The Best Bass Tournaments (BBT) season is well underway, with all regions at least halfway done, with some just having one more event left for the year. There's still some great fishing to be had, as well as the annual big-money Tournament of Champions, but Tournament Director Randy Pringle says it has been a good year despite some early challenges.
Pringle gave an update on the year and some of the highlights from the 2025 season.
Golden Mussel Curveball
The discovery of the golden mussel changed things drastically in California this year and changed many fishing plans with the restrictions. It's also affected the bass tournament scene, which had Pringle thinking of a solution, and he developed a region called the Golden Mussels that only fishes the Delta.
"The mussels threw a curveball at us, and some of the lakes were just not fishable for tournaments," he said. "They don't open the gates till later. Then, you have to be out of there early. Then, some lakes wouldn't recognize the cleaning from other places, so it got to the point where it wasn't worth it for some lakes: it was just too difficult on the anglers."
The Delta-only division was a great solution and, overall, was well-received by the anglers, according to Pringle. "We decided to pro anglers to fish, so you immediately added another dozen or 15 teams that normally don't fish BBT," he said. "There really wasn't anything out there to fish, so the numbers for the division have been good. The number of boats has been good, so it's worth it for the top teams who cash checks, and they don't end up being upside down even when cashing a check."
Clear Lake a Bright Spot
Despite the lake restrictions to other lakes in the state, one bright spot was Clear Lake. The lake is red hot, and Pringle said it has produced some of the season's best events in multiple regions.
"It's been an excellent lake this year, and everyone is having a ball fishing it," he said. "They're catching a lot of 4-pound plus fish consistently, and everyone is catching fish, so they all feel like you have a chance. The real test for how good a lake is at fishing is to not just look at the winning weights but also look way down the field. Right now, Clear Lake has very good weights way down the field, and everyone is catching fish."
Other positives have been McClure. "It's been excellent, and everyone's catching limits because the lake has been up, and the fish could spawn; they didn't drop it real fast as they've done in the past," Pringle added.
Two other lakes that have been showing out have been Pyramid for the SoCal Region and Margarita in the Coastal Region.
"Pyramid has been good, and Margarita, on the coast, has been great; both have been producing good solid fish," he said. "The two lakes have been very fortunate this year with solid spawns, and we had great weather for our spring events. We didn't get blown off the lake with wind during the best times of the year. It was also an early spawn, and those big bass came up early and were more prone to getting caught, which helped with the weights."
Pyramid Lake has produced solid winning weights in the teens or low 20-pound range all season, but Santa Margarita has been even better. In the Coastal Region on March 15, Jason Domingos and Jim Slusher won it with 29.25-pounds. Behind them, four more teams crossed the 20-pound mark in that tournament.
Lots of Delta Fishing Left
The summer is packed with several events in the California Delta, in the Northern, Mother Lode, Deta/Wine, Central, and Golden Mussels Regions. All of these anglers will have a chance at some great summertime fishing. Pringle noted that the fishing should be good after an up-and-down spring in terms of the weather.
"The spring had some big temperature drops even into June that dropped the water temperature drastically," said Pringle. "As it's gotten more consistent, the bite has been much better. Those fronts coming in messed with the fish, but the summer bite should offer some great and consistent fishing."
One thing to remember for the tournaments is the six-hour limit for summer events. "That's going to eliminate a lot of those long runs, and those local spots will be critical; you can't run an hour each way to those hidden out-of-the-way spots," he said.
While the BBT season is starting to wind down, there is still a chance to get in on the action. The final events in each Region are coming up, and the anglers who qualified for the T.O.C. get their opportunity to fish for big money in the year-end event.
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