BY DAN O’SULLIVAN
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 2026 WON Bass Open season started at Clear Lake, the famed big bass fishery in Northern California. At the Winter Open, Garrett Ellenson, from Nine Mile Falls, Wash. Burst onto the scene with a three-day winning weight that pushed 100 pounds. Fast forward to the 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury – which concluded today – and the statement would have to be made that “it was Deja vu all over again.”
Ellenson began the final morning in second place with 70.37 pounds behind fellow Washingtonian Ty Manterola, who led after day two with 70.39 pounds. With such a small margin between the anglers, it really was anyone’s trophy to grab, and the outcome was very much in doubt as the final anglers weighed-in a Lakeport, California’s Library Park.
Santa Maria, Calif. Pro Patrick Touhey, who opened the final day in sixth place, took the lead with five anglers left to weigh-in with 91.95 pounds for the three-day endeavor. When Ellenson placed his bag on the scales, his limit of 25.50 pounds brought his three-day weight to 95.87 pounds. All that was left to figure out was if Manterola could continue his streak of heavy bags. The Pasco, Wash pro’s 20.37 pound limit would not be enough and Ellenson would win his second WON Bass Open of the 2026 season.
To put things in perspective, in his wins at Clear Lake this year, Ellenson has totaled 194.24 pounds for the two events, an average of just over 32.37 pounds per day over six days of competition.
In winning the 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury Ellenson earned his second WON Bass prize boat, a 2026 Ranger Boats Z518 powered by a Mercury ProXS 150 prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops. The prize boat is valued at $55,000 and his $4550 cash portion of the purse plus a $1,000 Big Stringer award for a total prize of $60,500.
Touhey finished the event in second place with 91.95 pounds. After leading the first two days of the competition, Manterola finished in third place with 90.76 pounds. John Pearl of Upper Lake, Calif., the 2025 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Champion finished in fourth place with 89.62 pounds and Mason McAbee of Bakersfield, Calif. rounded out the top five in the pro division with 89.55 pounds.
Ellenson reported cycling through multiple spots in the Red Bud and Rattlesnake arms of Clear Lake each day in order to catch his fish. He also reported that he was not able to predict which areas would fire best each day, so he had to work through the progressions to produce his results. “I never knew which areas would go and I had to fish them several times to find the timing for the day,” he said. “I hit each spot several times and presented the lure to them in order to see who was ready to play.”
Ellenson stated that he used a similar approach to his winning pattern at the Winter event but had to change the size of his jighead and the color of the bait. “I used a 5-inch Z-Man Scented Jerk Shad in Electric Shad color on an 1/8-ounce Cipher Tungsten Jighead,” he said. “I threw it on a NRX 902 with a 2500 Stella and Seaguar PEX8 Braid to an 8-pound-test leader of Tatsu Fluorocarbon line.” He reported catching his fish anywhere from 5 to 25 feet deep.
He said that he was not expecting to be in this position as he came to the scales. “I didn’t have my fifth fish until 20 minutes prior to check-in, and I had broken off a fish early today, so I really didn’t think I had a chance to win,” he said. “It’s absolutely surreal to have won this event today, I could not have imagined doing this when I started fishing these events last season – it’s just absolutely crazy.”
Touhey, who has seen his share of close calls in WON Bass events over the past several seasons, showed that he is one of the most consistent anglers on the tour no matter the fishery. He was one of the few anglers who reported using a pair of completely opposite techniques and areas to produce his weight. “I started each morning out in the mouth of Holliday Harbor targeting a shad spawn with a Ghost Minnow colored Lucky Craft LV 500,” he said. “After that, I would head south and start working the docks and suspended fish with my Forward Facing Sonar and a Coike in shallow water around docks and a jighead minnow for the suspended fish.”
He reported using 20-pound Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon line spooled on Shimano DC 150 and an IRod Lonestar Special rod for the lipless crankbait. For his fineese tactics, he paired 4-inch Z-Man Scented Jerk Shad in The Deal color with a 1/32-ounce jighead on an IRod Gen III 772, and 15-pound braided line with a 15-pound-test leader to insure landing the fish.
