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Fall 2017 Fall 2017 Fall is once again upon us and that marks the last season and issue of WesternBass Magazine for the year. As the year is quickly coming to a close, many of us find ourselves looking at year-end invitationals, our Tournament of Champions (TOC) or the last of big event of our season. Through September, we will watch as the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) Lucas Oil Championship and the WON Bass U.S. Open both launch on Lake Mead. To help our readers ready for their bass search on this desert lake, we checked for some tips from the 2009 U.S. Open champ Gary Dobyns. For some fall info for anglers fishing the River2Sea Open, Best Bass Tournaments (BBT) Tournament of Champions (TOC) or the final stop of the FLW Costa Series Western Division on Clear Lake, we went to the unprecedented winner of back-to-back WON Bass California Opens (2016, 2017) as well as the reigning WWBT Pro/AM champ Wayne Breazeale for a few words of advice. There are several California Delta events, that we are also looking forward to – the Don Lee Memorial Tournament on the California Delta, offering 50 percent of the entry to the Don Lee College Scholarship Fund for Youth and The BassFest, a two-day bass fishing event like no other with one day of vendors and pro tips and a second day of tournament competition. Looking back at the summer, WesternBass wants to congratulate several of the western anglers for their accomplishments away from home – out for his rookie season on the FLW Tour, Aaron Britt (Yuba City, Calif.) qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup and fished his way to a top-10 in the event, Gary Haraguchi (Redding, Calif.) not only earned the FLW Tour co-angler Angler of the Year (AOY) title for 2017, he then traveled across the country to 1000 Islands in July and claimed another victory, putting himself in the lead for the FLW Northern Division Co AOY by 25 points, Chico State teammates Tyler Firebaugh and Chad Sweitzer for their 3rd place finish in the B.A.S.S. College Championship on the Mississippi River, Mark Daniels Jr. (formerly of the California Delta) with a 4th place finish as in the Rookie of the Year (ROY) standings on the Bassmaster Elite Series and the always consistent Cody Meyer (Grass Valley, Calif.) for his 6th place in the FLW AOY standings for the year. Whether it is a year-end championship, personal best or simply more time on the water, there is still time to accomplish your fishing goal for the season; so, get out there on the water and give a try! Whether it is a year-end championship, personal best or simply more time on the water, there is still time to accomplishyour fishing goal for the season; so, get out there on the water and give a try! See you there....
Summer 2017
Summer 2017 Hi All, Welcome to the summer issue of WesternBass Magazine. With all of the rain we encountered this past winter, we have the possibility for fishing lakes that have been low for some time plus, with the snow pack these waters should remain hi throughout the summer. I hope to the season finds you all out fishing these great conditions. The year has seen large attendance for many of the circuits - Wild West, Best Bass Tournaments and Future Pro Tour, WON Bass, which are all site advertisers. I want to thank you all for supporting our advertisers, without them, this site and the WesternBass.com digital publication that you are reading wouldn’t be possible. Please continue to support them as they make all of this possible. We have many things to look forward to during our summer season. Something WesternBass always enjoys is the trip to ICAST. As usual we be on the floor to bring you a glimpse at the new items coming from your favorite manufacturers. We will be excited to finally here what the top secret Yo-Zuri product is that is being covertly advertised in this issue (click to see!). I also am excited for the upcoming summer specialty events that take place each year, like the Yamamoto Big Bass Challenge, the Snag Proof Open and the Ultimate Frog Challenge. As always good fishing - see you out on the water.
Spring 2017
Spring 2017 Hi All, Looks like it’s time to kick off a new season of fishing. For some of us in California, that may be on hold due to the high water levels. We are excited to see the fishing trips and tournaments resume in areas that have been affected. I would like to congratulate the Wild West Bass Trail for their record attendance 181 boat draw at their Shasta event and to Best Bass Tournaments for their 128 boat draw at their Northern Region opener at Berryessa. Like longtime WesternBass viewer Jeff Huth said – I think we are safe to say that the fisherman in and around NorCal are ready to fish!!! And, how exciting is to watch – what seems to be an endless supply – of world record-sized spotted bass be caught and sent in to IGFA for certification. Who knows where the next one will come from, what it will weigh and who will catch it – could it be you? Lastly, I want to share my thoughts and prayers with those, such as the Clear Lake, Oroville and Delta residents, that are facing uncertainty and loss due to flooding and evacuations that have occurred because of the rains.

