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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

Forums

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Main Forums
Fishing
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Humminbird 9 , hub , bbt gimbal by Whoopbass Sat Jan 10, 2026 6:34 pm
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Certified weight 11.30 by WB Staff Tue Feb 10, 2026 9:12 am
Swim Baits
Kayaks and Kick Boats
Stripers
Striper fly fishing by Swimbaitspence Wed Jul 2, 2025 6:41 pm

Classifieds

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Boats - Motors - Trailers Marine Accessories
Minnkota battery charger by Javelinman Tue Feb 10, 2026 7:50 pm
Electric Motors
Minn kota ultrex by Dahvic Mon Feb 9, 2026 6:35 pm
Miscellaneous
Shimano tackle bag by bvang916 Tue Feb 10, 2026 6:56 pm
Electronics
Minnkota 330PC charger by Javelinman Tue Feb 10, 2026 7:51 pm
Rods & Reels
Raid Japan �Undertaker� Rod by 185vsfrog Mon Feb 9, 2026 8:36 am
Hard Baits
Xcalibur XR, XRK Rayburn Red by jerrysfishing Sun Feb 8, 2026 7:12 am
Soft Baits
Deps Sakamata Shad Lot by Pablo19 Wed Jan 14, 2026 7:11 pm
Kayak Classifieds Terminal Tackle
selling my EGO S2 clear rubber net by chevy5099 Mon Jan 26, 2026 11:39 am
Lodging & Property
Clear Lake vacation rentals by adamcera Mon Sep 29, 2025 2:27 pm
Tow Vehicles
Wanted to buy mid size pickup by Dfowler Wed Oct 15, 2025 7:11 pm

Recent Forum

Wonder why? Anti-American? by JVGondal Tue Feb 10, 2026 10:18 pm
No kidding! by JVGondal Tue Feb 10, 2026 9:58 pm
Very nice. by JVGondal Tue Feb 10, 2026 9:40 pm
Good one by JVGondal Tue Feb 10, 2026 9:37 pm
trumps tunnel tantrum by monte300 Tue Feb 10, 2026 8:57 pm
RINO�s doing the right thing by monte300 Tue Feb 10, 2026 8:15 pm

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

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.
Clear Lake
Clear Lake By Fishing Report from Clear Lake in the Golden Mussel tournament with the two teams with over 40 pound bags... Clear Lake produced a wide range of results, with many anglers struggling to catch limits while others were able to connect with trophy-class bass. Conditions were difficult enough that 8 of the 25 boats reportedly blanked, and many anglers returned with only small bags of roughly 5 to 13 pounds. Despite the tough bite, Clear Lake still showed its reputation as a true big-fish lake, with multiple double-digit largemouth caught during the day. The most consistent success came from anglers who reported staying mobile and avoided sitting in one spot too long. Rather than camping on a single area, productive teams focused on covering water and cycling through key stretches repeatedly throughout the day. A common approach was catching one or two fish, leaving the area, and returning 20 to 30 minutes later to fish the same zone again after it had time to reset. This rotation helped keep fish active and prevented burning out the area. Most of the top fish were caught using minnow-style presentations. The top three teams referenced shaking a minnow as the primary method, using 4 to 5 inch minnow baits. The key detail mentioned was getting fish to move in close and commit, suggesting fish were present but not always aggressive. Some of the biggest bites came from fish that followed up and ate after multiple casts and persistence. Best Techniques & Baits Minnow-style baits were the most consistently mentioned producer, especially in the 4 to 5 inch range. The most effective presentation was shaking the bait to trigger reaction and follow-up bites. Success also came from repeatedly cycling through productive areas and making multiple passes, rather than relying on one spot. Anglers noted that a crankbait was not needed for these conditions, and that staying with the minnow approach was more reliable. Full Results https://www.westernbass.com/forum/post707031.html#p707031

From the Blogs

Lake Shasta Fishing Report By RB Bass Outdoors Angler Travis Williams
Lake Shasta Fishing Report By RB Bass Outdoors Angler Travis Williams By

Lake Shasta fished very well this past week with consistent action across multiple patterns and depth ranges. I spent five full days on the water and caught a high volume of fish each day, with several distinct ways to approach the lake depending on whether you were targeting numbers or better-quality bites. Water conditions: Surface […]

The post Lake Shasta Fishing Report By RB Bass Outdoors Angler Travis Williams first appeared on RB Bass Fishing.