LAKE ALMANOR, Calif. – Brennan Osborn of Beaverton, Ore. – a senior at Simpson University – was one of only two anglers to weigh in a 20-plus sack consistently each day. For his three days of fishing, he put together 21.96 with a 4.54 Big Bass on Day One, 22.70 with a 4.94 Big Bass on Day Two, and a final day’s bag of 20.07 for his wire-to-wire winning total of 64.73.
His win hasn’t sunk in yet.
“It’s totally unreal,” he said. “I fished against a field of totally elite anglers – these guys are savages. It (the win) means a ton to me – super amazing.”
Osborn’s bass were tempted by the Dice, targeting clean water with rock banks and sparse stumps.
“I had a little screwlock in there, a size 2 hook, and 12-pound fluoro, in case they got me in the stumps,” he said. “Since a bait they usually eat above their head I wasn’t too worried about them seeing the line. I heard some guys were doin’ it on four-pound-test, but I figured my risk went down if I upsized the line.”
He had never thrown the bait prior to this event’s practice.
“I was on nothing ‘til I threw that,” he added. “I was throwing a smaller one in practice, but I didn’t have the casting distance and so I was looking around and the one I found had a little bit more plastic to it so you could really whip it out there.
“The water I’m fishing is so clean you can’t really catch ‘em next to the boat, you got to keep your bait away from the boat. I upsized it (the bait), so I got fewer bites but the ones that did eat it were bigger ones.”
Osborn rotated areas and kept his boat moving to give himself as many opportunities to succeed as he could. His mid-event bag came easily. Day One and Three hit different.
“We definitely got lucky and hit a window yesterday,” he stated. “I caught basically my whole bag – 22.70 – in an hour and a half.” The first day I piecemealed it together and I would say the same for today. The pressure is getting to ‘em. So, I had to go earn it.”
Although it hasn’t set in that he is walking away a champion, his grand prize package that includes a Mercury-powered BassCat valued at $65,000, in addition to $750 in cash and $1,250 in contingency dollars from Costa, Bass Boat Technologies, and Big Stringer money may help realize it soon.
Huntze All In On LiveScope
Logan Huntze of Disco Bay was the other angler to break 20 pounds consistently each day. He put together 20.62 on Day One, 20.96 on Day Two, and a final day’s bag of 20.57 for his tournament total of 62.15.
Although he described his week as good, he acknowledged the fishery didn’t show out for all.
“I caught a lot of high threes to high fours every day,” he said. “The first day I probably caught 16 or 17 fish and threw back an 18-pound limit that I culled. I caught a lot less fish on Day Two and Three.”
Overall, he thought fishing was super tough and electronics were key.
“If you look at the weights, they’re deceiving,” he explained. “There were like 10 of us that caught really good weight for three days. The rest of the field didn’t and especially the cos. You literally had to be looking at them on the LiveScope, and you had to cast to so many of them just to get five bites a day. If you didn’t have LiveScope and you weren’t throwing the exact right bait, which I think eight of the top 10 of us were throwing, I don’t even know.”
Huntze’s “right bait” was the Dice.
“It didn’t seem to matter the brand; but that seemed to be the bait,” he said. “I was throwing it on a dropshot.”
He shared that the bait had to land on top of the fish.
“Most of the fish are suspended and they shoot up, look at it as it’s falling, chase it to the bottom and then within five seconds or 10 at the most, they would bite it,” he said. “If they didn’t bite it in those first five or 10 seconds, it was a 99 percent chance they wouldn’t bite. So, you could fish it pretty fast. It was a waste of time to sit there and shake it or drag it.”
Huntze revealed practicing for this event was the first time he has thrown this bait. He fished his with a Daiwa Certe 2500 reel paired to a Daiwa Steez 761 spinning rod. He used 10-pound Sufix braid married to an 8-pound Sunline Sniper fluoro leader, with a size 2 Aaron Martens Gamakatsu dropshot hook and a ¼-ounce dropshot weight.
“That is literally what I caught all my fish on in the whole tournament,” he said.
With the Dice, Huntze brings home $3,104 for the weekend.
Smith’s Half Shell Success
California pro Bryant Smith of Roseville rounded out the top trio with a total weight of 57.75. His total came from a Day One bag of 20.26 that included the day’s Big Bass at 4.68, and a Day Two total of 21.51 that included the Day Two Big Bass at 5.06, which turned into the event’s Big Bass.
“I did not expect this place to put out the kind of weight that it did. It was a pleasant surprise especially after my practice.”
