WON BASS WINTER OPEN at Clear Lake champ, Garrett Ellenson in his Ranger Z518/Mercury ProXS prize rig. -Nick Kleckner photo
BY MIKE STEVENS
LAKEPORT— After sitting well within striking distance in second place for the first two days of the WON BASS Winter Open at Clear Lake, Garrett Ellenson of Nine Mile Falls, Washington made his move on Day 3 and emerged as the champion. For his efforts, he grabbed a new Ranger Z518 powered by a 150-horsepower Mercury ProXS outboard. Taking the $55,000 value of the Ranger/Mercury prize rig, $3,000 for the win and another $500 for the Big Bass on the pro side on Day 3.
Ellenson grabbed the 2-spot on Day 1 after weighing in five Clear Lake bass for 32.08 pounds – just over 2 pounds behind Day 1 leader, Mark Cobey – and he remained locked in to second place with 33.76 pounds after the second day of competition. Going into the final day of fishing, Ellenson trailed new leader Vance Hayes by less than 2 pounds, but by the time he made his way to the weigh-in stage, it was Phillip Makin who had just leapfrogged Joe Uribe Jr. and in the first-place hot seat. Ellenson needed 26.55 pounds to bump off Makin and claim the championship trophy, and he did so with room to spare with a 32.53-pound bag bringing his 3-day total to 98.37 pounds.
There was a good amount of movement on the hot seat as the final flight of anglers weighed in, and the lead swapped several times. Mason McAbee was on top after weighing in the biggest bag of the tournament (37.73 pounds), but he fell victim to Joe Uribe Jr. borderline heroic comeback attempt. Uribe needed 27.76 to take the lead, and he did so with authority with a 37.08-pound limit.
“I dug myself in a hole on Day 1, and I feel truly blessed to have had back-to-back phenomenal days,” said Uribe Jr. on stage.
Uribe Jr. finished Day 1 in 26th place after only weighing in 14.63 pounds, but he bounced back on Day 2 and shot up to 7th with a monster 36.79-pound bag only to do even better in the final day. He said it he got an 8 pounder on his first cast, but it was a grind after that, highlighted by a 9.71-pound kicker.
Uribe’s 88.5-pound total held the lead until Phillip Makin exceeded the 27.05 pounds he needed to move into first. After that, Ellenson was the final pro to weigh in and he needed 26.55 pounds to win it all. An 8.98 pounder helped push that limit to 32.53 pounds, and the rest is WON BASS Clear Lake history.
For complete standings, visit – https://wonbassevents.com/pages/lake-mead-open-pairings-and-results
The 2026 WON BASS Winter Open at Clear Lake is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Stealth Lithium Batteries, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, Okuma, A&M Graphics, Reese Fishing, Anglers Marine, Signature Gate Systems, DD26 Fishing, Loco’s Cantina, Gone Fishing Marine and G-Ratt.