PAYSON, Ariz. – The Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) officially revealed their 2019 schedule for their Pro/Am series and both the California and Arizona Teams circuits today.
“We are excited to present the 2019 WWBT schedules,” said WWBT Director of Operations Jeremy DeHart. “With much consideration and feedback from our customers, we feel that the dates and locations will be fun, exciting and competitive for all anglers. Get ready!”
2019 WWBT PRO/AM SCHEDULE
The 2019 WWBT Pro/Am trail will feature three stops in Northern California and a qualifying year-end championship.
“The schedule is setup for the lakes and times of year to catch a lot of fish,” said the two-time WWBT Lucas Oil Western Classic champ (2016, 2018) Bryant Smith. “It is perfectly timed to have the most numbers of fish and definitely the quality of fish in there too. I am looking forward to it.”
LAKE SHASTA
Returning to a tried-and-true wintertime favorite, the Pro/Am season-opener will blast off at Lake Shasta on Jan. 25 – 27.
“January is such a great time to fish Shasta and if its late January, it will only be getting better,” said Smith. “Everybody catches a lot of fish that time of year. The lake has huge spotted bass in it and this will be one of the most perfect times to target them.”
NEW MELONES
The mid-season competition will take place March 29 - 31 at New Melones, a first-time destination for the Pro/Am trail.
Two-time WWBT Angler of the Year, Tai Au is looking forward to the addition of Melones to the Pro/Am schedule.
“I am at the point in my career that I love challenges, I love traveling and I love fishing Northern California,” explained Au who earned his two AOY awards with the 2017 Pro AOY and the 2018 Arizona Teams AOY with partner Daniel Elias. “When guys were telling me about New Melones, I thought they were just blowing smoke about how good it was going to be; but it was true. I had never even been to the lake and on my first visit, I caught 20 -pounds of spotted bass. I cannot wait to do it again. This will be the most exciting stop for me. “
Smith concurred, regarding the big fish aspect.
“This is going to be a slugfest with the possibility of a world record spot,” he stated. “Fishing at Melones in April will really open people’s eyes to the lake. It has a ton of fish in it and a ton of big fish.”
CALIFORNIA DELTA
The regular season will come to an end at the California Delta. The tidal water fishery will host the WWBT pro and co-anglers Apr. 26 – 28.
“Late April will be a time for a lot of options,” revealed Smith. “It is one of the best times to be on the Delta to catch a double-digit bass.
“There will be some post-spawn fish, spawning fish and a lot of pre-spawners. You will be able to pick your poison and go with what you are comfortable with.”
CLEAR LAKE
The Lucas Oil Western Championship will welcome the 2019 season’s qualifiers May 31 – June 2 to the famed Clear Lake. This will be the first time the WWBT’s year-end invitational will hold court on the big bass factory. Previous years saw the event twice at Lake Mead and at Lake Oroville in 2017.
“Taking the championship to Clear Lake in early-June will be a lot of fun,” said Smith. “It will be the time for the deep bite to start kicking up and the topwater to start kicking off.”
Au also looks forward to this year’s Championship venue at Clear Lake. “I would expect us to find a post-spawn bite for the event,” he added. “And, a lot of fish. It will be open to several different types of techniques.”
Smith also anticipates the lake to play to a variety of angler’s strengths.
“The grass will have started growing and that will set it up for a lot of different scenarios to catch bass,” he explained. “Yes, a majority of fish will be post-spawn; but, there will still be some bed fish, for those that want to target them. Technique-wise, I just think it will be very wide-open event.”
2019 CALIFORNIA TEAMS SCHEDULE
The California Teams has four regular season stops on the schedule and a qualifying year-end championship.
Also continuing a tradition, the WWBT California Teams kick-off at Lake Shasta on Jan. 12.
The next stop the teams will travel to Don Pedro on Feb. 23.
For their third stop of the season, they will make their way to the Napa Valley for a bass battle at Berryessa on March 23.
“Berryessa at the end of March will be a standout for me,” said Smith. “You can catch a five-pound spot. You can catch a five-pound smallmouth. You can catch a 10-pound smallmouth. There are so many different options that time of year. It’s going to be a very fun tournament, for sure.”
The final stop for California Team’s regular season is the California Delta on April 13.
The two-day Championship is scheduled at Clear Lake on Oct. 26 – 27.
“Late fall is my favorite time to fish Clear Lake,” Smith said. “It’s a challenging time to fish that place; but it is a lot of fun when you figure them out.”
2019 ARIZONA TEAMS SCHEDULE
The WWBT Arizona Teams schedule makes three regular season stops on desert lakes.
The season-opener blasts off on Lake Pleasant on Jan. 19.
“Wintertime at Pleasant can be really special,” revealed Au. “That time of year, Pleasant can fish very much like a fishery in fall and you can really catch some big ones – even up shallow.
“A lot of times, the striper will push the baitfish in the creek arms and the bass will be up there feeding; so, you can have some of your best reaction bait days at Pleasant during that time, even though it’s winter.”
The mid-season stop for the Arizona Teams is Lake Roosevelt on Feb. 23.
“Roosevelt in February, it will be setting up for a pre-spawn deal,” said Au. “There will be a late-winter bite and a shallow water bite, later in the day. There will some really big bags coming in.”
The last event of their regular season will be held on Lake Havasu on March 16.
“Who doesn’t love Havasu in the middle of March,” asked Au. “The smallmouth are going to be spawning. The largemouth are going to be spawning. Again, I would expect some very big bags to come in. It will be an exciting event.”
The two-day, qualifying championship will see the Arizona Teams return to Lake Roosevelt May 9 -11.
“Because Roosevelt is a higher lake, we could still have some spawners in mid-May for the championship,” said Au. “Depending on the weather conditions, I would estimate 20 to 30 percent of the fish would still be spawning. Some big, big ones could be weighed in. Some of the biggest fish that I have seen at this lake, showed themselves during this time of year. Successful presentations could be through every water column and it will come down to a battle of techniques.
“I love that were having the championship in the town of Payson. They’re awesome hosts and they give tremendous amount of support to the fishermen. The whole town comes out to support the event.”
Boasting media coverage that includes TV broadcast, WWBT is credited with some of the best paybacks in the West.
“It is a professionally run organization and if you get a check in WWBT, you’re doubling your money,” confirmed Smith. “And, it’s fun. It’s not the most serious; but there is some serious competition. If you’re on the fence about fishing, give it a shot. I know you are going to enjoy it.”
Be on the lookout for more exciting WWBT information and details for 2019!
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