Meet the Anglers: Dustin Connell

GTTS-Erie-D6-Takeoff-PMoore-03.jpg

Dustin Connell

Major League Fishing

Dustin Connell

Clanton, Alabama

Alabama angler Dustin Connell is an unstoppable force on the big stage as a three-time REDCREST champion. Connell claimed his first REDCREST title in 2021 at Lake Eufaula, and he made MLF history in 2024 as the first two-time REDCREST champion, winning on his home turf at Lay Lake. He extended his reign in 2025 by winning REDCREST on Lake Guntersville. Connell was hot out of the gate in his pro career, claiming Elite Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2017. Winning Stage Three of the 2022 Bass Pro Tour pushed him to nearly $1 million in career earnings. He followed it up with a win at Stage Six of the 2022 Bass Pro Tour. This win made Connell one of the winningest anglers in Bass Pro Tour history, as only Jacob Wheeler and Ott DeFoe had won three or more events on the Bass Pro Tour. He capped off the 2022 season with his fourth Bass Pro Tour win at Stage Seven at Mille Lacs Lake. Connell added his fifth Bass Pro Tour win to start the 2024 season at Stage One on Toledo Bend.

FUN FACT

Dustin is an avid bow hunter. He also enjoys playing golf and going turkey hunting.

Career Wins7
Top 10s29
Top 20s40
REDCREST Appearances6
Career Winnings$2,144,105

Related Stories
The Summit Cup is the fourth and final event in the Major League Fishing Team Series. Catch the action live on RFD-TV, starting on Sunday, November 16.
Experts highlight the importance of monitoring insecticide resistance in crops and improving disease traceability at livestock shows through RFID technology.
Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana, will be the location for the Summit Cup, the fourth and final event of the 2025 Major League Fishing Team Series.
Chancey Williams joins us in the studio to share his history with FFA as we continue our Countdown to Convention sponsored by Culver’s.
Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell of Team O’Reilly Auto Parts capped off an unforgettable week on the Alabama pro’s home waters with a dominant performance on Monday, cruising to a win at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches on Logan Martin Lake.
Team Knighten Industries – Alton Jones Jr. and Jake Lawrence – dominated from start to finish to win Knockout Match 2 and advance to the Championship Round at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
Team Ferguson’s Takahiro Omori and Dean Rojas, who surged from below the cut line with a late third-period flurry to win Knockout Round Match 1 of the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
Team Knighten Industries’ Jake Lawrence and Alton Jones Jr. lived up to their billing as one of the most dialed-in duos in the game on Friday, during Elimination Match 3 of the Patriot Cup.
Despite calm, sunny conditions to start the morning, the veteran duo quickly deciphered the bite – then shifted gears perfectly when the fish changed.

Rural Lifestyle & Entertainment Shows
SharkFarmer TV is the brainchild of Rob Sharkey, a 5th-generation farmer from Illinois. He shares the stories of incredible people in agriculture—both their successes and perhaps a few blunders along the way. You’ll see aerial footage of the field just as the drone crashes into a barn—and hear the story behind it all.
The Presley Family built Branson’s Original Show on the Strip. “Presleys’ Country Jubilee” was a smash hit, and people from across the country lined up every night for a chance to hear the country music and comedy the Presley Family loved to perform.
“America’s Gospel Music” presents the nation’s premiere Gospel Music artists live in concert from The Wonders Center in Dickson, Tennessee.
“California Bountiful” brings you up close with the people, places, food and farms that make California so delicious! The weekly show delivers a fun, entertaining and educational look at California’s farm to fork lifestyle, and everything in between.
One of RFD-TV’s many efforts to showcase stellar American musical craftsmanship, “The Bluegrass Trail” showcases the greatest Bluegrass artists across the USA performing time-honored songs—many presented for the very first time. It’s a celebration of this nation’s musical roots right here on our Nashville stage!