Smith caught his fish the same way each day of the event.
“I went to my main area, dropped the trolling motor down, stared at my ActiveTarget 2 from Lowrance and just tried to throw at as many fish as I could,” he shared. “I wasn’t targeting much structure. I was covering as much water as I could and fishing the ones sitting closer to the bottom. Those were the ones I figured were mostly bass. I was targeting them anywhere from 8- to 30-feet of water. Some were chasing bait. Some were roaming the flat. I threw at whatever was in front of me.”
Smith’s fish fell to a Strike King Half Shell on a dropshot.
“My setup was an Alpha Angler DSR, Lew’s Custom Lite 300 with 12-pound braid to 6-pound fluorocarbon and a little tiny dropshot hook,” he stated.
When it was darker conditions, Smith threw the Half Shell in green pumpkin and when it was sunny, he used the color KVD Magic. His weight size was 3/8 ounce.
His five-pounder came on a Hail Mary cast 100 feet out in front of him and came from 18 feet of water.
“I saw her kind of flash and turn,” he recalled. “I lifted up, and she was on. That was an exciting fight. She came up when I initially hooked her, and it probably took three or four minutes to get her in on that 6-pound test.”
Smith’s total earnings for the event were $2,890, which included $250 Big Fish money.
Cogburn’s Co-Angler Comeback
After starting Day One with only 5.37, Brian Cogburn of Oakdale, Calif. returned on Day Two to reel in 15.04 and put himself in the lead going into Championship Sunday. He fished the final day with the pro leader Brennan Osborn and brought in only one fish, but it was enough to claim the co-angler win with a total weight of 22.10.
Cogburn went into the event knowing it would be challenging.
“Pre-fish was tough, didn’t even get a limit,” he said.
His first day proved to be tough as well when he weighed in with just over five pounds and sat more than seven pounds behind the leader. He moved into the lead on Day Two thanks to a jig and a big bite on topwater. It set him up for Day Three.
“I was jittery and nervous when I woke up,” he shared. “I thought with the cloud cover, the topwater bite was going to turn on and I threw it for probably 2 or 2 ½ hours today. I never got a blowup on it at all.”
At that point, Cogburn picked up his jig and made a few casts to catch the only keeper he had on the final day.
“I kept going back and forth between the jig and the topwater but never got a blowup,” he said.
In the end he only had two bites today but missed one.
His jig was a 3/8-ounce Keitech in dark green pumpkin rigged with a Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw trailer, tied on to a Dobyns Champion 743 with a Shimano Curado DC reel spooled with 12-pound Seaguar InvizX.
Cogburn counted $10,125 in winnings for the event. His cash prize included $125 for Big Stringer Day Two for the event.
The Best of The Rest
Lake Almanor Pro Angler Top-10 Final
NAME HOME TOTAL
- Brennan Osborn Beaverton, OR 96* 22.7* 20.07 64.73 BassCat / Merc $500.00 $250.00 $500.00 BassCat/ Merc (Value $65,000) + $750 Cash
- Logan Huntze Discovery Bay, CA 62 20.96 20.57 62.15 $3,104.00
- Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 26 21.51 15.98 57.75 $2,890.00
- Chris Parks Eugene, OR 85 21.15 18.98 56.98 $2,332.00
- Chad Sweitzer Kelseyville, CA 56 21.24 14.75 55.55 $1,140.00
Joe Mariani Winters, CA 20.52 15.34 18.46 54.32 3,948.00
- Asher Haynes Brentwood, CA 01 17.94 17.1 54.05 $912.00
- Jake Boomer Spokane Valley, WA 06 19.23 16.02 52.31 $1,932.00
- Randy Pierson Oakdale, CA 52 9.83 17.41 45.76 $1,476.00
- Joey Walton Lewiston, ID 43 16.29 17.06 12.11 45.46 $684.00
Lake Almanor Co Angler Top-10 Final
Brian Cogburn Oakdale, CA 05.37 15.04* 1.69 22.1 $10,125.00
Thaddeus Vinson Central Point, OR 13.03* 3.03 0 16.06 $2,295.00
Troy Mays Ione, CA 06.40 5.08 2.2 13.68 1,917.00
Will Wyman Brentwood, CA 06.81 0 6.43 13.24 $1,711.00
Byron Stone Chico, CA 00.00 10.66 2.54 13.2 1,677.00
Chuck Kavros Grass Valley, CA 00.00 7.27 5.75 13.02 $1,392.00
Robert Ryans Escalon, CA 04.45 6.44 0 10.89 $1,150.00
Ugene Downing White City, OR 00.00 6.45 2.96 9.41 $1,085.00
Roy Desmangles Jr Lincoln, CA 3.08 07.83 0 0 7.83 $1,073.00
Ryan Borba Atascadero, CA 03.69 3.11 0 6.8 $939.00
BAM Lake Almanor Televised Pro-Am Championship – Sept 19-21
Big Bass, Big Stakes on Lake Almanor
Are You Ready — Big Stage, Big Media, Big Prizes!
