Colby Pearson Picks Up His Second BAM Pro Tour Championship Title On Lake Almanor | Bass Angler Magazine
WESTWOOD, Calif. – With back-to-back wins, Colby Pearson of Central Point, Ore. claimed his second BAM Pro Tour victory in as many of the circuit’s events with 16.52 for his best five-fish in the final field cut of Championship Sunday earning $14,788 for the feat.
Less than 60 days ago, Pearson was hoisting his trophy for the first-ever BAM Pro Tour on Lake Martinez. “I knew I was the only one to have the opportunity to go back-to-back,” he said. “and (to do that) I fished my butt off all week.”
Consistently in the top-10 each day, he closed the scales on Day One in 6th place for 11 scorable bass with a best five of 15.55.
“I started in the mid-lake region at my first spot, and was sharing water with Ken Mah, but didn’t really have anything by about 10 a.m., so it was crunch time,” he shared. “I ended up catching ‘em all between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., finessing ‘em and I did catch some on a crankbait.”
His finesse lures included minnow baits and small swimbaits. He leaned on the crankbait on the first day throwing it on a 7’, medium-heavy iROD Quercus with a Shimano Bantam reel spooled with 10-pound fluorocarbon.
“I was trying to get a little bit deeper, because my fish were in 11 to 18-feet,” Pearson revealed. “A lot of guys were bed fishing, but I noticed that those deeper fish were pre-spawn, super-healthy, and had beautiful clean tails. So, I think that was an advantage, because my fish were still egg-laden.”
Pearson added in some finesse options on the second day of competition.
“I was throwing those (finesse baits) on a G2 Finessee, a Greg Gutierrez designed, 7’3” one power rod by iROD with really light braid and a 4-pound fluorocarbon leader,” he said.
By Day Two’s end, he moved one position into 5th with a two-day total of 30.39 and a total keeper count of 19.
“I dumped off three fish, so I was kind of in that 10 or 11 bites a day range,” he added. “It was the same thing today, (10 or 11 bites) when I made some culls late in the day and end up getting’ it done.”
For his final day, Pearson had a limit by 6:49 a.m. and began to cull. “The quick blast off let me take advantage of that early gray light with the finesse gear,” he stated. “All my key fish were on finesse.
“I felt really confident going in and fishing behind people. I knew the fish were going to be pretty pressured and using four-pound line assisted me in getting the fish that guys were leaving on the table.”
With the biggest bags of the first two days weighing in at mid-16’s, Pearson was fairly certain a five-fish limit over 16-pounds would be what he would need to seal the deal.
“I was really coasting on about 13-pounds, and I knew I needed two bigger fish in order to get me in the vicinity,” he said. “At about 1:45 p.m. or 2 in the afternoon, I caught two fish that culled a good amount of pounds and got me from 13 to 16. At that point in time, I knew I had an opportunity. It would just take a couple of guys slipping up, but I secured a solid bag and got ‘er done.”
Top-10 BAM Pro Tour Lake Almanor Day Two
Angler Hometown Day 3 Weight Place Winnings Big Fish $ BBT Garmin Total Payout
Colby Pearson Central Point, OR 16.52 $14,288 $500.00 $14,788.00
Ish Monroe Oakdale, CA 16.00 $6,191 $500.00 $6,691.00
Zack Thompson Alameda, CA 15.79 $4,763 $4,763.00
Mark Pilgrim Chester, CA 15.29 $4,286 $4,286.00
Jake Boomer Spokane Valley, WA 15.29 $3,810 $725.00 $4,535.00
Hayden Lee Angels Camp, CA 14.16 $3,334 $3,334.00
Nicholas Cloutier Oakley, CA 12.50 $2,858 $2,858.00
Luke Johns Folsom, CA 12.13 $2,619 $2,619.00
Conrad Demecs Peoria, AZ 11.82 $2,619 $2,619.00
Nick Wood Yreka, CA 6.39 $2,619 $2,619.00
BAM Pro Tour Lake Almanor Day Two Full Results
Note: BAM Pro Tour anglers are ranked in the Pro Tour events by both biggest five fish limit and numbers of scorable bass caught. First place is held by the angler with five biggest bass and second place is the highest keeper count. The standings then continue to alternate by weight/numbers. Anglers ranked by weight are denoted with an asterisk. Field will be cut at end of Day Two.
2024 BAM Pro Tour Next Stop
The third BAM Pro Tour event will be held at the Columbia River. More info is available here.
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