Alex Niapas in Second Place with 26.42 pounds – Field Posts 66 limits over 20 pounds
LAKEPORT, Calif. – April 9, 2025 –– Clear Lake is once again showing its World Class prowess.
As the 2025 WON Bass California Open presented by Ranger and Mercury approached, conditions appeared favorable for the fishing to be decent. Water temperatures were in the mid 50’s, and despite some rains, the water clarity was largely good, and the fish seemed to be moving nicely into their prespawn phase. Little did we know that historic weights were on the horizon.
By the end of the first day of competition, the field of 176 pros and their AAA partners would produce limits pushing 40 pounds, and not only that, 66 weights above 20 pounds would come to the scales. Pro angler Micah Jones, from Kingman, Ariz. and his AAA partner Greg Salle from Discovery Bay, Calif. would grab the day one lead with 38.34 pounds. Their limit would include a 12.93-pound Clear Lake behemoth that would claim the big fish of the day prize.
Jones said he had the kind of day he couldn’t have even dreamt of having. “I had a good practice period and thought I might be able to catch around 30 pounds, but I never expected this kind of weight,” he said. “I got started off quickly when about 30 minutes into the day I caught the big fish. I thought it was a catfish at first until I started fighting it, and then I saw it; it was amazing.”
Jones said he spent most of his day fishing one area, but he didn’t fish the whole day, he fished not quite half of the day and spent the rest of the day scouting nearby. “I had found that school of fish and wanted to make sure I didn’t pressure it too much, so I laid off it a bit. I caught 10 fish out of it, but it seemed like more fish were coming in as the day went on, so I feel pretty good about what could happen the next two days.”
Following them in second place was pro, Alex Niapas from Altaville, Calif. and his AAA partner Cheng Xiong of Oroville, Calif. claimed second place for the day with 36.42 pounds.
While the leader focused on one general area, Niapas said he ran around the north end of the lake and caught fish on three different lures. “My strategy has been to move around and find fish that are feeding,” said Niapas. “I caught around 30 keepers today and culled for the last time with about five minutes until I had to check in. I really feel like I have a solid pattern and could really make a run at the win; I just have to execute.”
Upper Lake, Calif pro John Pearl and AAA Zac Ortiz of Kaysville, Utah placed third with 35.44 pounds. They were followed in fourth place by pro Nathan Phillips of Cobb, Calif. and his AAA partner Tim Skellett of Apache Junction, Ariz. with 35.37 pounds, and Bakersfield, Calif. pro Mason McAbee and Kingman, Ariz. AAA John Bitting rounded out the top five with 33.04 pounds.
These anglers and the rest of the 176 man pro field are battling for the champion’s prize that includes cash, and the keys to the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard prize boat presented by Bass Pro Shops with Power-Pole Charge and Volta Power Lithium Power Batteries, a package valued at $55,000
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins airs on at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments. Daily weigh-ins from Library park in Lakeport, Calif. begin after the first flight checks in at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.
The Top 20 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/clear-lake-2024-pairings-results.
2025 WON Bass California Open Day One Pro Standings
| Angler | Hometown | Fish | Big Fish | Weight |
| 1 Micah Jones | Kingman AZ | 5-5 | 12.93 | 38.34 |
| 2 Alex Niapas | Altaville CA | 5-5 | 9.26 | 36.42 |
| 3 John Pearl | Upper Lake CA | 5-5 | 8.91 | 35.44 |
| 4 Nathan Phillips | Cobb CA | 5-5 | 35.37 | |
| 5 Mason McAbee | Bakersfield CA | 5-5 | 33.06 | |
| 6 Ish Monroe | Oakdale CA | 5-5 | 8.42 | 31.27 |
| 7 Daniel Shelton | Kelseyville CA | 5-5 | 31.02 | |
| 8 Troy Fernandez | Santa Maria CA | 5-5 | 29.05 | |
| 9 Keith Adams | Redding CA | 5-5 | 8.94 | 28.52 |
| 10 Vincent Bernal | Los Banos CA | 5-5 | 28.40 |
2025 WON Bass California Open Day One AAA Standings
| Name | Hometown | Fish | Big | Weight | |
| 1 Greg Sallee | Discovery Bay CA | 5-5 | 38.34 | ||
| 2 Cheng Xiong | Oroville CA | 5-5 | 36.42 | ||
| 3 Zac Ortiz | Kaysville UT | 5-5 | 35.44 | ||
| 4 Tim Skellett | Apache Junction AZ | 5-5 | 35.37 | ||
| 5 John Bitting | Kingman AZ | 5-5 | 7.13 | 33.06 | |
| 6 Steven Cook | Willow AK | 5-5 | 31.27 | ||
| 7 Terry Peterson | West Jordan UT | 5-5 | 31.02 | ||
| 8 Kevin Gross | Redding CA | 5-5 | 29.05 | ||
| 9 Jose Juarez, Jr. | Fair Oaks CA | 5-5 | 6.22 | 28.52 | |
| 10 Mike McMillan | Burbank CA | 5-5 | 28.40 |
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 – Lake Shasta – Champion Joe Uribe –
April 9 to 11, 2025 – Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2025 – Lake Havasu
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 – Lake Mead
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 – U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
