REDDING, Calif. – Alex Niapas of Altaville, Calif. closed out the season-opener 2026 BAM Pro/Am North at Lake Shasta with a long-awaited breakthrough, earning his first championship boat after several near misses. Putting together a three-day total of 58.55, Niapas gapped his nearest competitor by nearly six-pounds to earn the grand prize package that included a brand-new shiny Mercury-powered Vexus 1880 boat.
Although Niapas’ Shasta history includes a record-making five-fish limit that broke 30-pounds, when he claimed a 2019 Pro/Am win by more than a 25-pound margin, this BAM victory was special for him as it was his first boat win.
“It feels good,” Niapas said. “I’ve been cursed quite a few times fishing for boats. I came in second place like four times and now I’ve finally won one. It’s a good feeling to beat some of these locals that live up here and have three solid days of good fishing.”
Niapas ultimately credited slowing down and trusting his instincts rather than chasing what others were doing.
“I was fishing a lot slower than other people. They (the fish) didn’t want the bait moving really fast,” he said. “That was a key.”
Sense Not Screens
Niapas’ approach centered on known big-fish areas and a simple, confidence-driven bait selection.
“Most of them were on the Yamamoto Senko, five-inch in Watermelon Amber color and weightless,” he shared. “And then I caught some on dice baits, the Geecrack Dice Bait, and you kind of put a nail weight in that.”
While he called his practice amazing, a condition change tightened the tournament bite; but Niapas stayed committed.
“I knew it would toughen up and so I just had to grind them out,” he added. “I was fishing the Squaw and the Pit.”
His most productive depths were 5- to 15-feet, on his standout structure of isolated rock piles with his screens off.
“Just identifying bigger fish,” he answered when asked about scoping. “Just seeing them and then casting to them. Turning the beam off of them and let destiny go… Nothing special, just pretty much what’s between your ears.”
Osborn’s Minnow Makes it Happen
After leading Day One, Brennan Osborn of Beaverton, Ore. concluded the three-day event in the runner-up position with 52.26, earning $8,000 for his efforts.
Reflecting on his opening flurry of Day One, Osborn said, “I ended up just having probably the craziest 45 minutes of tournament fishing ever.”
His first day bite unfolded quickly, putting him in strong position early. With a full limit secured before mid-morning, he was able to spend the remainder of the day searching for additional opportunities, which worked well in his favor with the fluctuating conditions to come.
“Obviously, we had the weather change on Day Two, and it kind of messed with my fish a little bit because they were up so shallow,” he recalled. “It wasn’t just me struggling out there. That north wind really hurt the bite.”
Improved weather on the final day renewed his confidence.
“I was excited to go back out because we had less wind, and I knew there was going to be some cloud cover,” he said.
Although the day required patience, Osborn connected with a key fish late that anchored his final-day bag.
“I would attribute (success) to spending time studying the maps of this lake,” Osborn said, explaining his focus on secondary flats inside creek systems.
“As for tackle, I was throwing just pretty much one rod,” he said. “It was a 6’7” Edge Pro Stroll spinning rod.”
He threw a Cipher tungsten ball head and a Berkley Mooch Minnow on a 12-pound P-Line leader. While he experimented briefly with other presentations, he made it clear all his weigh-fish fell to the minnow.
Looking back on the week at the NorCal fishery, Osborn expressed appreciation for the result.
“I’m super grateful to be here,” he said. “Shasta has definitely kicked my butt on a regular basis. It’s very hard to be consistent here, or just land on them with 120 boats.”
Pierson Junk Fished To The Finish
Randy Pierson of Oakdale, Calif. rounded out the top trio, posting a three-day total of 50.20. The result stood in sharp contrast to his pre-event days on the water that left him uncertain heading into the event.
“I had a terrible practice, like probably one of the worst practices I’ve ever had,” Pierson said. “I caught 60 to 80 fish a day during practice and only had one fish over two pounds. I didn’t have what I felt (was) anything that was close to where I needed to be.”
With limited big bag confidence going into the tournament, Pierson relied on flexibility and observation rather than a locked-in plan. When his starting area was occupied on Day One, he adjusted and followed what he saw in front of him.
“There was a trout that was getting chased by a big school, and the trout went all the way to the bank and actually tried to jump on the bank to get away from the fish,” he explained. “That (location) turned out to be my sweet spot.”
The area was small, but productive, and Pierson committed to grinding it out, focusing on fish positioning.
“The first day they were kind of up in the water column a little bit, the second and third day they were glued to the bottom,” he explained. “Of the 15 fish that I weighed, I caught – I don’t know – probably on seven different baits.”
His presentations included a Yamamoto Senko, small swimbaits, a drop shot with a six-inch Roboworm in Morning Dawn and a jig. He fished with an IROD Air Series and a Shimano Banford reel. He used Spearpoint hooks and tied up with Sufix and Seaguar line.
Beyond the finish itself, the performance carried personal meaning for Pierson.
“It was kind of special for me to catch them on some stuff that I used to fish years ago,” he said, explaining the area brought back memories from time spent fishing the lake with his father during houseboat trips.
Looking back on the week, Pierson summed it up simply: “Everything worked out over the three days.”
He pocketed $4,942.00 for the event.
Tweener Alert Black Bear Diner pro Nick Wood of Montague, Calif. reeled in the biggest bass of the event – a double-digit that ate a float-n-fly. Wood’s tournament total was 40.81, including his kicker at 12.23. He collected an additional $1,190 for the tweener, that boosted his earnings for 6th place to $4,451.  |
Downing Neko’s For VictoryFishing Championship Sunday behind Niapas, Ugene Downing of White City, Ore. earned the first-place finish in the co-angler division with a three-day total of 33.23, finishing three pounds ahead of second place on his respective side. For Downing, the weekend was marked by steady fishing and a strong late push that sealed the win, netting him winnings of $8,280. “It was great,” he said. “Everything went smooth.” From the back of the boat, Downing relied on a consistent approach built around a Neko rig. His setup was a Yamamoto five-inch Senko in Electric Shad with a 3/16-ounce nail weight, paired with seven-pound Sunline married to 15-pound Power Pro, on a Dobyns Champion Extreme 743 rod mated to a Shimano reel. He focused on fan casting, covering water, and visualizing structures such as rock piles. Looking ahead, Downing plans to build on what he got from Niapas. “He’s a swimbait guru,” he stated. “I learned lots. He treated me good. It was a good time.” |
BAM Lake Shasta Standings Full Results 2025 BAM Lake Shasta Pro/Am |