While he is content with the consistency and high finishes, Touhey said he is looking forward to being able to record a victory. “I’m not gonna lie, I am looking forward to being able to do just a little bit more and win one of these things,” he said. “I know I have been fishing pretty well, but I lost two key fish this week that would have put me over the top and I can’t do that and expect to win against these guys – I’m going to get back to work and try to keep improving.”
In the AAA Division, Mahlon Everhart of Las Cruces, NM took the victory with a three-day total weight of 95.30 pounds, he earned $5200 for his efforts.
Second place in the AAA Division went to Bryan Kurata of Thousand Oaks, Calif. with 79.51 pounds. He ws followed in third place by Chuck Kavros of Grass Valley, Calif. with 79.09 pounds. Fourth place went to Sean Impeartrice of Los Banos, Calif. with 78.39 pounds and Lawrence Marquez of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. filled out the top five with 75.89 pounds.
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins aired 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.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/clear-lake-2024-pairings-results.
2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Final Pro Standings
Place Angler Hometown Fish Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total
1 Garrett Ellenson Nine Mile Falls WA 15-15 32.59 37.78 25.50 95.87
2 Patrick Touey Santa Maria CA 15-15 28.03 30.78 33.14 91.95
3 Ty Manterola Pacso WA 15-15 36.78 33.61 20.37 90.76
4 John Pearl Upper Lake CA 15-15 24.11 31.94 33.57 89.62
5 Mason McAbee Bakersfield CA 14-14 23.49 28.20 37.86 89.55
6 James Hawkinson Chico CA 15-15 23.89 29.57 35.25 88.71
7 Nathan Phillips Cobb CA 15-15 26.66 32.08 29.76 88.50
8 Joey Walton Lewiston ID 15-15 29.31 26.56 27.40 83.27
9 Daniel Andrusaitis Durham CA 15-15 31.56 29.19 21.11 81.86
10 Lane Olson Forest Grove OR 15-15 31.23 21.93 28.60 81.76
2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Final AAA Standings
Place Angler Hometown Fish Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total
1 Mahlon Everhart Las Cruces NM 14-14 29.27 30.78 35.25 95.30
2 Bryan Kurata Thousand Oaks CA 15-15 28.00 37.78 13.73 79.51
3 Chuck Kavros Grass Valley CA 15-15 26.53 19.42 33.14 79.09
4 Sean Impeartrice Los Banos CA 15-15 34.77 26.56 17.06 78.39
5 Lawrence Marquez Lake Havasu City AZ 15-15 27.34 16.30 32.25 75.89
6 Alan Bongio Eureka CA 13-13 29.31 30.42 16.08 75.81
7 Scott Green Windsor CA 15-15 28.03 30.42 15.81 74.26
8 Larry M. Marquez Lake Havasu AZ 13-13 31.56 33.55 8.29 73.40
9 Kevin Gross Anderson CA 15-15 27.52 23.69 21.18 72.39
10 Ron Casner Rosevelt AZ 14-14 29.02 25.30 17.35 71.67
The 2026 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:
Jan. 8 to 10, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion Garrett Ellenson – 98.37 pounds
Feb. 19 to 21, 2026 – Lake Shasta – Champion Brennan Osborn – 62.28 pounds
April 16 to 18, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion – Garrett Ellenson – 95.87 pounds
May 7 to 9, 2026 – Lake Havasu
Oct. 9 to 11, 2026 – U.S. Open at Lake Mead
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2026 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open was brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Bridgford Foods, AFTCO, Power Pole, Costa, Berkley, Gamakatsu, Okuma, Lowrance, Stealth Lithium Batteries, Daiwa, G-Ratt Baits, Reese Fishing, Signature Gates, Abu Garcia, DD26 and Fenwick
Local presenting sponsors were Clearlake Outdoors and the City of Lakeport
DAY 2
Ellenson Moves to Second place, closes gap to .02-pound
LAKEPORT, Calif. – When the 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury started the second morning, there was an air of “anything could happen.” With the reputation of Clear Lake as one of the top bass fishing lakes in the country, one that produces giant bass and giant stringers of bass on a regular basis, those expectations were warranted.
