BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. – Going into Championship Sunday on Lake Mohave, Karl Okerman of Blanchard, Idaho sat just outside of the top-five, with his two days of fishing accumulating a weight of 33.85 and a keeper count of 29. He was nearly eight-pounds behind the heaviest weight leader and six scorable bass behind first place on the scorable bass side as they BAM Super 60 field blasted off on Day Three.
With weights zeroed out for a leveled playing field on the final fishing day, Okerman sacked up smallies with a tournament-winning total of five-fish for 19.97, earning a grand prize check of $50,500, and the coveted title as the newest 2025 BAM Tournament Trail
Bass Boat Technologies Super 60 champion.
Climbing his way to victory, Okerman executed a complete last day switch-up that paid off.
“I knew that these guys were going to whack big weights the first two days; so, I primarily focused on just trying to catch as many fish as I could and then I was going to adjust baits for bigger fish for Day Three,” said Okerman as he described his Mohave gameplan. “
A triple blade spinnerbait with a trailer was at the heart of his final day big fish strategy.
“I had it (the spinnerbait) on an Alpha Angler ChatterBound (fishing rod) and I had 15-pound P-Line on there with a Daiwa 150 reel,” Okerman shared. “The other rod I was using was an Alpha Angler DSR. I had 15-pound P-Line braid to 12-pound fluorocarbon with a Gamakatsu 1/0 hook, and I was using a small 4-inch stick bait.”
Fishing charters
Okerman’s grand prize included $500 in a contingency payout from Bass Boat Technologies.
Manterola Finds a Last Minute Six
The runner-up position went to Ty Manterola of Pasco, Wash. who qualified for the top-10 by the third heaviest weight at end of Day Two with 39.98 and 24 keepers. With only four fish in the box, Manterola’s final day came together in the last 20 minutes of the day when he returned to his starting spot and boated a six-pounder.
“I saw a blob in 50-foot, two-foot off the bottom, threw my stuff at it and it never got to the bottom,” said Manterola. “The fish ate it on the way down. I knew it was a big one; but I didn’t know it was that big.”
Manterola credited his Garmin LiveScope for his success. “I had that mounted on a Fish Obsessed mount, which keeps it nice and straight, he said.
His fish fell to an OSP Saikoro Dice in Fred’s Candy with a 3/8-ounce tungsten teardrop weight. The Dice was rigged on an Owner Sniper Finesse Size 2 dropshot hook and tied to 10-pound Sufix 832 braided line with an 8-pound Sunline FC Sniper leader. “I had it in white, so I could see my line,” Manterola added.
After nine limits over 20-pounds were weighed on Day One, the fishing got tougher. By the final day, Okerman and Manterola were the only two anglers to break even 19-pounds. Manterola banked $9,294 for his efforts. He looks forward to the BAM Super 60’s third stop for 2025 near his home water, the Columbia River.
“It is a great fishery, and probably in my opinion, on of the most underrated fisheries in the country and we’re going to show the world what it has got to offer,” Manterola concluded.
The BAM Super 60 Top-10 For Mohave:
TOTAL WEIGHT TOTAL KEEPERS
1 Karl Okerman 19.97 $50,500.00
2 Ty Manterola 19.68 $9,294.00
3 Bryant Smith 18.96 $8,179.00
4 Christian Ostrander 18.94 $7,063.00
5 Adam Deakin 18.71 $5,855.00
6 Dylan Maxon 18.41 $5,298.00
7 Randy Pierson 17.99 $4,833.00
8 Jason Crone 17.15 $4,647.00
9 Aaron Britt 15.84 $4,461.00
10 Dan Frazier 15.78 $4,275.00
