NAPA, Calif. – For a third and final fishing day, Joe Mariani of Winters, Calif. topped the 23-boat field of pro anglers with the biggest bag of the day for 22.31 at the 2024 BAM Pro/Am Tournament of Champions (TOC). His three-day tournament total of 64.56, pushed the margin of his lead to over six pounds and locked in a wire-to-wire victory at lake Berryessa, securing the first place prize of a new Bass Cat Boat, Mercury, Garmin Eternal Lithium package.
“I’m super-stoked right now,” said Mariani following his trophy hoist. “Three days is tough, and the weather changes made it a very interesting event.”
With a daily average of over 21-pounds, it didn’t appear that fluctuating conditions were much of a challenge for Mariani.
“Day One in the morning it was cold, the next morning it was 40 degrees with wind and then the next day – today – there was cloud cover with fog,” he said. “I kind of hit my stops, depending on how I felt. I tried to salvage every day as good as I could.”
He credited a Neko-rigged Yamamoto Senko in Green Pumpkin / Purple Green Flake with a 3/16th head for the weigh fish on his final day of fishing.
“The first two days it was about a seven -inch swimbait – bottom bouncing it – super slow, and dragging down there,” he added. “They would slurp it up.”
Mark White Wins The Co Side
In another wire-to-wire victory, Mark White of Napa, Calif. claimed the co-angler crown by adding a final day’s weight of 9.37 for Championship Sunday to his two-day total, bumping his tournament-total to 46.89, and leaving 2.5-pounds between him and the remaining co field. White will take home a prize package that includes, cash, and a $3,500 Garmin LiveScope Electronics package.
As a lake local, White utilized his experience and threw his confidence lures.
“I know big fish eat two things in this lake,” he shared. “It’s trout and crawdads. The conditions set up well for a jig bite and I couldn’t really fish a trout-type bait from the back of the boat. Knowing this place, I knew I couldn’t catch ‘em on a Neko-rig, a shakey head or a dropshot.”
White’s focus was on the jig and the direction he was fishing it.
“I knew, I needed to live with that jig in my hand,” he said. “So, 95 percent of the time, that jig rod was in my hand, and it paid off. It was a standard Brown/Green Twin Tail Trailer with 14 pound-test,” he said. “Today, I couldn’t work it uphill like I was, so I had to work it downhill.”
The directional change may have impacted his Day Three bag; however, after a seven-pound lead on Day Two, White still had enough to seal the deal.
The three-day Championship closes the 2024 season for the BAM Pro/Am Tournament Series. Events will return in 2025 with the first blast off at Lake Shasta in January.
Best of the Rest
Pros
Rank/Angler/# Of Fish/Big/Day 1/Day 2/Day 3 Total
1 Joe Mariani 05.71 22.38 19.87 22.31 64.56 $60,000 Bass Cat / Merc $250.00 $60,000 Bass Cat / Merc + $250 Cash
2 Ryan Hall 6.28* 18.60 21.44 18.19 58.23 $300 Costa + $1500 Cash $500.00 $300 Costa + $2000 Cash
3 Chris Parks 05.27 15.74 18.31 19.71 53.76 $300 Costa + 1000 Cash $300 Costa + 1000 Cash
4 Mark Crutcher 16.33 13.26 21.18 50.77 $750.00 $750.00
5 Asher Haynes 05.65 20.74 15.12 10.88 46.74 $750.00 $750.00
6 Steve Hoover 18.03 15.70 10.64 44.37 $750.00 $750.00
7 William Ponting 05.60 16.53 11.94 15.86 44.33 $750.00 $750.00
8 Kenneth Cleveland 14.95 13.35 15.94 44.24 $750.00 $750.00
9 Antonio Gold 05.82 10.04 21.26 11.56 42.86 $750.00 $750.00
10 Gregory Troughton 16.22 11.67 11.70 39.59 $750.00
Cos
Rank/Angler/# Of Fish/Big/Day 1/Day 2/Day 3 Total
1 Mark White 06.40 19.36 18.16 09.37 46.89 $1,000.00 Garmin $3500 Live Scope + $1000 Cash
2 Dante Ray 05.18 18.85 11.95 13.31 44.11 $500.00 $250.00 $1066 Okuma X Series + $500 Cash
3 Chris Trumbull 6.99* 19.08 09.74 13.77 42.59 $400.00 $250.00 $300 Costa + $650.00 Cash
4 Ugene Downing 13.17 13.30 14.04 40.51 $350.00 $350.00
5 Kirk Marshall 04.94 17.11 11.88 10.90 39.89 $350.00 $350.00
6 Randy Marshall 05.02 11.55 14.42 13.85 39.82 $350.00 $350.00
7 Rick O'callahan 08.43 17.28 13.12 38.83 $350.00 $350.00
8 Craig Main 04.14 15.45 10.99 11.15 37.59 $350.00 $350.00
9 Joe Cote 13.23 12.51 11.20 36.94 $350.00 $350.00
10 Will Wyman 12.90 10.01 10.76 33.67 $350.00 $350.00
BAM Trail Pro Am Championship – Lake Berryessa Nov 15 - 17 2024
Daily weigh-ins at Steele Canyon Park 3:00 PM
Saturday afternoon we will announce the Tackle Warehouse, Bass Boat Technologies and Garmin Contingencies winners.
Sunday afternoon we will crown a champion and give away a brand-new Bass Cat, Mercury, Garmin, Eternal Lithium boat package.
About BAM Tournament Trail
The Bass Angler Magazine Tournament Trail (BAM TT) provides an exceptional platform for both anglers and sponsors. It combines extensive exposure opportunities, celebrating the skills of western bass anglers. The circuit receives broad media coverage across print and online magazines, emails, podcast, websites, videos, television, and multiple social media channels.
Proud Sponsors of the BAM Tournament Trail: Bass Boat Technologies, Tackle Warehouse, Boardman Chamber, Garmin, StorQuest, and, Bass Cat Boats, Ford Fairfield, Dish - Accel Marketing, Power Pole, Mercury Outboards, Bob’s Machine, Wood Bros, Sticky Graphics, Jean Deleonardi Real Estate, Valley Outdoors, Eternal Lithium and, Alpha Angler Rods, and our conservation sponsor Fisherman’s Warehouse.
BAM’s Esteemed Tourism Sponsors: the Boardman Chamber, City of Oakley, the Lake Almanor Chamber, and the Feather River Tourism Association.
The BAM Tournament Trail features the BAM Pro Tour, Pro-Am, and Kayak events, each designed to test the determination of western anglers in a competitive and environmentally conscious format.
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