Bass Prop Shops REDCREST, the Super Bowl of the Major League Fishing, just wrapped up at Missouri’s legendary Table Rock Lake, and man, was it a mixed bag of tricks we saw from some of the best bass anglers in the world. Table Rock is know for being a large, diverse fishery with miles and miles of shoreline, and generally, little to no grass. A clear water reservoir that offers the trifecta of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, we saw Jacob Wheeler, pretty inarguably the best angler in the world right now, win the tournament that has managed to evade him for this entire career… and he cashed a $300,000 check to go with it.
But you’re not just here for the recap—you want to know what they were throwing so you can stock up before your next weekend on the water. We dug into the data to bring you the ultimate gear guide with Tackle Warehouse links to what the pros were using.
Here are the top baits from the championship, counting down from 10 to 1.
10. Dustin Connell: 12 lbs, 8 oz (5 bass)
Rapala Crush City Salted Ned Roll & Crush City Janitor Worm
Connell fell short of a 4th REDCREST win, but still managed to snag his sixth Top 10 finish in the illustrious tournament. He caught most of his fish on beds, utilizing a green pumpkin Rapala Crush City Salted Ned Roll on a 3/16-ounce on a Ned rig, as well as a green pumpkin Crush City Janitor worm on shaky head and a drop shot.
Shop the Rapala Crush City Janitor Worm at Tackle Warehouse – $6.99
9. Jeff Sprague: 17 lbs, 3 oz (7 bass)
Lake Fork Lures 1.5 Squarebill
Sprague was one of the few anglers who power-fished his way to into the Top 10. Whether he was in clear water or the stained James River, he was chunking a Lake Fork Lures 1.5 squarebill (slated for release later this year). Sprague’s trick? Target the deeper spawners who were on deep rock and steeper banks.
8. Spencer Shuffield: 20 lbs, 9 oz (8 bass)
Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ & Z-Man TRD CrawZ
Shuffield follow a similar playbook to most of the Top 10… scope out deep with a minnow and then change it up and fish for spawners with some kind of soft plastic. Out deep on the flats, he sniped schooling fish with a 3-inch Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ, and then changed it up with a Z-Man TRD CrawZ (Canada Craw) on a Ned rig.
Shop the 3″ Z-Man Jerk ShadZ at Tackle Warehouse – $5.99
7. Mark Daniels Jr.: 23 lbs, 14 oz (10 bass)
Bill Lewis MR-6 & SB-57 Crankbaits
MDJ ignored the screens almost entirely and cranked his way to his first REDCREST Top 10. Targeting “turnover water” in the James River, he leaned heavily on crawfish-imitating plugs. He threw the Bill Lewis MR-6 on rock transitions and swapped to the SB-57 squarebill when navigating flatter ground, laydowns, and timber. Both cranks were shades of red.
Shop the Bill Lewis MR-6 at Tackle Warehouse – $8.99
6. Alton Jones Jr.: 24 lbs, 14 oz (9 bass)
Geecrack Crackdown Swimbait & Yamamoto Hinge Minnow
Jones used a 3.5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow for his LiveScope fish, but the real star of his arsenal was a prototype bait from Geecrack. He threw the yet-to-be-released Geecrack Crackdown swimbait in white. Similar to the Megabass Magdraft, the Crackdown is a large, pre-rigged, line-through swimbait that can draw the fish out in shallow cover. I’ve really enjoyed some of the Geecrack offerings so stay tuned for that… it’s sure to be good.
Shop the Yamamoto Hinge Minnow at Tackle Warehouse – $9.49
5. Drew Gill: 28 lbs, 1 oz (12 bass)
Big Bite Baits Spotlight Minnow & 5-inch Yamamoto Senko
Gill blasted out of the gates on Day 1 with a massive 70-7 bag. His spinning rod put in the work mid-lake, shaking a Big Bite Baits Spotlight Minnow (4.25 and 4.8-inch) on a light 1/8-ounce head to fire up spawning smallies. When he shut down the electronics to fish pole timber and chunk rock, he went with an absolute classic: a wacky-rigged 5-inch Yamamoto Senko in Sungill to do most of his damage. He also mixed in a drop shot and a Neko rig.
Shop the Big Bite Baits Spotlight Minnow at Tackle Warehouse – $6.99
4. Brent Ehrler: 25 lbs, 7 oz (12 bass)
Yamamoto Hinge Minnow & 5-inch Yamamoto Senko
Ehrler has fished all seven REDCREST championships, and this past week, he proved why. He chased morning schoolers with a 3.5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow (Sexy Shad). Once the sun got up, it was all about the bed fish. He targeted light and dark spots on the bottom using a green pumpkin 5-inch Yamamoto Senko, rotating between wacky, Neko, and shaky head presentations.
Shop the Yamamoto Hinge Minnow at Tackle Warehouse – $9.49
3. Zack Birge: 32 lbs, 15 oz (12 bass)
Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait & Rapala Mooch Minnow
Birge has been red hot lately and trend continued at REDCREST. He was an absolute powerhouse, leading the Qualifying Round with over 102 pounds. While he caught some fish on a tiny 3-inch minnow and a popper, his bread-and-butter was power-fishing short pockets on the main river. He tied on a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer ChatterBait (Clearwater Shad) and bulked it up with a 4.5-inch Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow trailer.
Shop the Crush City Mooch Minnow at Tackle Warehouse – $6.49
2. Takahiro Omori: 38 lbs, 8 oz (15 bass)
Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait & Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ
Takahiro LOVES a good Chatterbait bite and worked his way into the Top 5 beating on shallow fish in 5 feet of water or less way up the James River. His weapon of choice was a white 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen Jack Hammer paired with a 5-inch pearl Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ trailer.
Shop the Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer at Tackle Warehouse – $19.00
1. Jacob Wheeler: 51 lbs, 11 oz (21 bass)
Rapala Crush City Salted Ned Roll & Z-Man JackHammer
The GOAT, and the newly crowned REDCREST Champion, Jacob Wheeler avoided the heavily pressured spawning pockets and stayed on the lower end of the lake, scouring channel-swing points for bass in all three stages of the spawn.
He loaded the boat with a mix of baits: a green pumpkin Rapala Crush City Salted Ned Roll for spawning smallies; a 4.25-inch Crush City Freeloader and 4.5-inch Mooch Minnow for his minnow shaking FFS fish; and when he wanted to cover rocky banks in a hurry, he tied on a Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer with a Freeloader trailer in green pumpkin magic or sungill.
Shop the Crush City Salted Ned Roll at Tackle Warehouse – $6.99
*This post contains links through the Tackle Warehouse Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.
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