By Jody Only

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A full field of 300 anglers blasted off at the 11th annual WON Bass California Open on Clear Lake this past Wednesday. As the west coast bass battle ensured, Nathan Phillips of Cobb, Calif. found himself atop the leaderboard each and every day of the event, (28.48 – Day One, 25.56-Day Two, 22.30-Day Three), landing him at 76.34 for his tournament total.  For his wire-to wire win, Phillips will take home a grand prize package valued at $67,500 that includes a Bass Cat Sabre FTD fully-rigged with a Mercury 150 ProXS.

A trio of baits were responsible for Phillips’ catches, and they included a plastic, a jointed glide bait and an exclusive bait from Clear Lake Outdoors.

The runner-up position went to lake local Jackson Juarez from Kelseyville. Juarez had a stellar start and finish, bookending his three days of fishing with limits of 24.69 and 26.62. Although he made a good run at it, his middle day weight of 16.87 kept him out of the win by more than eight-pounds.

Juarez also named three baits for their prowess this week – a lipless crank, a glide bait and a ripbait. His payout was $15,000.

Fellow California pro Daylon Smith from Frazier Park rounded out the top-three with a three-day weight of 64.70. Smith showed only one bait that mattered – a seven-inch Yamamoto Senko.

The AAA crown went to Troy Mays of Ione, Calif. for sacking up 14.69, 16.41 and 26,62. The AAA win paid $6,000 for the 57.72 that won.

The only eight-pounder of the tournament was brought in by AAA Ethan Hammer of Peoria, Ariz. His 8.24 fell to a handmade, 3/8-ounce jig with a brown skirt. He will receive Big Bass money.

Full results of the event by day, including draw partners and big bass of each competition day can be found here.

For  more on the Clear Lake fish-off and other WON Bass fishing events, stay tuned to Western Outdoor News.

The final event of the WON Bass season is the U.S. open at Lake Mohave October 16 – 18. Register here.

Phillips holds California Open lead and widens gap to nearly 10-pounds
By Jody Only

LAKEPORT – Clear Lake giveth and Clear Lake taketh away. That’s not the exact quote; however, it is the gist of what happened to many of the teams on Day Two of the 11^th Annual WON Bass California Open. Whether we blame it dropping water levels, changes in air temps, cloud cover, wind direction or increasing pressure, the impact was the same, there were very few anglers that repeated or improved the success of their Day One stringers.

Although the Day One pro leader Nathan Phillips of Cobb, Calif maintained his top spot after adding 25.56 to his first day’s limit of 28.48, he too was scratching his head after a sudden absence of his bite. “I’m not sure what happened, but it was like the fish just left sometime in the morning,” he said. “They just weren’t setup right; but I guess catching 25 pounds when they’re not set up right is okay.”

Fishing with AAA Vince DiPalma of Walnut, Calif., Phillips advanced his lead to 54.04 leaving his nearest competitor trailing by nearly 10-pounds, a deficit that will be a challenge to make up, even at a big bass fishery like Clear Lake – yes, a challenge, but not impossible.

The only pro in the top-5 that improved his weight on Day Two was Ultimate Bass Radio host Kent Brown from Roseville, Calif. Fishing with AAA Shawn Carnahan of Gilbert, Ariz., Brown put together 21.49 on top of his Day One 20.30. He rounds out the top 5 with a total of 41.79. Brown’s 2^nd day limit included the 2^nd biggest bass of the day – a 6.45 that was edged out by .01 for the pro Big Bass honor of the day by lake local Paul Bailey’s 6.46. “I got bit all day long,” Brown shared. “But the big one bit mid-day.”

First place on the AAA side at 43.09 was claimed on Day Two by Rick Mikla of Discovery Bay, Calif. Paired with Jackson Juarez of Kelseyville on Day One started Mikla out in 5^th place with 24.69. He added 18.40 with pro Justin Kerr of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. to make his move on the second day.

With similar conditions forecasted for the final day of fishing, anglers are considering their strategies and as we all know, at Clear lake any cast can end in the fish of a lifetime. Tune in tomorrow at the WON Bass FB Live Stream or join the anglers in person at Library Park in Lakeport. The scales open at 2 p.m. The newest California Open champion will be crowned.