WWBT NEWS

WWBT – DELTA TOP-10 BAITS
Presented by The City Of Oakley By David A. Brown Notching his first Wild West Bass Trail win, Hunter Schlander caught some of his early fish by punching a watermelon red Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver and covering water with a 3/8-ounce Z-Man...

Schlander Claims Close Victory on Delta Home Waters
Presented by The City Of Oakley By David A. Brown OAKLEY, Calif. — Success on the water starts between the ears and Hunter Schlander’s mental game served him well, as the Modesto, Calif. pro made the right decisions and won the Wild West Bass...

Better Numbers Put Huntze on Top of Delta Field
Presented by The City Of Oakley By David A. Brown OAKLEY, Calif. — Finding the right balance of quantity and quality, Logan Huntze tallied a 2-day total of 36.43 pounds to take over the Day 2 lead of the Wild West Bass Trail Duel on the Delta presented by City...

Leonard Exploits Fry-Laden Area for Delta Lead
Presented by The City Of Oakley By David A. Brown OAKLEY, Calif. — You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but it’s nice to know what makes him run fast. That’s kinda how Gregg Leonard of Wilton, Calif. contemplated the areas that produced a 5-bass...

WILD WEST BASS TRAIL Partners with the City of Oakley, CA
Oakley, CA - May 18, 2023 - Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) is delighted to announce a new partnership with the City of Oakley, California. The partnership aims to establish "The Gateway to the Delta," a unique promotional campaign spotlighting the avenue of outdoor...

APEX LAKE ALMANOR TOP-10 BAITS
By David A. Brown Tournament winner Matthew Nadeau caught his fish on a 2.8 and 3.3 Keitech Swing Impact Fat in electric shad on a 3/16-ounce Gamakatsu ball head jig and a Strike King 6XD. Diff Maker: Nadeau fished his Keitechs on a 7-2 medium light...
Open Letter from Greg Gutierrez “Double G”
To honor the memory of his beloved wife of 36 years, Bobbie, longtime pro bass angler, Greg Gutierrez has released the following information. It is with a heavy heart that I report that Bobbie is no longer with us. I am grateful for everyone’s condolences;...

New KPT and Kayak Series Tournament Director Michael Bray
We are excited to announce that the Wild West Bass Trail Kayak Series and Kayak Pro Tour will be under the leadership of Michael Bray as the new tournament director starting in 2023. With his exceptional event management experience gained from his previous work at...

WBS TOP-10 BAITS
By David A. Brown Turning in a wire-to-wire performance, Ken Mah caught a 3-day winning total of 61.54 pounds by a Bill Lewis SB-57 squarebill in Ozark craw and punching heavy cover with a Big Bite Baits Yo Mama in the confusion color and a Big Bite Baits...

A TRULY MAH-SOME PERFORMANCE
By David A. Brown SACRAMENTO, Calif. — He made it look easy, but Ken Mah was quick to clarify that his dominant wire-to-wire victory at the inaugural DiscountTackle.com Western Bass Shootout on the California Delta was anything but. Nevertheless, a 3-day total...

LAKE OROVILLE TOP-10 BAITS | WWBT PRO-AM
By David A. Brown 1. Claiming his first pro-am win, Logan McDaniel caught his biggest fish — a 12.86 — along with several other key fish on an A-rig with 2.8 Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits on 1/32-ounce heads and a 1/8-ounce head with a 3.3 Keitech Swing Impact...

McDaniel Notches First Win at Lake Oroville
By David A. Brown OROVILLE, Calif. — Local pro Logan McDaniel followed a hunch and that intuition led him to the fireworks potential that he leveraged to win the Wild West Bass Trail Pro-Am on Lake Oroville presented by Price Family Dealership with a 3-day total of...

Huge Kicker Lifts McDaniel to Lake Oroville Lead
By David A. Brown OROVILLE, Calif. — Logan McDaniel had a score to settle and when he finally got his shot at redemption, he capitalized on the moment and boated a huge kicker that anchored a 2-day total of 30.10 pounds and propelled him to the lead on Day 2 of the...

Wright Takes Slim Lead on Lake Oroville
OROVILLE, Calif. — Given the challenging conditions, J.R. Wright said he was happy to find his limit of 12.93 pounds that leads Day 1 of the Wild West Bass Trail Pro-Am on Lake Oroville presented by Price Family Dealership. On a tight leaderboard, with only...
2022 APEX CHAMPIONSHIP — FOLSOM LAKE TOP-10 BAITS
By David A. Brown 1. Local pro Luke Johns turned in a convincing performance by catching the winning fish on a 1/4-ounce Owner football head with a 3.3 Keitech Swing Impact Fat. Difference Maker: Johns said the most important element of his setup was the 10-pound...

Late-Day Upgrade Puts Wilson Atop APEX Championship on Folsom
By David A. Brown FOLSOM, Calif. — Austin Wilson figured a mobile strategy would serve him well and sticking with that game plan enabled the pro from Citrus Heights, Calif. to amass a 5-bass limit of 16.23 pounds and lead Day 1 of the APEX Pro Tour Championship...

