Bonjour Takes over Command at WON Bass Clear Lake Open

Lakeport, Calif. – April 18, 2024 –– While the mild breezes and warm temperatures at Clear Lake remained for day two of the 2024 WON Bass Ranger Boats Clear Lake Open presented by Mercury, those mild conditions may have played havoc with the leaderboard.  Ideally, stable conditions are the friend of a tournament angler, but when prespawn bass are looking towards spawning beds, a little change in weather can keep them from moving.

With 177 boats entered into the 2024 WON Bass Clear Lake Open, and a waxing moon four days from its peak full, either the pressure or the conditions seemed to throw a wrench into the plans of those who caught them best in the opening rounds.  While several of the anglers who were amongst the leaders on day one remained, the size of their creels were noticeably smaller.

While there were six bags over 30 pounds that came to the scales on day one, only Kurt Dove from Del Rio, Tex. managed to cross that threshold on day two.  Austin Bonjour, from Templeton, Calif. who stood in third place with 33.84 after day one saw his day two weight slip to 25.41 pounds.  However, his total weight of 59.25 pounds moved him into the lead ahead of day one leader Nick Klein from Oroville, Calif.  Klein posted a 21.64-pound limit to bring his total to 57.23 pounds, to finish the day in second place.

Bonjour said that he was two missed opportunities from having his second consecutive 30-pound-limit today.  “I had two six-plus pounders swing and miss my swimbait within sight of the boat today,” he said. “If I land those two fish, I don’t weigh the two four-pounders I weighed, and I’m at 30 pounds again today.”

He said that his bite slowed down overall, but that he felt like he would be able to reach what he needs to finish off the event tomorrow.  “I’m running a pattern all over the lake and having a late boat draw affected my ability to get into spots today, and I’m boat one tomorrow with a long day to fish,” he said.  “I really feel like I can get a couple of bigger bites to get me a long way towards 30 pounds, which is what I think I’ll need tomorrow to win – I feel pretty good about it.”

Klein also reported fewer bites on day two, and only being able to catch five keeper bites.  “I think the pressure on the lake and the moon phase have caused things to change more quickly than I thought it would,” he said.  “I’m going to try to start early and make the adjustments needed to win; I feel like everything is there, I just need to make the right decisions and execute.”

Sliding one spot into third place was Joe Mariani of Winters, Calif. who also saw his weight slip on day two.  His 22.18-pound limit on day two brought his total weight to 56.52 pounds to finish in third place for the day.  Sparks, Nev. pro John Hampel added a 22.94-pound limit on day two to move from sixth place to fourth place at day’s end.  The aforementioned Dove, who found himself in 59^th place with a 19.54-pound day one, climbed all the way to fifth place with a total weight of 51.98 pounds.

Damon Motley, took the lead in the AAA division with a total weight of 56.23 pounds.  He added 25.86 pounds fishing with pro Brett Robbins from Solvang, Calif. to his day one weight of 30.37 pounds to take the lead on day two.  Second place went to Chase Harrel with 55.20, third place AAA went to David Oyler of Boulder City, Nev. with 52.14 pounds.  Fourth place in the AAA division was Nick Dulleck of Roseville, Calif. at 50.82 pounds and day one AAA leader Jiongbo (Bob) Zhang of Walnut Creek, Calif. rounded out the top five with 50.53 pounds.

The top 10 in each division are posted below: for complete standings, visit https://wonbassevents.com/pages/clear-lake-2024-pairings-results

The final day of the Clear Lake Open will commence at Safe Light Friday April 18, 2024, from Library Park in Lakeport, Calif. with the first flight due to return at 2:30 PM.  Daily Weigh-ins are streamed on Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments beginning at 3:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time.

The winner of the 2024 WON Bass Clear Lake Open will earn the Ranger Boats / Mercury Motor prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops, and the Golden Tickets to the 2025 Bassmaster BASS Nation National Championship will be awarded to the top five Pro and AAA anglers and will further develop the season long competition to see who will receive guaranteed slots into the 2025 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers.

The 2024 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada moves next to the California Open at Clear Lake April 17 to 19, 2024.  The series will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October.  The full schedule of the five event dates are as follows:

Jan. 31–Feb. 2, Lake Shasta - Champion Nick Wood – 47.42 pounds

April 17-19, Clear Lake

May 15-17, Lake Havasu

Sept. 18-20, Lake Mead

Oct. 14-16, U.S. Open at Lake Mohave

For complete details to register or find results, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.

The 2024 WON Bass Northern California Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Phenix Rods, Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Lures, Buckeye Lures, Steel Shad, Bioenno Power, SOG Knives, Cold Steel Knives, Gamma Line, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, DD26 Fishing, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine and Signature Gates.

Local presenting sponsors are Clear Lake Outdoors and the City of Lakeport.  Daily takeoffs and weigh-ins will happen at Library Park in the City of Lakeport, California.