Ty Manterola of Pasco, Wash. Began the second morning in the lead with 36.78 pounds, and after producing 33.61, he maintained his lead with a two-day total of 70.39 pounds. Gary Collins, from Upperlake, Calif., who started the day in second place with 34.77 pounds would post another big bag with 30.42 pounds and finish day-two with 65.19 pounds.
However impressive that performance was, Collins would find himself in third place as Garrett Ellenson, the reigning WON Bass Winter Open Champion from Nine Mile Falls, Wash. Earned victory at Clear Lake this past January with a three day weight of 98.37 pounds, posted a 37.78-pound limit to add to his first day’s 32.59 pounds to land into the runner up spot with 70.37 pounds – .02 pounds behind the leader.
Day three will begin with some very real anticipation and tension as these two pros from The Evergreen State will trade blows to try and claim victory and the keys to the top prize, a 2026 Ranger Boats Z518 powered by a Mercury ProXS 150 prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops.
As stated previously, Collins stood third at the end of day two with 65.19 and Durham, Calif. pro Daniel Andrusaitis backed up his first day weight of 31.56 pounds with a 29.19-pound limit to remain in fourth place and Santa Maria, Calif. pro Troy Fernandes add a limit of 30.42 pounds to his 29.27-pound four fish performance from day one to move into fifth place with 59.69 pounds.
Manterola, who had the majority of his day one weight by nine o’clock on day one revealed that he struggled to relocate his biggest fish early. “I only had 18 pounds at ten o’clock this morning,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure on the lake and there is so much bait in the water I had to make some adjustments and move around a bit to locate better bites, and it took most of the day.”
Manterola reported using the same combination of baits from day one; the Smokey Shad colored Strike King Z-Too and Green Pumpkin Strike King Tumbleweed in conjunction with his BassBoatWired tuned Forward Facing Sonar. “I used the same approach but the fish had repositioned and it took so long to find them, I couldn’t dial it in completely,” he said. “I know it’s probably going to be similar tomorrow, I just hope I can make it happen faster, and it’s going to take getting a really good kicker to win tomorrow, and I just didn’t find it today. I’m going to give it all I can tomorrow.”
Ellenson reported rotating through several areas throughout the lake targeting quality fish with his Forward Facing Sonar and a “shad colored Z-Man Jerk Shadz” lure. “I only got 10 bites today, but they were the right ones,” he said. “I am moving around quite a bit, hitting multiple areas catching one fish here and one fish there – I’m hoping I can do it again tomorrow, I think it’s going to take at least a 34-pound limit to win.”
In the AAA Division Bryan Kurata of Thousand Oaks, Calif. took the lead with a two-day total of 65.78 pounds. Larry M. Marquez of Lake Havasu, Ariz. moved to second place with 65.11 pounds. Sean Impeartrice of Los Banos, Calif. ended the day in third place with 61.33 pounds. Mahlon Everheart of Las Cruces, NM. ended the day in fourth place with 60.05 pounds and Alan Bongio from Eureka, Calif. rounded out the top five with 59.73 pounds.
The winner of the 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury will receive the 2026 Ranger Boats Z518 powered by a Mercury ProXS 150 prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops.
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins airs 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.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/clear-lake-2024-pairings-results.
