a chance at winning his second career championship event, but having a bit of a cushion over his pursuers could allow him to scout new territory on Friday and still have a shot to win the Qualifying Round, thus ensuring his spot in the Top 10.
“I feel like I’m going to have to find some new stuff,” Dudley said. “But the good thing about it is when you have a decent lead, it frees you up to explore a little bit more. So, I’m sure I’ll do that tomorrow.”
The standings after Day 1 of REDCREST 2025 tournament on Lake Guntersville are:
1st: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 23 bass, 71-8
2nd: Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 20 bass, 61-14
3rd: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 18 bass, 59-13
4th: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 20 bass, 56-13
5th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 18 bass, 54-0
6th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 17 bass, 52-15
7th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 20 bass, 50-7
8th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 15 bass, 47-15
9th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 20 bass, 46-6
10th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 15 bass, 46-3
11th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 18 bass, 43-10
12th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 14 bass, 41-10
13th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 14 bass, 41-9
14th: Tyler Stewart, Dubach, La., 15 bass, 41-8
15th: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 13 bass, 40-7
16th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 15 bass, 39-4
17th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 38-9
18th: Andrew Nordbye, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 37-9
19th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 12 bass, 37-1
20th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 14 bass, 36-3
21st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 12 bass, 36-1
22nd: Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 13 bass, 35-5
23rd: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-10
24th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 13 bass, 34-3
25th: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 13 bass, 33-10
26th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 11 bass, 31-3
27th: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 11 bass, 30-5
28th: Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y., 10 bass, 29-10
29th: Paul Marks Jr., Cumming, Ga., 11 bass, 29-9
30th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 12 bass, 29-8
31st: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 10 bass, 29-3
32nd: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 11 bass, 28-12
33rd: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 11 bass, 28-0
34th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 27-9
35th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., eight bass, 24-3
36th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., eight bass, 24-2
37th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 22-12
38th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., eight bass, 22-2
39th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., eight bass, 20-3
40th: Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., seven bass, 19-13
41st: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, seven bass, 19-3
42nd: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., six bass, 18-13
43rd: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., six bass, 17-15
44th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., seven bass, 17-11
45th: Braylon Eggerding, Grand Rapids, Mich., four bass, 14-8
46th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 14-7
47th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., four bass, 10-10
48th: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., three bass, 8-14
49th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., two bass, 6-5
50th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., two bass, 4-5
Overall, there were 581 scorable bass weighing 1,648 pounds, 10 ounces caught by the 50 pros on Day 1.
Sprague won the Day 1 $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award on Thursday with a 9-pound largemouth bass that he caught on a soft plastic in Period 2. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day of the tournament.
The full field of anglers compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the highest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers that finish 2nd through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins professional bass fishing’s top prize of $300,000.
Anglers will launch each morning from Civitan Park, located at 1130 Sunset Drive, in Guntersville, Alabama, at 7:15 a.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch events.
The free, family-friendly MLF Outdoor Sports Expo will also take place throughout the weekend, April 4-6 at the Von Braun Center, located at 700 Monroe St. SW, in Huntsville. Fishing and outdoor enthusiasts are invited to explore an array of booths and vendors, featuring the newest innovations and gear in fishing, boating, and outdoors. Meet some of the biggest names in the industry, including professional anglers from the Bass Pro Tour and legendary Bass Fishing Hall of Famers like Kevin VanDam.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/redcrest-guntersville-4325.html
Major League Fishing (MLF)