MLF REDCREST Day 3: Nelson Tops Knockout Round, Final 10 Decided

The final 10 anglers are headed to Championship Sunday. With the scores reset to zero and dramatically changing conditions, who will take home the REDCREST trophy and the $300,000 first prize?

Day 3 is over and final 10 anglers are headed into Championship Sunday to decide the 2025 REDCREST on Lake Guntersville. | Kurt Mazurek

Day 3 is complete and the final 10 anglers who will battle it out on Championship Sunday have been decided. But with storms rolling over Lake Guntersville Saturday night into Sunday, expect the fishing to change. And, since everyone starts the day back at zero pounds, any of the remaining anglers have a chance to take home the 2025 REDCREST Trophy and the $300,000 first prize.

Ron Nelson Claims Knockout Round Victory on Guntersville

Ron Nelson claimed the top spot on Day 3. | Major League Fishing

After a Knockout Round that saw four anglers hold the top spot on SCORETRACKER® at various points in the second and third periods, pro Ron Nelson  of Berrien Springs, Michigan, ended the day atop the standings with 70 pounds, 14 ounces on 23 Lake Guntersville bass. Nelson edged pro Bobby Lane, the REDCREST 2022 champion, by 2-9.

Holding the lead wasn’t nearly as important as the battle to finish among the top nine and earn a spot in Sunday’s Championship Round. Nelson and the rest of those nine anglers will join Qualifying Round winner, Guntersville, Alabama’s Chris Lane, with $300,000 on the line for the angler who has the best day. Not only will weights zero overnight, but a significant storm system that’s forecast to bring 2-plus inches of rain could change the complexion of the fishery, so the race to claim the trophy should be anyone’s to win.

Storms, Spawning Bass, and Shifting Strategies

Between volatile weather, fluctuating water conditions and the typical springtime migration of bass to their spawning areas, a lot has changed since anglers first took to Guntersville for official practice a week ago.

“A lot is going to change if we actually get severe weather like they’re talking about and the amount of rain they’re talking about,” Ron Nelson said. “Really, a ton is going to change.” | Major League Fishing

Adjustments Needed to Follow the Fish

“I’ve had to adjust every day of the tournament, every day of practice,” Nelson said. “There’s been no just go out and do the same thing every day. I went from catching them on a crankbait really, really good to not catching them at all on a crankbait to having to switch to a ChatterBait and having to switch to a jig – just everything has been different. And locations are different, too.”

Nelson cycled between a few different spots on Saturday morning, picking off a few fish here and there, before returning to an area where he’d caught a single 3-pounder the day prior. This time, he found it teeming with bass on spawning beds. Not only was he able to catch males off the beds, but he found some bigger females, too. On the day, Nelson boated five bass over 4 pounds, including a 5-14.

“I had a flurry of nice, big females and catching the pairs, catching the male and the female,” Nelson explained.

“Then I was like, OK, I can add up weight pretty quick to solidify my day and get a cushion. And then the day became fun, because at that point, it was like, oh, I’ll just fish for big fish and have fun.”

“A lot is going to change if we actually get severe weather like they’re talking about and the amount of rain they’re talking about,” he said. “Really, a ton is going to change.”

Pick a Lane

Bobby has 7 career victories including the 2022 REDCREST Championship on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. | Kurt Mazurek

Also of note is Bobby Lane’s Day 3 finish just behind Ron Nelson. That means two of the ten competitors fishing on Championship Sunday are brothers, Chris Lane and Bobby Lane. Chris secured his spot on Sunday by being the top angler after the first two days of fishing with the full field.

Chris Lane stayed shallow and didn't use forward-facing sonar at all for his day 2 leading performance. | Kurt Mazurek

Chris is the winner of the 2012 Bassmaster Classic and an eight-time tour-level winner. Bobby has seven career victories including the 2022 REDCREST Championship on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. These guys are both shallow water killers. If you had to, could you pick a Lane?