OROVILLE, Calif. – The final day of the season-ending bass battle of the BAM Pro Tour concluded today as Ken Mah of Elk Grove, Calif. cruised to a blowout win at the Thermalito Afterbay with a five fish limit that tipped the scales at 29.82, gapping the runner-up by more than 12-pounds. Mah’s effort earned a $12,073 payday.
“Today was crazy,” said Mah reflecting on his second major victory at the Oroville fishery. “I’m humbled, I’m blessed, and I’m thankful. It’s so hard to win even one of these multi-day events. It’s crazy to win anywhere, even once, but to win here again – I’m speechless.”
Mah qualified for the event’s Championship Sunday with the second heaviest weight at 32.69, accumulated over the first two days of fishing. Blasting off with a reset of the leaderboard to zero, the top-10 launched for their last limit to determine the winner. Fish management was an integral part of Mah’s strategy.
“The first day I fished a Chatter with a Big Bite Bait’s Kamikaze Swimon trailer,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, but I caught ‘em fairly early and once I got to my target weight, I was able to fish loose.”
A finicky bite forced Mah to adjust for his Clear Lake-sized bag on Day Three. He credited the River2Sea Phat Mat Daddy frog and a flippin’ stick for the bigs.
“I glued a 1-ounce weight and 80-pound Sunline braid on a 7’11” Loomis flippin’ stick to my hand and went to work,” he said.
His flippin’ plastics included both a YoMama and College Craw from Big Bite Baits and a Missile Baits Craw Father. A specific, slow retrieve that included a subtle shake after bottom contact was imperative for Mah.
O’Shinn Flipped for Five
Auburn, Calif. pro Bill O’Shinn qualified for the final day by a keeper count of 12 scorable bass that put him 8th place, with his heaviest limits giving him a two-day total of 20.56 or an average of 10-pounds a day. For Championship Sunday, he upped that to five fish for 17.10 to secure 2nd place and pocket a payout of $5,644.
“Today was slow,” O’Shinn shared. “I was getting one fish every hour or two. I only got five or six bites all day, but mid-day, I figured out something else about where they were positioning and I was able to get a few key bites, which gave me the bag that catapulted me into 2nd.
Every fish catch for O’Shinn came on a flippin’ stick.
“I flipped a Pro Point Lures The Bug,” he revealed. “It has got little tentacles like a Twin Tail Grub, but it is compact enough to get into the thick stuff. It has good action and with a 1¼ ounce weight, I was getting way back in there and that seemed to work.”
O’Shinn mentioned his biggest challenge was location – finding fish that hadn’t been pressured over the course of the tournament.
“Staying mentally sound through that was important,” he concluded.
Monroe’s Water Turned Cold
Fishing shallow, Ish Monroe from Oakdale, Calif. led the event for each of the first two days of competition by both weight and keepers. His two-day total of 41.00, left him more than five-pounds above his nearest competitor. With no leaderboard carryover to Championship Sunday, Monroe’s final standing locked in him 3rd with 16.79 to bank $4,715.
“It was a good tournament, leading the first two days with 20 pounds,” Monroe said. “Anytime you have a tournament like that, it’s a great event. The best thing was being able to catch ‘em froggin’ and flippin’ – especially when you’re catching good ones doing it.”
Monroe felt his biggest challenge was the need to adjust to the venue’s fluctuating water temperature.
“Today I had water coming in that was a little bit colder, and I knew I should run a little further away, but I didn’t because I felt like the area that I had didn’t get as much pressure like the warmer water,” he said.
Over the course of the three days, Monroe put two presentations to use.
“I threw my (River2Sea) Phat Mat Daddy frog for the first day, and then mixed in Missile Baits the next day, he said. “Today it was all Missile, except one frog fish that didn’t weigh.”
Monroe tied his frog to Daiwa’s 70-pound Samurai braided line spooled to a 7.1:1 Daiwa Zillion reel paired to a Daiwa Tatula Elite Series 7’4’ frog rod. He flipped with a Daiwa Tatula Elite Series Ish Monroe 8’ Punching/Flippin’ rod</strong> with a Daiwa 7.1:1 Pitch/Flip reel with the same Daiwa Samurai braid.
His flip rig held a 5/0 River2Sea New Jack Flippin’ Hook, a punch stop and a 1-ounce Anglers King tungsten weight. “The weigh is exclusively available at Fisherman’s Warehouse,” added Monroe.
Pearson Claims Angler of the Year Title
Going into the final BAM Pro Tour event of 2024, Colby Pearson of Central Point, Ore was leading the Angler of the Year (AOY) points race. Monroe was hot his heels as a mere seven points separated the anglers. The honor was up in the air all the way into the final day of the Thermalito competition.
“If Ish would’ve won (Thermalito) we would’ve tied for AOY, unless I got 9th or better,” said Pearson. “I had four top-10s and the fact that there even was any Angler of the Year race after four top-10’s is amazing, in itself. So, props to Ish. We have been duking it out all year and I couldn’t have been going against a better guy.”
With Thermalito as a bookend on the BAM Pro Tour 2024 schedule, Pearson was thankful to finish out the year strong.
“This place was a thorn in my side,” he said. “Coming from Oregon, we don’t punch for bass, and I knew I was far out of my element. So, I was a little nervous coming in. I figured I would be holding on for dear life; but I knew if I got another top-10, it would put a little bit of pressure on Ish.”
Pearson’s four top-10’s included back-to-back wins at Lake Martinez and Lake Almanor to start BAM’s season.
“Martinez was my first major win, exclaimed Pearson. This year has been amazing, and I can’t wait for next year and the BAM Super 60,”
Note: BAM Pro Tour anglers are ranked in Pro Tour events by both the heaviest five fish limit (Weight) and numbers of scorable bass caught (Keepers).
First place is held by the angler with the five heaviest bass and second place is the highest keeper count. The standings then continue to alternate by weight/keepers.
Anglers ranked by weight on the leaderboard are denoted with an asterisk.
Anglers add to both of their Day One rankings on Day Two as an accumulated two-day total. Once both days are tallied, the field is cut to the top-10, all results are zero-ed out and the final 10 anglers fish for the five heaviest bass on Day Three to determine the champion.
Place/Angler/Big Fish/Day 3 Weight/Place Winnings/Contingency or Big Fish Dollars/Total Payout
1 Ken Mah 29.82 $11,573 $500 $12,073
2 Bill O’Shinn 17.10 $5,144 $500 $5,644
3 Ish Monroe 16.79 $4,715 $4,715
4 Nicholas Cloutier 15.84 $4,286 $4,286
5 Luke Johns 15.45 $3,858 $3,858
6 Jake Boomer 13.73 $3,429 $3,429
7 Jason Bradshaw 7.19 12.57 $2,572 $675 $3,247
8 Hayden Lee 11.84 $2,572 $2,572
9 Colby Pearson 8.64 $2,357 $2,357
10 Greg Gutierrez 4.27 $2,357 $2,357
Full Results 2024 BAM Pro Tour Thermalito Afterbay Day One
Full Results 2024 BAM Pro Tour Thermalito Afterbay Day Two
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The Bass Boat Technologies televised BAM Pro Tour at the Oroville Afterbay is presented by Tackle Warehouse, Gold Country Casino and the Oroville Chamber of Commerce
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