Nathan Phillips in Second Place Day One Leader Micah Jones Slips to Third
LAKEPORT, Calif. – April 10, 2025 –– John Pearl is known as one of the top anglers on Clear Lake. After nearly a dozen years guiding and competing on the famed Northern California bass factory and too many tournament victories to count, Pearl knows how to adjust and put himself in position.
Pearl started the event in the northern end of the lake and when he only had one small fish in the first hour, made a run to the south end and had 30 pounds in his livewell within 30 minutes under bluebird conditions. When those conditions turned to cloudy and breezy on day two, Pearl made adjustments once again.
The result was his second consecutive “Dirty 30” limit of 31.87 pounds to go with his 35.44 from day one to bring his two-day total to 67.31 pounds, leading second place pro Nathan Phillips by just over two pounds.
Phillips followed his 35.37-pound day one with 29.75 pounds to bring his total to 65.12 pounds heading into the final round. In third place was day one leader Micah Jones, who managed to bring 23.75 pounds on day two, when added to his 38.34-pound limit of day one, totaling 62.12 pounds.
Mason McAbee placed fourth after the second day of competition, after his 33.06-pound performance on the first day, added 28.85 pounds to bring his total to 61.91 pounds, and pro Joe Price posted 31.84 pounds today to go with his 27.79 pounds from day one to round out the top five with 59.63 pounds.
Pearl reported having to make adjustments both days of the 2025 WON Bass California Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury but being able to stay within his basic approach. “I am fishing for deeper, early prespawn fish but they are chasing the bait pretty heavily, so I’m having to move,” he said. “Once I am able to reconnect with the schools I’ve found, I am able to get them to eat fairly quickly – in fact I’ve had a 30-pound limit within 30 minutes of finding them both days.”
The veteran pro said he feels optimistic about his chances but knows the lake is changing. “It’s really a day-to-day thing right now, and it all depends on baitfish movement for me,” he said. “The overnight temperatures cause the bait to move, and it may take me a while to reconnect with the schools, but I feel confident that I will be able to do that tomorrow and have a shot at this thing.”
Phillips is fishing in the deeper sections of the lake but is fishing mid depth ranges looking for fish that have committed to the move to spawn. “I’m finesse fishing because these fish have seen some pressure, and it’s getting tougher,” he said. “I was able to get 8 to 10 quality bites yesterday and only five today, so I’m definitely having to grind for them.”
Jones said he fell to fishing pressure himself on day two. “I had my area all to myself on day one, but had quite a bit of company today,” he said. “There was a lot of interference on my screes from competing boats today, and I know it had an impact on the fish; I just hop I can make it all work tomorrow.”
One additional note of interest is that Pearl, Phillips and Jones all sit within reasonable striking distance of eclipsing the 100-pound mark for the event. Pearl needs to post a 32.60-pound limit, Phillips needs 34.88 pounds and Jones would need 37.88 pounds – all smaller than their heaviest days of the event thus far.
These anglers and the rest of the 176 man pro field are battling for the champion’s prize that includes cash, and the keys to the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard prize boat presented by Bass Pro Shops with Power-Pole Charge and Volta Power Lithium Power Batteries, a package valued at $55,000.
In the AAA Division, Tim Skellett took the day two lead with 60.17 pounds while Ray Serrano landed in second place with 59.46 pounds. Third place went to Troy Diatte with 59.05 pounds while day one leader Greg Sallee slipped to fourth with 58.31 pounds and William Aden rounded out the top five with 56.47 pounds.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/clear-lake-2024-pairings-results.
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins airs on at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments. Daily weigh-ins from Library park in Lakeport, Calif. begin after the first flight checks in at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.
2025 WON Bass California Open Day Two Pro Standings
| Name | Hometown | Fish | Big | Day 1 | Day 2 | 2 Day Total | |
| 1 | John Pearl | Upper Lake CA | 10-10 | 8.91 | 35.44 | 31.87 | 67.31 |
| 2 | Nathan Phillips | Cobb CA | 10-10 | 9.48 | 35.37 | 29.75 | 65.12 |
| 3 | Micah Jones | Kingman AZ | 10-10 | 12.93 | 38.34 | 23.78 | 62.12 |
| 4 | Mason McAbee | Bakersfield CA | 10-10 | 33.06 | 28.85 | 61.91 | |
| 5 | Joe Price | Chapin EC | 10-10 | 9.19 | 27.79 | 31.84 | 59.63 |
| 6 | Alex Niapas | Altaville CA | 10-10 | 9.26 | 36.42 | 22.73 | 59.15 |
| 7 | Ish Monroe | Oakdale CA | 10-10 | 8.55 | 31.27 | 26.40 | 57.67 |
| 8 | Garrett Ellenson | Nine Mile Falls WA | 10-10 | 25.10 | 31.45 | 56.55 | |
| 9 | Nick Welton | Galt CA | 10-10 | 7.50 | 25.27 | 30.82 | 56.09 |
| 10 | Luke Lipanovich | Napa CA | 10-10 | 28.39 | 26.65 | 55.04 |
2025 WON Bass California Open Day One AAA Standings
| Name | Hometown | Fish | BIG | Day 1 | Day 2 | 2 Day Total | ||
| 1 Tim Skellett | Apache Junction AZ | 10-10 | 35.37 | 24.80 | 60.17 | |||
| 2 Ray Serrano | Pacifica CA | 10-10 | 28.01 | 31.45 | 59.46 | |||
| 3 Troy Diatte | Salinas CA | 10-10 | 6.09 | 28.23 | 30.82 | 59.05 | ||
| 4 Greg Sallee | Discovery Bay CA | 10-10 | 38.34 | 19.97 | 58.31 | |||
| 5 William Aden | Middletown CA | 10-10 | 8.17 | 24.60 | 31.87 | 56.47 | ||
| 6 Charlie Crawford | Peoria AZ | 10-10 | 27.40 | 27.48 | 54.88 | |||
| 7 Derek Andersen | Meadow Vista CA | 10-10 | 5.05 | 26.47 | 28.30 | 54.77 | ||
| 8 Cheng Xiong | Oroville CA | 10-10 | 36.42 | 17.89 | 54.31 | |||
| 9 Kevin Gross | Redding CA | 10-10 | 7.96 | 29.05 | 24.97 | 54.02 | ||
| 10 Geoff Peterson | Huntington Beach CA | 10-10 | 27.23 | 26.40 | 53.63 | |||
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 – Lake Shasta – Champion Joe Uribe
April 9 to 11, 2025 – Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2025 – Lake Havasu
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 – Lake Mead
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 – U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2025 WON Bass California Open at Clear Lake is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing, Megaware Keelguard and GRatt.
Local presenting sponsors are the City of Lakeport and Clearlake Outdoors.