2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Day One Pro Standings
Place Angler Hometown Day 1 Day 2 Total
1 Ty Manterola Pacso WA 36.78 33.61 70.39
2 Garrett Ellenson Nine Mile Falls WA 32.59 37.78 70.37
3 Gary Collins Upperlake CA 34.77 30.42 65.19
4 Daniel Andrusaitis Durham CA 31.56 29.19 60.75
5 Troy Fernandes Santa Maria CA 29.27 30.42 59.69
6 Patrick Touey Santa Maria CA 28.03 30.78 58.81
7 Nathan Phillips Cobb CA 26.66 32.08 58.74
8 John Pearl Upper Lake CA 24.11 31.94 56.05
9 Joey Walton Lewiston ID 29.31 26.56 55.87
10 James Hawkinson Chico CA 23.89 29.57 53.46
2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Day One AAA Standings
Place Angler Hometown Day 1 Day 2 Total
1 Bryan Kurata Thousand Oaks CA 28 37.78 65.78
2 Larry M. Marquez Lake Havasu AZ 31.56 33.55 65.11
3 Sean Impeartrice Los Banos CA 34.77 26.56 61.33
4 Mahlon Everhart Las Cruces NM 29.27 30.78 60.05
5 Alan Bongio Eureka CA 29.31 30.42 59.73
6 Scott Green Windsor CA 28.03 30.42 58.45
7 Ron Casner Rosevelt AZ 29.02 25.3 54.32
8 Kevin Gross Redding CA 27.52 23.69 51.21
9 Kenneth (Troy) Duke Oakdale CA 27.36 23.11 50.47
10 Jim Buckles Riverside CA 27.08 23.29 50.37
The 2026 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:
Jan. 8 to 10, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion Garrett Ellenson – 98.37 pounds
Feb. 19 to 21, 2026 – Lake Shasta – Champion Brennan Osborn – 62.28 pounds
April 16 to 18, 2026 – Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2026 – Lake Havasu
Oct. 5 to 7, 2026 – 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 2026 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2026 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Bridgford Foods, AFTCO, Power Pole, Costa, Berkley, Gamakatsu, Okuma, Lowrance, Stealth Lithium Batteries, Daiwa, G-Ratt Baits, Reese Fishing, Signature Gates, Abu Garcia, DD26 and Fenwick
Local presenting sponsors are Clearlake Outdoors and the City of Lakeport
DAY 1
Manterola Leads Day 1 of WON Bass Clear Lake Open with 36.78 pounds
Collins in Second Place with 34.77 pounds – Top Five Eclipse 30 pounds
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Leading up to the 2026 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury, the field was treated to warm temperatures in the mid 80’s and All-American Chamber of Commerce weather. As practice commenced, temperatures dropped as much as 20 degrees and the 136 Pro and AAA partners will now be forced to bundle up in their full AFTCO cold weather gear.
However the temperatures and conditions change, the reality is that this is Clear Lake, one of the top bass fisheries in the world and there are going to be heavy bags and big fish presented at the scales. Bill Egan, WON Bass Tournament Director reported that fishing was not great, but was hearing that some of the field was feeling confident. “I talked to guys who said that they were expecting to have limits that weighed in the 30’s,” said Egan. “It is Clear Lake and that is possible, but we’ll have to see once weigh-in begins.”
The chatter proved to be accurate as Ty Manterola of Pasco, Wash. and his AAA partner Tom Warren of Maricopa, Ariz. smashed 36.78 pounds to take the day-one lead of the event. Gary Collins of Upperlake, Calif. and his AAA partner Sea Impeartrice of Los Banos, Calif. posted 34.77 pounds on the day to stand in the runner-up position after the opening round.
Garrett Ellenson of Nine Mile Falls, Wash. and his day one AAA Charles Butcher of Cloverdale, Calif. weighed 32.59 pounds to finish the day in third place. Fourth place for the day went to Durham, Calif. pro Daniel Andrusaitis and his AAA partner Larry M. Marquez of Lake Havasu, Ariz. with 31.56 pounds, and Pro Chris Perez of Rocklin, Calif. and AAA Jeffrey Stone of Phoenix, Ariz. bagged 31.23 pounds to round out the top five.
No stranger to big weights, Manterola reported having to run all new water today to avoid crowds. “I really needed to find fresh fish, so I got away from the crowds today and went to the midlake area and stayed in that area all day,” he said. I used my Forward Facing Sonar setup by BassBoatWired to locate my fish, but the bite wasn’t easy; I only caught eight or ten fish today – they were just the right ones.”
