LAKEPORT, Calif. – John Pearl of Upper Lake, Calif., one of the most well-known guides on Clear Lake and one of the top competitive anglers in the region, claimed victory in the WON Bass Clear Lake Open with a WON Bass record 102.81 pounds for a three-day event. Pearl took over the lead on Day 2 and added 35.50 pounds on the final day.
Pearl's prize haul included $17,000 cash and a 2025 Ranger/Mercury boat package valued at $55,000.
“I’m absolutely excited about this,” Pearl said. “Today was a long, stressful day. I had 34 pounds in the livewell at about 3 o'clock and I told my AAA (Sherwin Williams) that we needed one more 7-pounder; I caught a 6.85 moments later and culled up to this final weight, then I just took a slow ride to Library Park to protect my fish.”
Pearl (at right in photo) reported catching his fish in the 25- to 30-foot depth range in the mid-lake area around Konocti, using forward-facing sonar to locate the bait balls that the late winter/early prespawn fish were foraging on. He caught his fish using a Bass Union jighead with Sakamata Shads in the golden shiner and reservoir shad colors.
“I caught my biggest one today blind casting the Sakamata Shad under a dock, and my biggest yesterday came on a GCJ Customs 13-inch glide bait” he said. “Those fish were crucial to my finish obviously, but I caught most of them on my deep stuff. I am thrilled to be standing here in front of my wife, family and friends with this trophy.”
Pearl’s main gear was a 6’10” Douglas Outdoors X Matrix 6103XF spinning rod matched with a 2500 size Shimano Sustain spinning reel filled with white 10-pound-test Power Pro Super Slick 8 braid and matching 8-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon leader.
Nathan Phillips, who won the 2023 Clear Lake Open, finished second with 101.33 pounds, catching 36.21 pounds on the final day. He earned $13,400.
Phillips attacked long stretches of docks in the Rattlesnake arm, casting to fish that were sunning in preparation for the spawn on Day 1. However, on the final two days, when the cloud cover and wind made that difficult, he used a similar approach to Pearl, targeting deeper fish focused on bait balls.
“I was fishing the Highway 20 side around Kona Tayee for suspended fish in 8 to 15 feet of water,” he said. “I threw a variety of jigheads in different sizes with a 5-inch Z-Man Jerk Shad in the electric shad color.”
He tossed his offerings on Dobyns Champion XB 703 and 732 spinning rods matched with Shimano Stradic 2500 XH reels spooled with 10-pound-test Flash Green Seaguar Smackdown braid bonded to 8-pound-test Seaguar Tatsu leader.
Mason McAbee finished third with 93.57 pounds, claiming $11,400.
