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Winter 2026 Winter 2026 Hi All, I’d like to begin this issue by congratulating Anglers Marine on their longevity and continued impact on the Western bass community. Their dedication to anglers, tournaments, and the growth of our sport has made them a cornerstone of the region. We are happy to host them on the cover as we step into a new year of fishing. As we go to press, the 2026 season is just about to launch, and tournament anglers across the West are already preparing for another busy schedule. New gear, fresh patterns, and early-season opportunities will shape the months ahead. Whether you compete or simply enjoy time on the water, this season brings plenty to look forward to. January also brings the International Sportsmen’s Exposition back to Cal Expo, a key kickoff event for the year. It’s a great place to learn, connect, and see the latest products in person. The WesternBass title sponsor Fisherman’s Warehouse will be onsite with super show specials and always a shopper’s favorite, the NO SALES TAX deal. Be sure to visit the Westerbass Fish Tank there’s always giant fish to see! Please enjoy this issue with a highlight of some of the new gear for the new year and as always we encourage you to support the sponsors who support you. Their commitment helps keep the WesternBass website, magazine and forums and socials strong and our fishing community growing. Tight Lines, Wayne
Fall 2025
Fall 2025 Fall marks the close of another exciting tournament season and brings with it the much-anticipated Tournament of Champions events. It’s hard to believe how fast the year has flown by! This season may have spared us the chaos of recent years—no COVID shutdowns, supply chain nightmares, or extreme water levels—but it brought a new challenge for California anglers: Golden Mussel restrictions and launch closures. These invasive species continue to disrupt fisheries across the state, with recent restrictions at Diamond Valley Lake (DVL) underscoring the ongoing impact. That said, there was a silver lining for Delta and Clear Lake anglers: the introduction of the Golden Mussel Region by Randy Pringle at Best Bass Tournaments (BBT). His forward-thinking solution allowed for localized, single-area launch team opens at venues affected by broader closures. We appreciate the continued innovation and commitment to the sport—thank you, Randy. On a more exciting note, shipments of new gear from ICAST 2025 have already begun arriving! It’s always a thrill to see what’s coming next, and you can check out many of the latest product releases from online at Fisherman’s Warehouse—our WesternBass advertisers are rolling out some serious game-changers. Tight Lines
Summer 2025
Summer 2025 Hi All, Topwater, six-hour tournaments in California, and ICAST – it all screams summer and while we are used to an FLW or MLF Western Division tournament circuit stop on the California Delta this time of year, for 2025 it was missing. Fortunately, Mark Lassagne and the BAM Trail stepped in and brought those of us that call the tidal water of the West an event. I would like to congratulate Ish Monroe on his win at the Pro/Am event! Quite an accomplishment! Ish has been one of longtime WesternBass supporters and well as one of the Fisherman’s Warehouse pro staff (a WesternBass title sponsor), so it was great to hear that the Fisherman’s Warehouse exclusive color Missile Baits D Bomb in Rotten Tomato played such a big factor in his win! While summer kicks off and we get ready to head to ICAST, we once again ask that the WesternBass readers support the advertisers that allow us to bring this digital mag as well as the site to you for free! We appreciate them and you! Tight Lines Wayne

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Recent Forum

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Industry Press Releases

WORLD BASS ENTERPRISES UNVEILS “THE CHAMPIONS” TOURNAMENT
WORLD BASS ENTERPRISES UNVEILS “THE CHAMPIONS” TOURNAMENT RECORD-SETTING $3 MILLION PURSE
2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Series
2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Series In the latest mid-season rankings review for theSchool of the Year presented by Abu Garcia, the ACA highlights teams ranked 6-15.
101 anglers set to compete on 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series
101 anglers set to compete on 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series Coming off the heels of a record-breaking 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season that awarded 11 century belts, saw four-first time champions (two of which were members of the 2025 rookie class) and garnered over 183 million social media impressions, B.A.S.S. has announced the 101-angler field for an exciting 2026 Elite Series season.
MLF Announces 2026 Forward-Facing Sonar Restrictions Across All Circuits
MLF Announces 2026 Forward-Facing Sonar Restrictions Across All Circuits MLF announces new 2026 forward facing sonar restrictions across all circuits aiming to balance technology with traditional skills for more dynamic competition
NPFL 2026 Full Roster Released
NPFL 2026 Full Roster Released NPFL confirms its biggest 2026 field yet with 130 anglers but leaves room for select applicants See the full list and how to join

