BY DAN O’SULLIVAN and MIKE STEVENS
LAKE HAVASU CITY – It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been a year since Roy Hawk held off Ian Boehm by about a pound-and-a-half to lock up the 2025 WON BASS Lake Havasu Open. A three-day total of 54.62 pounds sealed the deal for Hawk with Boehm (53.16), Shane Edgar (51.55) Ty Manterola (50.22) and Brandon Kuehl (48.81) rounding out the Top 5.
Hawk said that he spent the tournament in the north end of the lake, fitting in where he could amongst the pressure.
“I know this lake really well, so I ran around looking for spots I could sit on and make a few casts before the company arrived,” he said. “I have so many different pieces of structure I can fish that I ran around and just ‘felt’ what the lake was telling me and made the right casts.”
He went on to say most of his fish were on reaction stuff, specifically shallow and mid-running crankbaits and a bladed jig. Hawk did say one of his keepers came on an old Roboworm Zipper which he deployed after a follow and refusal of one of his crankbaits.
For Hawk, the win came with memories, and at a good time.
“I won my first ‘Pro’ tournament right here on Lake Havasu in 2003, and it was a WON BASS event; so, it feels really cool to have this kind of come full circle here,” he said. “It’s been a little bit of a rough road, and this win really comes at a good time for me and my family. It’s just a testament to how God takes care of His people, it’s also really amazing to do this in front of my family and friends; and I’m humbled by the whole experience.”
Second place finisher Boehm fished at the South end of the lake and said that he used a variety of baits to trigger his fish this week. “I caught some on a Vixen and I flipped some around grass,” he said. “But, I cove hopped back from the Bill Williams area and targeted fish cages with my forward-facing sonar and a Deps Sakamata Shad.”
The AAA Division Champion was Craig Paclik from North Las Vegas with a total weight of 52.36 pounds. Second place in the AAA Divison was earned by Ernie Gorham (50.49 pounds), Alex Onofrei from Mesa, Ariz. finished third with 48.83 pounds, fourth place went to David Shearrer of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. with 48.67 pounds and Mie Walsh of El Cajon, Calif. made up the top five in the AAA Division with 47.79 pounds.
Each of the pros and AAA anglers who finish in the top five also earned a Golden Ticket berth into the 2026 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. That is also the case on the 2026 WON BASS Tournament Trail.
The 2026 Lake Havasu Open is coming up (May 7-9). For more information and to register, visit WONBASSevents.com
