VanDam, DeFoe, Becker make last-minute adjustments as REDCREST gets underway

Going with the flow will be essential for success at REDCREST. Photo by Phoenix Moore.

March 13, 2024 • Tyler Brinks • Bass Pro Tour

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Conditions are changing by the hour on Lay Lake, and the 50 anglers competing in Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Powered by OPTIMA Lithium are making on-the-fly adjustments as Day 1 unfolds. Chatter before takeoff revolved around the rapidly shifting tournament waters and the onslaught of varying weather conditions in the four-day forecast.

Reigning Fishing Clash Angler of the Year Matt Becker, Ott DeFoe, and Kevin VanDam all had differing opinions about what’s ahead for the week, but they agreed the fish are biting on Lay Lake and fans should expect plenty of action on SCORETRACKER® each day of the event.

Fishing quality

VanDam won the 2010 Bassmaster Classic on Lay Lake and would love to add a REDCREST trophy this week. He believes the fishing quality will improve every day of the tournament.

“The bite is improving, for sure, and the Chamber of Commerce couldn’t script it any better with warming weather and fish moving up to spawn,” VanDam said. “The fish are already spawning now and this is the first big wave, but they can get a little weird when they first move up to spawn and aren’t as aggressive. I still think the fishing will be excellent because this lake has a lot of quality fish. In practice, I was catching big fish, but finding numbers of them was the hard part.”

Becker had never fished a tournament on Lay Lake before REDCREST and has been impressed with the fishing. However, the 2-pound minimum weight had him a little concerned.

“Lay is full of fish, for sure,” Becker said. “Catching one above 2 pounds has been a challenge, and I’m curious how many 2-pounders you can even catch in a day.”

DeFoe is the outlier and believes the fishing quality is declining slightly, along with the dwindling current numbers.

“The first day (or practice) we had the highest flow and it’s been lower every day,” he said. “The fish are moving up to the bank, but I believe this lake shines with the current bite. The weights would have been much better last week, and the bite will not improve without more rain.”

Matt Becker thinks Lay Lake is going to fish well this week, but he’s still working on figuring out how to catch the numbers needed to compete for the REDCREST title. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Watching the weather

The weather forecast always plays a role in fishing, especially springtime events, and VanDam has been watching the trends in the area for months.

“That big front last week dropped an unbelievable amount of rain here before we started practice, and (the dams) were running a lot of current that muddied the water,” he said. “Now it’s starting to clear, and with the warming trend, things will change quickly.”

Becker believes the fish will bite no matter what, but the angler who wins this week will be the one who makes the right adjustments.

“We have some crazy weather coming, with warm days, rain, big storms, wind, and everything you can imagine,” he said. “I think they’ll bite regardless, but you have to figure out where the fish moved to. Staying on top of where the fish are going is going to be the key to success.”

Rain was the big story before practice, and DeFoe hopes for more this week – and plenty of it.

“It’s all going to depend on how much rain we get on Friday, but you have to catch enough to even get past Friday,” he said. “If we get a lot of rain on Friday, then Saturday and Sunday might be anybody’s ball game in the current. I’d love to survive that and have a chance to be there at the end.”

Tournament strategy

Largemouth or spotted bass? Head to the bank or go offshore?

DeFoe said the fishing was sometimes excellent during practice, and he had several potential game plans for the tournament.

“Fishing seemed easy at times when I had something figured out,” he said. “The rest of the time, there wasn’t much of anything happening, so there will be crucial times during the day when you have to be ready to capitalize on those little feeding windows.”

When deciding between the two species, Becker said that spots and largemouth are frequently in the same areas, but he isn’t planning on picking a side.

“For me, (practice) was about 80/20 for spotted bass over largemouth, and I’m not targeting one or the other,” he said.

VanDam left the dock contemplating whether to stick shallow for largemouth or get off the bank for spotted bass.

“The age-old question is, do you try to use forward-facing sonar and catch a bunch of 2-pounders or stick with largemouth and try to catch bigger fish and get enough bites to keep up?” VanDam said. “With this format, I’ll have to capitalize on every bite and adjust on the fly. We’re going to see a really diverse set of patterns in play, but expect forward-facing sonar to play a huge role like it has in every tournament for the past two years.”