Lake Reports

California Delta
California Delta By Fishing the Dleta Feb 10 From a Day on the Water with Christian Ostrander A light breeze and a high tide made for a textbook Delta setup. The bite has been lining up perfectly with one specific window: high tide right as it starts to dump out. "That high-outgoing stretch has been the deal lately, and if you time it right, you can stay on fish all day by chasing that tide," he said. "You can follow it inward toward the Delta, push south, then slide west, basically tracking the same high-outgoing bite as it progresses through the system." His approach has been a mix of reaction baits and shallow-water power fishing. Christian and Riley spent the day rotating through spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits, and some worm fishing, with an emphasis on darker colors for early spring - June bug, black and blue. "You know, the kind of stuff that shows up strong when the water is warming but the fish are still in that pre-spawn mindset," he said. On the ChatterBait, he has been keeping it simple with a Spunk Shad trailer. For the spinnerbait, he is running big willow blades and a single-tail grub, bumping it around the tules. His main spinnerbait color has been a white-and-chartreuse pattern, and it has been producing in both cleaner water and slightly dirtier stretches. Water clarity has been mixed, but not blown out. Christian pointed out that it has not been “crazy dirty” this year, and the lack of rain is a big reason why. Even without checking the exact temp on the day, he said it has been hovering right around 53 to 54 degrees, and the fish are acting like it is already spring. He has been catching them extremely shallow, three-feet of water or less, and he believes the biggest fish are already up doing what they do this time of year: feeding hard and positioning to spawn early. "They are not beat up yet, but they are close enough that it could happen any time, especially with the way conditions are going," he said. In just three hours on the water, the quality backed it up. Christian estimated his and Riley's best five fish would have gone around 27-pounds, and he topped the day with a true Delta giant pushing nine and a half pounds. "That big fish came on a worm bite," he said. Christian has been throwing a lot of Trick worms lately, and described the big fish as thick and aggressive, with just enough belly to show it has been eating. "When the tide gets high, those big fish want to feed, and once the water starts moving out, they will absolutely crush anything that gets near them," he added. The day was not just about one fish either. Riley stuck her own six-pounder, also on a worm presentation. "This is an early spring, and an early spring on the Delta usually means a good year," said Christian. "When the Delta goes off in early February, it tends to stay productive all season long." If this trip was any indication, the big ones are already moving, the shallow bite is happening, and the Delta is officially waking up.
Clear Lake
Clear Lake By Clear Lake Fishing Report Early February 2026 With Fisherman's Warehouse pro Ken Mah Clear Lake right now, is in a late winter phase. In the morning, the water temps are 49 degrees, so still pretty cold, but in the shallow part, in the north end of the lake, I saw temps as warm as 53 degrees. As we know, there was a local tournament that was won there recently, and they had 45 or 47 pounds. So, there's still a lot of big fish being caught, scoping, and a lot of those anglers are spending their time in mid-lake and the Rattlesnake Arm. People can still catch those fish. Those fish are the ones – the few that I caught scoping yesterday. They seem to be in 18- to 22- to 23-feet. I had a pretty good day fishing shallow. There's little pods of fish that are starting to move up and they're making that first initial push. I probably had close to 25- to 26-pounds yesterday, fishing in like 8-feet or less. For me, it was simple fishing, like throwing a half-ounce or 5/8-ounce spinnerbait with a Big Bite Swimmer on the back of it – a white one. And then just reeling that thing as slow as I can. I'm throwing it on a 7.5-foot, Poenix, Virtus frog rod with Shooter fluorocarbon. I caught like three on a spinnerbait doing that. They were really nice – healthy ones. The biggest one I caught was almost five-pounds and then the other two were good four-pounders, just solid fish. Then, I started flipping isolated bushes in 6- to 8-feet of water. I caught four fish doing that, but I only caught seven shallow yesterday – basically, with my MLF setup, a Buckeye flipping jig in black and blue with a Big Bite Baits Baby YoMama trailer on braided line. It's really simple fishing. I do think you can scope a lot of fish and throw a minnow on a jig head, but for me, I think there's less people on the bank, which I love. So, I'm still going to gravitate and do that.

From the Blogs

RB Bass Outdoors Angler Ron Howe Damaged Freight?!!
RB Bass Outdoors Angler Ron Howe Damaged Freight?!! By

Ron Howe talks about damaged freight on this rod and reel. None other than the ugly stick nearly indestructible. A great rod and reel for the average Angler looking for something on a value. This rod reel combo is about 80 bucks and will work great for stripers, salmon, light salt, water and many other […]

The post RB Bass Outdoors Angler Ron Howe Damaged Freight?!! first appeared on RB Bass Fishing.