California Bass Contenders

The 2025 season has been a battle from start to finish, and with only a couple of events left on the calendar, the Angler of the Year (AOY) race is tighter than ever. Every cast, every hook set, and every ounce at weigh-in matters from here on out.

The latest AOY standings are posted! The leaderboard is starting to take shape as the season heats up. Every event is making a big difference, and it’s still anyone’s race. Check out the updated standings below and see where you stack up against the competition.   Click to expand.

Castaic in August! Normally, you’re out there cooking like a rotisserie chicken sweating balls. But this time, Mother Nature cut us some slack. A cloud layer hung around till 10 a.m., keeping the whole lake nice and cool, which is basically like finding air conditioning in the desert at this place. But before we even […]

  Ah, Diamond Valley Lake in July—where the bass are stingy, the sun is mean, and the odds of a six-pounder are roughly the same as finding a needle in a haystack as of late. Still, nine fearless teams showed up, armed with their expertise, optimism, and varying degrees of SPF and hydration. I, unfortunately, […]

The California Bass Contenders made their sixth stop of the year at none other than Piru Lake – you know, that body of water you drive by while traveling north on the 5 and say, “Wait, isn’t that the offramp you take to Piru?” before flooring it toward Pyramid or Castaic .  Piru Lake is […]

May 17th brought the California Bass Contenders to the higher elevated and occasionally cooperative waters of Pyramid Lake. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to witness any of it, but here is the breakdown. Let’s get into it: 🥇 Dr. Randy & Johnny – 16.31 lbsTeam Randy/Johnny crushed it with a 16+ pound sack and took home […]

Havasu in April. The sun was out, the water was clear, and the bass were practically throwing themselves into boats… especially during practice. Our two-day showdown on Lake Havasu started off like a dream for some of us — calm water, fish on beds, and enough photo ops to make it look like we knew […]

It was a very long drive down south to just a few miles away from the southern US border for twenty six eager Bass Contenders. When the first round bell sounded, it was on mano-a-mano. The “Battle At The Border” started at O-dark thirty when all thirteen teams launched under the pitch black Chula Vista […]