Using his electronics, Manterola targeted them with a 4-inch Smokey Shad Strike King Z-Too and Green Pumpkin Tumbleweed. “I ran around in the area and gave them a chance to rest in between visits,” he reported. “I had a 30-pound limit early in the day and then cycled through again later and culled up by about five pounds with two key bites this afternoon. It’s not easy out here, and I could fall on my face tomorrow, but I’m going to give it a shot.”
Collins has been a part of a lot of big finishes on Clear Lake with his friend John Pearl over the years, so it is no surprise to see him in the upper reaches of the leaderboard. He reported using a dice style bait and a minnow, with his day one partner using a Ned Rig – finessing fish into biting. “I’ve got a couple of areas that I’m cycling through that are prespawn areas that have some good fresh fish,” he said. “I’m fishing them in 8 to 10 feet of water using Finesse tactics – some on Forward Facing Sonar and some just casting. I’m very comfortable with what I’m doing and feel pretty good about how things can go tomorrow.”
Each of the top five weights eclipsed the 30-pound barrier and everyone in the top 10 weighed more than 28 pounds for their limit. There were also a pair of 10-pound fish weighed in the opening round. Jason Marquez of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. brought the big bass of the first day to the scales with an 11.49 pound largemouth and AAA Stone caught the largest bass of the AAA division with a 10.36-pound largemouth.
The winner of the 2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury will receive the 2026 Ranger Boats Z518 powered by a Mercury ProXS 150 prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops.
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins airs 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.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/clear-lake-2024-pairings-results.
2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Day One Pro Standings
| Place | Angler | Hometown | B/B | Day 1 |
| 1 | Ty Manterola | Pacso WA | 8.57 | 36.78 |
| 2 | Gary Collins | Upperlake CA | 9.19 | 34.77 |
| 3 | Garrett Ellenson | Nine Mile Falls WA | 8.02 | 32.59 |
| 4 | Daniel Andrusaitis | Durham CA | 31.56 | |
| 5 | Chris Perez | Rocklin CA | 8.55 | 31.29 |
| 6 | Lane Olson | Forest Grove OR | 8.29 | 31.23 |
| 7 | Joey Walton | Lewiston ID | 7.58 | 29.31 |
| 8 | Troy Fernandes | Santa Maria CA | 9.66 | 29.27 |
| 9 | Jason Marquez | Lake Havasu City AZ | 11.49 | 29.02 |
| 10 | Wayne Evan George | Alpine CA | 7.86 | 28.57 |
2026 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Day One AAA Standings
| Place | Angler | Hometown | B/B | Day 1 |
| 1 | Tom Warren | Maricopa AZ | 36.78 | |
| 2 | Sean Impeartrice | Los Banos CA | 34.77 | |
| 3 | Charles Butcher | Cloverdale CA | 32.59 | |
| 4 | Larry M. Marquez | Lake Havasu AZ | 31.56 | |
| 5 | Jeffrey Stone | Phoenix AZ | 10.36 | 31.29 |
| 6 | Dave Amato | Lincoln CA | 31.23 | |
| 7 | Alan Bongio | Eureka CA | 29.31 | |
| 8 | Mahlon Everhart | Las Cruces NM | 29.27 | |
| 9 | Ron Casner | Rosevelt AZ | 29.02 | |
| 10 | Jim Spillers | Bakersfield CA | 28.57 |
The 2026 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:
Jan. 8 to 10, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion Garrett Ellenson – 98.37 pounds
Feb. 19 to 21, 2026 – Lake Shasta – Champion Brennan Osborn – 62.28 pounds
April 16 to 18, 2026 – Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2026 – Lake Havasu
Oct. 5 to 7, 2026 – 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 2026 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2026 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Bridgford Foods, AFTCO, Power Pole, Costa, Berkley, Gamakatsu, Okuma, Lowrance, Stealth Lithium Batteries, Daiwa, G-Ratt Baits, Reese Fishing, Signature Gates, Abu Garcia, DD26 and Fenwick
Local presenting sponsors are Clearlake Outdoors and the City of Lakeport