The Bass Cat Boats Championship Pro-Am presented by Lake Almanor Chamber of Commerce, Plumas County Tourism and Tackle Warehouse heads to Lake Almanor
Big Stage: Watch the best of the best in the West battle it out in front of a live and online audience. Professional weigh-ins, full TV production, and national exposure!
Big Media: Live streaming, social media blasts, YouTube episodes — every cast, every catch, every heartbreak is coming straight to the fans!
This is it. The end of the year championship:
- 12 Angler from the west and 12 from Pacific Northwest then 4 travelers all qualified for the BAM $100,000 no-entry-fee BAM Championship.
- One pro will walk away with brand new Bass Cat Mercury package valued at over $65,000
- One Co-Angler will win a cool ten grand cash (check)
Event Overview
- Event Dates: Sept 19-21
- Location: Lake Almanor – Lake Almanor Country Club
- Weigh-ins: Daily at 3:00 PM – Open to the public and streamed live on BAMTrail.com, Facebook, and Instagram
- Title Sponsor: Bass Cat Boats, Mercury Outboards and Bass Boat Technologies
- Presented By: Lake Almanor Chamber of Commerce, Plumas County Tourism and Tackle Warehouse
This premier three-day event features professional and co-angler divisions competing on Lake Almanor. Spectators are welcome on-site at the Lake Almanor Country Club – Rec 1 or can tune in live online to follow the leaderboard drama as it unfolds.
Media Invitation
Media outlets are encouraged to cover this high-profile event, with exclusive access to boat launches, weigh-ins, angler interviews, and on-the-water coverage. Live streaming will be available on BAMTrail.com, Facebook, and Instagram.
Media Contact: Mark Lassagne | 925-787-3474 | mark@bassmag.com
Competition Schedule
- Off-Limits: Sept 15-16
- Practice Days: Sept 17-18 – Off the water by 3:00 PM on Sept 18
- Community Meet and Greet with Anglers downtown Chester 4 pm Sept 18
- Angler Check-In: Sept 18, 4:30–6:00 PM – Mt Lassen Theatre
Friday, Sept 19
- All anglers compete in full-field Day 1 of the Pro-Am
Saturday, Sept 20
- Field cut to Top 10 Pros and Top 10 Co-Anglers
- $250 and $500 Tackle Warehouse contingency awards
Sunday, Sept 21 – Championship Day
- The top ten pros and co compete for all the prizes
- 3:00 PM: Final Pro-Am Weigh-In
- Prizes are awarded at the conclusion of the weigh in
Watch live on BAMTrail.com, Facebook, and Instagram
About the BAM Tournament Trail
Powered by Bass Angler Magazine’s nationwide print and digital reach, BAM offers unmatched marketing opportunities through its tournament trail, magazine, email campaigns, podcasts, social media, YouTube, and TV series — creating year-round exposure for anglers and sponsors alike.
BAM Tournament Series:
- BAM Pro Tour
- BAM Pro-Am Series
- Scholastic Series
- Kayak Series
BAM Trail is honored to be associated with its title sponsor, Bass Boat Technologies, and presenting sponsor, Tackle Warehouse. The trail is also supported by Storquest, Chicken Ranch Resort, Bass Cat Boats, Ford Fairfield, Power Pole, Mercury Outboards, Black Bear Diner, Bridgford Foods, Bob’s Machine, Anderson Auto Group, Sticky Graphics, Jean Deleonardi Real Estate,, Valley Outdoors and our conservation sponsor Fisherman’s Warehouse.
BAM TT tourism sponsors: Lake Don Pedro, City of Oakley, Lake Almanor Chamber, the Boardman Community Development, and the Feather River Tourism Association.
Tournament events include BAM Pro Tour, Pro-Am, Scholastic and a Kayak Tours with a no entry Championship can be viewed on YouTube. Learn more here: BAM TRAIL, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
To register or learn more:
Visit www.bamtrail.com
Watch Live: BAMTrail.com, Facebook & Instagram
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