REDDING, Calif. – Following a Day Two cancelation due to inclement weather, the full 133 boat field of the 2025 BAM Tournament Trail Pro/Am season-opener reconvened on Lake Shasta for a final day of fishing and concluded with Alex Niapas of Altaville, Calif, claiming victory by adding an 18.05 limit today to his 16.35 limit on Day One. His final weight of 34.40 put him more than four-pounds over his nearest competitor, earned the Shasta Pro/Am championship crown and provided winnings of $13,500.
Niapas fished a prototype lure that he described as a hardware-less, line-thru trout imitator. He explained it as a “bait with no hook” that fished like a worm.
“First thing this morning, I caught a 4.91 spot on it and then I ran around to a couple other spots and caught another four,” he said. “I started running a few other spots and started catching threes and 3 ½’s. I was culling threes by the end of the day.“
Niapas targeted points with cover in shallow water and called out trees as the “ticket”. “It was probably one of the most perfect tournaments I fished; even more than the one that I won five or six years ago where I caught the 30-pound bag,” he shared.
Niapas expressed appreciation to BAM, St. Croix Rods, Hog Hunter Swimbaits, California Reservoir Lures and revealed that there was no set release date at this time for the swimmer he was fishing.
Pierson Flip-Flopped His Run
Randy Pierson rocketed the leaderboard on today with the pro Big Stringer of 18.64. Adding that to his Day One total of 11.74, Pierson’s final day climb took him from 34th into the runner-up position. With his tournament total of 30.38, Pierson pocketed a payday worth $6,660.
The Oakdale, Calif. pro reported struggling with quality over quantity on the first day, boating at least 50 bass for the day. “I caught way more fish (on Day One) than today,” he said. “And then I ended up catching one over three pounds that saved me on the first day.”
His day-saving three-pounder ate a River2Sea S-Waver tied to an IROD 753 Quercus with a Shimano DC spooled with 15-pound Seaguar InvizX. For the last day, Pierson feels changing his rotation was the difference-maker.
“The first day, I started way up the Pit and didn’t have much success and then I fished to the Sac,” he stated. “Today, I reversed everything. Instead of starting in the Pit, I started close and worked my way up. I caught a lot of my fish today, where I fished Friday and never got a bite.”
Pierson’s adjustments led to a window of bites that started with his “big one” and was followed by five consecutive casts that produced a fish with all but one over two pounds. “I was throwin’ a Neko rig, and I actually wasn’t LiveScoping; I was just fishing,” he said. “I was keying on 25- to 60-feet of water.”
Pierson attributed his biggest bass and his overall success to a Spearpoint Performance GP Finesse Hook and its ability to keep them buttoned up.
Haynes Hit a Three-Prong Approach to Shasta
With a five-fish limit of 16.33 on Day One and 13.97 on Day Two, Brentwood, Calif. pro Asher Haynes held steady to round out the top trio on both fishing days. His final total of 30.30 earned $5,471.
“Practice was really tough for me; it was brutal,” recalled Haynes “My hopes weren’t too high going into the weekend; but on Day One, I rolled up to an area, dropped the trolling motor and just started seeing them on my LiveScope and they ended up being big ones.”
Haynes concentrated on scattered rockpiles, on or adjacent to long flat points in depths of 15- to 30-feet in the main lake. “Once I found where they were at, I would really try and pick it apart with LiveScope and a worm.”
His weigh fish fell to a Z-Man FattyZ in PB&J on a 3/16-ounce Frenzy Nail, the Daiwa / Yamamoto Baits Neko Senko collab, fished with a 3/16-ounce nail weight and a dropshot with a wacky-rigged Green Pumpkin Candy Jackall Flick Shake.
“I was throwin’ the FattyZ on a 7’2” medium Phenix M1 with a Shimano Vanford 2500 and 8-pound Sunline Sniper,” he stated. “For the Senkos, I was throwing a 702 Dobyns Champion, with a 2500 Vanford and also Sunline Sniper 8-pound.
Borba From the Backseat
Ryan Borba of Atascadero, Calif. grabbed the co-angler Day One Big Stringer and lead, sacking up 14.25. He crossed the scales with 10.56 on Day Two holding his top spot to hoist the trophy as the amateur victor with a total of 24.81 His backseat bass banked Borba $5,450.
Borba bagged the Big Stringer running through 30 fish on the day, while throwing a Frenzy Nail with a FattyZ and a drop-shot. “Today, it was a different story with the wind,” he said. “Doing what I was doing was a lot more difficult. I knew they would bite it, if I could get it in front of them; so, I was doing whatever I could to do that. I had to get really creative in how I casted and how I worked the bait back.”