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Allison boats? by drew Thu Sep 21, 2017 8:57 am
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Delta Time...Ladd's this Weekend! by AnglersPress Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:32 am
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A-Rig Basics Video by Teambernadettebassfishing Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:33 am
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WTB wood PUNKER..... by JD3000 Sun Sep 3, 2017 10:05 pm
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Delta Striper Report by THE DR Mon Sep 11, 2017 7:52 am

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Rig Rap storage systems by banoscreekkid Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:13 am
Triton 19XS Elite by JHaley Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:59 am
Carrot Stiks by basskeeter Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:49 am

Industry Press Releases

Cabela's Continues Sponsorship of National Hunting and Fishing Day
Cabela's Continues Sponsorship of National Hunting and Fishing Day Cabela's, the World's Foremost Outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is continuing its sponsorship of National Hunting and Fishing Day (NHF Day) in 2017. NHF Day brings together sportsmen and women to celebrate the rich tradition of fishing and hunting with national, state, regional and local organizations hosting fishing- and hunting-related events.
Mustang Survival Continues Partership with Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series
Mustang Survival Continues Partership with Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series The Association of Collegiate Anglers is pleased to announce the continued support received from Mustang Survival for the 2018 Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. This nationally televised series consists of the Texas Lunker Challenge presented by Mossy Oak Elements, Cabela's Collegiate Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley, Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Open, and the season-ending BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship.
Healing Heroes in Action | Fishing with Edwin Evers
Healing Heroes in Action | Fishing with Edwin Evers The OPTIMA Batteries Healing Heroes in Action program, celebrated its third annual event this year and has raised nearly $30,000 for the Wounded Warriors in Action Foundation since its inception. This year’s event raised $7,000 for the foundation. Last Friday, pro anglers Ish Monroe and Todd Faircloth joined OPTIMA-sponsored Edwin Evers to pair up with Purple Heart veterans and teach them to fish. Ish and his veteran partner Derek won the competition catching 5 bass fish weighing 16.51 pounds.
Brandon Palaniuk Tops Season Scoring Bassmaster Angler Of The Year Title
Brandon Palaniuk Tops Season Scoring Bassmaster Angler Of The Year Title Brandon Palaniuk of Hayden, Idaho, won the 2017 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title at Mille Lacs Lake held out of Onamia, Minn., Sunday.
FLW COLLEGE FISHING SOUTHERN CONFERENCE HEADS TO RED RIVER
FLW COLLEGE FISHING SOUTHERN CONFERENCE HEADS TO RED RIVER Red River South Marina is bustling with activity before day-two takeoff by FLW Communications BOSSIER CITY, La. – competing for the top award of a $2,000 club scholarship and a berth into the 2018 College Fishing National Championship, which will also be hosted on the Red River next May.

Lake Reports

New Melones Lake
New Melones Lake By We have been having 30, 40 and 50-fish half day guided fishing trips. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and the fish have really been responding well to it. We have finally reached the end of summer and are experiencing fall-like conditions. The water levels are falling very slowly this year and conditions have been fairly stable. The water temperature has begun to cool and is in the mid to high 70’s. The fish are feeding heavily in anticipation for the colder months to come. With the shad schooling and the bass chasing them in many areas of the lake. There is an abundance of forage, including shad, sunfish, bluegill, and baby bass. When you find an area that has smaller fish you can be sure there are larger fish nearby. Each trip we are finding new patterns that will sometimes only last for a short period of time. It is very important to keep an open mind and be willing to make on the water adjustments. One day they will be crushing reaction type lures and the next day a finesse rig is the only way to get a bite. A topwater lure is always on deck. Early mornings and late evening are the best times to get some good blow-ups. Prop baits and walk-the-dog baits have been producing. As far as subsurface reaction baits are concerned; spinnerbaits, small swimbaits and crankbaits are working best. It just depends on the day and the conditions. Each day finesse rigs will get plenty of bites. A small shad patterned worm rigged on a darthead or shakeyhead and fished on rocky banks will put fish in the boat. Also, try using a dropshot rig once you have located some baitfish and feeding bass. We primarily target bass, but on each trip, we are getting some giant bluegill and crappie on our bass presentations. This past week we landed multiple crappie that weighed up to 2-pounds. The lake is very healthy and the future is looking bright. October is going to be a good month to catch some beautiful New Melones bass. We also fished the Delta a couple times this month and had a blast! Caught some giants with my good friend Nate Monroe and the topwater bite was cracking all day!
Oroville Lake
Oroville Lake By Launched at Lime Saddle about 6:40 am, stopped fishing about 10:15 am, when the breeze picked up. Wow, the lake sure is dropping fast, shocks me every time I launch and see maybe one 7-10 days before Lime saddle closes due to low water. Water cooled a bunch, now 74-75 degrees, another week and might hit 70 degrees. Bite seems to have changed too. Not one single fish caught about the 25 foot mark, all caught 30-35 foot range today, no matter where I fished. Could not find any shallow fish today! Caught 18 fish, mostly 12-13 1/2" fish, and one tiny tiny runt and best right at 15" Water looking better too, clearing up more and more each trip. Interesting, seeing marina dudes pulling out 50 foot house boats before the water closes the ramp. Should have gotten a picture, just never thought about it till too late. Looks like I'll be fishing middle fork soon!! Pictures in fishing forum.

From the Blogs

Lake Wappapello Overview and fishing report by Jeff Jewell
Lake Wappapello Overview and fishing report by Jeff Jewell By Lake Profile: Impounded in 1941, Lake Wappapello in Southeast Missouri is one of the oldest U.S. Army Corp of Engineers lakes. It is 8,400 acres at normal pool and extremely shallow with an average depth of only 6.5 feet. The main water source is the St. Francis River with seasonal sources being Otter, Caldwell and […]