FOLSOM LAKE WILL WELCOME APEX PRO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY BRIDGFORD FOODS AND VISIT FOLSOM
By Jody Only FOLSOM, Calif. – The APEX Pro Tour Championship, Presented by Bridgford Foods and Visit Folsom, is slated for a Folsom Lake blast-off February 17-19. Qualifying APEX anglers will compete in the three-day bass battle on the Northern...

WWBT PRO-AM – LAKE SHASTA TOP-10 BAITS
By David A. Brown Tournament winner Alex Klein caught his fish on 3.3 and 3.8 Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbaits in the gold flash minnow and smallmouth magic colors on ball heads. A dropshot rigged with a 4-inch Keitech Easy Shiner and a 1/4-ounce...

Klein Overcomes Windy Day for Shasta Lake Win
By David A. Brown REDDING, Calif. — Adjusting to a windy Day 3, APEX pro Alex Klein of Oroville, Calif. tallied a 3-day total of 38.89 pounds to win the Wild West Bass Trail Superclean Showdown on Shasta Lake presented by Bridge Bay at Shasta Lake and Phil’s...

Maes Moves Into Top Spot on Shasta Lake
Pro Angler John Maes at day 2 weigh in By David A. Brown REDDING, Calif. — Focusing on the food paid off for John Maes of Roseville, Calif. whose 2-day total of 26.15 pounds leads the Wild West Bass Trail Superclean Showdown on Shasta Lake presented by Bridge Bay at...

Hellesen’s Patience Pays off with Day 1 Lead on Shasta Lake
By David A. Brown REDDING, Calif. — Fishing’s not always exciting; in fact, some times it’s a real drag. But as long as you’re bending rods, it’s all good. Just ask APEX pro Scott Hellesen of Paso Robles, Calif. whose with Day-1 limit of 14.86 leads the Wild West Bass...

Western Bass Shootout
Sacramento, CA January 13, 2023 The inaugural Western Bass Shootout (WBS) has been finalized and is scheduled for April 14-16, 2023, on the Famed California/Sacramento River Delta. The unified championship event invites the top-performing anglers from the four major...

Jay Kelly Takes Over As New Team Tournament Director
December 2022 – With the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) set to enter its 8th year in 2023. The formidable trail attracts beginners to the highest-level anglers to compete in their Pro/Am, Teams, Kayak, and youth series events. It also operates the APEX Pro...

2022 Season APEX Pro Tour Championship
2022 Apex AOY Scott Hellesen 2022 Season APEX Pro Tour Championship Folsom CA, December 5th, 2022, the 2022 APEX Pro Tour Championship has been finalized and is scheduled for February 17-19, 2023, on Folsom Lake nestled in the highly metropolis cities of Sacramento...

Mick Karshner to become the exclusive emcee for APEX Pro Tour and WWBT Pro/Am’s
December 2022 – With the Wild West Bass Trail set to enter its 8th year in 2023. The formidable trail attracts the highest-level anglers to compete in their Pro/Am, Teams, Kayak, and youth series events. It also operates the APEX Pro Tour, which is the highest...

Pro-Am Championship on Lake Shasta – Top 10 Baits
By David A. Brown Securing his first wire-to-wire win, APEX pro Jeff Michels did most of his work on the main lake and in the Pit River Arm. He caught his fish on a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko and a Strike King 7XD. Difference Maker: For precision...

Michels Goes Wire-to-Wire at Pro-Am Championship on Shasta Lake
By David A. Brown REDDING, Calif. — Knowing when to go is just as important as knowing where to go and APEX pro Jeff Michels proved that point by making a key Day-3 decision that enabled him to sack up the limit he needed to close out a wire-to-wire win at the Wild...

Michels Holds Steady Atop Pro-Am Championship Field on Shasta Lake
By David A. Brown REDDING, Calif. — Jeff Michels had plenty of shots at good fish, but despite what he described as a day of lacking execution, the APEX pro from Lake Head, Calif. managed to retain his lead on Day 2 of the Wild West Bass Trail Pro-Am Championship on...

Persistence Pays Off for Michels with Pro-Am Championship Lead on Shasta
REDDING, Calif. — It was only one fish, but it was the kind of quality meriting a second chance. That mentality paid off in a big way for APEX pro Jeff Michels of Lake Head, Calif., whose 5-bass limit of 12.33 pounds leads Day 1 of the Wild West Bass Trail Pro-Am...

BRANCH BAGS 2022 AOY & WILSON GOES BACK-TO BACK
By Jody Only GLENDALE, Ariz. – Final results are tallied in the 2022 Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) Angler of the Year (AOY) race presented by Price Simms Family. Pro angler John Branch of Yelm, Wash. sits atop the standings. Branch, formerly of Lakeland, Fla. came into...