A main lake point outside of Bridge Bay was a key area where Borba culled two fish in the last hour. “The wind was blowing really had and crashing into the point, making a mud line,” he said.
The FattyZ on the Nail tied to a braid with an 8-pound Tatsu fluorocarbon leader on a Dobyns spinning rod accounted for eight of the 10 fish he weighed. This event was Borba’s first BAM, and he plans to return.
Pro Top-10
Place/Angler/Day1/Day2/Total Weight/Place Winnings/Other Winnings/Total Winnings
- Alex Niapas 35 18.05 34.4 $13,500.00 $13,500.00
- Randy Pierson 74 18.64 30.38 $5,340.00 $665.00/$655.00 $6,660.00
- Asher Haynes 33 13.97 30.3 $4,806.00 $665.00 $5,471.00
- Hayden Lee 8 13.67 28.47 $4,539.00 $4,539.00
- Aaron Britt 67 11.31 27.98 $4,272.00 $655.00 $4,927.00
- Bruce Harris 68 15.27 27.95 $3,738.00 $3,738.00
- Scott Burke 14 15.22 27.36 $3,471.00 $3,471.00
- Mathew Saavedra 21 13.54 26.75 $2,937.00 $2,937.00
- Nick Wood 35 13.32 26.67 $2,670.00 $2,670.00
- Mark Cobey 41 12.17 26.58 $2,136.00 $2,136.00
Co-Angler Top-10
- Ryan Borba 25 10.56 24.81 $5,000.00 $450.00 $5,450.00
- Luke Wilson 66 12.09 23.75 $2,236.00 $450.00 $2,686.00
- Dante Ray 27 10.46 23.73 $1,597.00 $1,597.00
- AJ Holt 72 10.24 22.96 $1,437.00 $1,437.00
- Michael Prettyman 42 11.39 22.81 $1,278.00 $1,278.00
- Randy Marshall 38 12.11 22.49 $1,118.00 $1,118.00
- Jeffrey Slayter 4 12.83 22.23 $958.00/$450.00 $1,408.00
- Will Wyman 33 10.8 22.13 $878.00 $878.00
- Ronnie Orbaker 61 10.34 21.95 $799.00 $799.00
- Ugene Downing 18 10.59 21.77 $639.00 $639.00
The scheduled three-day bass battle randomly paired pro and co-anglers in a non-shared weight competition. Draw partners changed daily, while each angler’s weight accumulated for the total. Due to weather conditions, this particular event was abbreviated to two days, following a Day Two cancellation.
The next BAM Pro/Am will take place on Lake Don Pedro February 28. Registration is underway.
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BAM Trail Pro Am Lake Shasta Bridge Bay Marina Jan 24-26, 2025
Daily weigh-ins at Bridge Bay Marina Park 3:00 pm every day
Media persons are welcome to attend to report, film, interview, or just enjoy the sporting event. Call or email Mark Lassagne for info or interviews 925-787-3474 mark@bassmag.com
The lake was off-limits to all contestants January 20 and 21, with practice days permitted on January 22 and 23. There is a 4:00 pm off-limits on the 23rd.
Anglers’ check-in was scheduled at Huff’s at Bridge Bay on Thursday, January 23 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm.
Official housing is Bridge Bay with an angler discount available by mentioning the BAM Trail pro-am.
Day Two Saturday: Tackle Warehouse contingencies winners and payment of the field from 11th place to the end of the money line will be completed.
Day Three Sunday: Bass Boast Technologies $250 contingency will be awarded; professional and co-angler champions will be crowned then Top-10 payments will be completed.
This information can also be found at www.bamtrail.com
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 digital magazines, emails, podcast, websites, videos, television, and multiple large social media channels.
Proud partners of the BAM Trail: Bass Boat Technologies, Tackle Warehouse, Bass Cat Boats, Boardman Chamber, Chicken Ranch Casino StorQuest, and, Ford Fairfield, Power Pole, Dakota Lithium, Mercury Outboards, Bob’s Machine, Wood Bros, Sticky Graphics, Jean Deleonardi Real Estate, Valley Outdoors, and Fisherman’s Warehouse.
BAM’s Tourism Partners: Choose Redding, Boardman Chamber, City of Oakley, Lake Almanor Chamber, Feather River Tourism Association and Lake Don Pedro.
The BAM Trail features the BAM Pro Tour, Pro-Am, Scholastic and Kayak events, each designed to test the determination of western anglers in a competitive and environmentally conscious format.
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