LAKE ALMANOR, Calif. – Brennan Osborn of Beaverton, Ore. held on to the pro-angler lead after adding a five-fish limit of 22.70 pounds for a two-day total of 44.66. He now qualifies as the leader in the final field cut to Championship Sunday at the 2025 Bass Cat Boats Pro/Am Championship at Lake Almanor, presented by the Lake Almanor Chamber of Commerce, Plumas County Tourism, Tackle Warehouse, and conservation sponsor Fisherman’s Warehouse.
“It doesn’t really feel real to me yet. I’m just trying to stay in the moment,” he said.
Even with the loss of cloud cover, Osborn stacked up another 22 pounds. “I didn’t tweak my pattern a whole lot from yesterday,” he said. “I pushed up shallower—real shallow, where I could see the bottom.”
He essentially ran the same program as Day One, altering his LiveScope depth from 12-feet to 10-feet. He also varied color choices — rotating between brown with white while cloudy and green pumpkin when the sun came out.
Osborn continues to tie on the Jackall Flick Shake and throw it with a with a 7’ Edge Black Widow spinning rod (dropshot model), a 2500 series reel, 10-pound hi-vis braid, and a 12-pound leader. He is applying scent his plastic.
“It (the leader) helps keeps the bait up in the column a little more; I really don’t want it to sink to ‘em,” he shared.
For Championship Sunday, Osborn plans to have both colors rigged instead of switching between the two as he has been doing.
“I have a decent amount of experience with smallmouth,” he said. “So, I kind of had an idea when it gets sunny, they’re going to react better. You could see them turn off to the bite yesterday when it was very frontal, when all that weather came through. When it got overcast, there were a lot more negative, and I knew I had to capitalize when I got the few hours of sun.”
His search for shallower fish paid off. “When I did find them, they were packed together. We had an hour of some pretty crazy fish-catching and I ended up culling out a four-pounder,” he shared.
Osborn has been targeting super clean water, with fish tight to the bottom or holding a foot or two above it. Shallow rock banks and consistent the boat movement have also been keys to his success.
“I know there will be something tomorrow that I probably haven’t thought of yet,” he said. “I’m just going to read and try and do what they are telling me, try and not lock in too hard. It’s kind of bad I’m only throwing two rods, but within those two rods, I’m trying to keep an open mind.”
Cogburn Claims Co Lead
After fishing with California pro Logan Huntze from Discovery Bay on Day One, Brian Cogburn was paired with fellow Oakdale, Calif. angler Ish Monroe for Day Two. The draw resulted in Cogburn bringing in the biggest bag on the co-angler side for the entire event. His Day Two limit weighed 15.04 pounds and pushed his two-day total to 20.41, securing his spot in the top-10 field cut for Championship Sunday.
“It was a great day for me because in the back of the boat we’re casting blind,” Cogburn said. “The guys in the front, they’re on their forward facing and they get to see every target they want to cast at. We cannot see that in the back, so we’re blind casting in the back, so for me to catch five today was absolutely magical.”
Cogburn dragged a Keitech jig behind the boat, targeting buoys and other structure. When shallower, he relied on a floating Rico-style bait. He called the jig his confidence bait of the event, working fish in 8- to 20-feet.
His jig setup was a 3/8-ounce Keitech with a tungsten head in dark green pumpkin, paired with a Yamamoto Fat Baby Craw trailer. He threw it with a Dobyns Champion Extreme 743 on 12-pound Seaguar InvizX.
“The bonus fish was the topwater fish,” he added. “Going into tomorrow, if I am able to throw that bait for a good hour or two, I’m going to be real happy.”
Championship Sunday
The top-10 anglers from each division will reconvene on Lake Almanor for a final day of fishing. The pro-angler champion will receive a grand prize package that includes a new Mercury-powered BassCat boat, while the co-angler champion will claim a $10,000 cash prize.
Fans can join the anglers at blast-off and weigh-in for Championship Sunday at the Lake Almanor Country Club Recreation Area or follow along online at the BAM website and socials.
Best of the Rest
Lake Almanor Pro Angler Top-10 Day Two
NAME HOME TOTAL
1 Brennan Osborn Beaverton, OR 04.54 21.96 05.00 04.94 22.70 00.00 44.66
2 Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 04.68 20.26 05.00 05.06 21.51 00.00 41.77
3 Logan Huntze Discovery Bay, CA 03.87 20.62 05.00 20.96 00.00 41.58
4 Chad Sweitzer Kelseyville, CA 04.15 19.56 05.00 21.24 00.00 40.80
5 Chris Parks Eugene, OR 04.28 16.85 05.00 04.59 21.15 00.00 38.00
6 Asher Haynes Brentwood, CA 04.84 19.01 05.00 17.94 00.00 36.95
7 Jake Boomer Spokane Valley, WA 04.27 17.06 05.00 19.23 00.00 36.29
8 Joe Mariani Winters, CA 20.52 05.00 15.34 00.00 35.86
9 Joey Walton Lewiston, ID 04.43 16.29 05.00 17.06 00.00 33.35
10 Aaron Britt Yuba City, CA 04.84 19.09 05.00 13.79 00.00 32.88
Lake Almanor Co Angler Top-10 Day Two
1 Brian Cogburn Oakdale, CA 05.37 05.00 15.04 00.00 20.41
2 Thaddeus Vinson Central Point, OR 03.63 13.03 01.00 03.03 00.00 16.06
3 Troy Mays Ione, CA 06.40 02.00 05.08 00.00 11.48
4 Robert Ryans Escalon, CA 04.45 02.00 06.44 00.00 10.89
5 Byron Stone Chico, CA 00.00 03.00 04.29 10.66 00.00 10.66
6 Roy Desmangles Jr Lincoln, CA 03.08 07.83 00.00 00.00 00.00 07.83
7 Chuck Kavros Grass Valley, CA 00.00 03.00 07.27 00.00 07.27
8 Will Wyman Brentwood, CA 06.81 00.00 00.00 00.00 06.81
9 Ryan Borba Atascadero, CA 03.69 03.69 01.00 03.11 00.00 06.80
10 Ugene Downing White City, OR 00.00 02.00 06.45 00.00 06.45
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:
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