Redding, Calif. – February 7, 2025 –– Joe Uribe Jr. of Surprise, Ariz. is no stranger to winning major tournaments. He has accomplished that feat several times over the last decade, however, competing in events at Lake Shasta has always left him feeling less than confident. Finishing third at the 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open gave him a confidence boost, and in winning the 2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open in wire-to-wire fashion, he and Lake Shasta are now familiar
Uribe rode an A-Rig and Swimbait pattern during the first two days of the event when it was either windy, raining or snowing, however, when the conditions slicked off on day three, Uribe showed his versatility and picked up a Neko Rig and closed out the win.
His final day, 16.22-pound limit pushed his total weight to 55.37 pounds, earning him the title of Lake Shasta Champion and the keys to the 2025 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard prize boat presented by Bass Pro Shops with Power-Pole Charge and Volta Power Lithium Power Batteries, a package valued at $55,000 and an additional $12,000 cash.
Uribe was thrilled with the event. “I really had a bad practice and just decided to go fishing,” he said. “I went to the Pit River arm and fished a few pockets in there and around Jones Bay. It’s the area I felt most comfortable in to start.”
On days one and two, he used a one-two punch of an 88 Baits A-Rig with 1/4-ounce VMC Boxer Heads rigged with 4.3 Keitech Swimbaits in Electric Shad and a Uribe Magic Swimmer swimbaits designed by his father. He targeted main lake points and transition areas making long casts and watching the lure on his Livescope unit, when he saw fish rise on the lure, he varied his retrieve to trigger strikes. Those two lures were thrown on a 7’11” medium-heavy Daiwa Zillion Reaction Bait rod and Tatula SV reel spooled with 40-pound-test Sunline SX-1 Braid and a 16-pound-test FC Sniper Fluorocarbon leader.
On the final day, after a few smaller strikes on reaction baits, Uribe figured out that the fish had made a move into the cuts, and he turned to a 7’1” Daiwa Tatula Elite Takahiro Omori All Around spinning rod and Tatula 2500 size reel spooled with 20-pound-test Sunline Siglon PE8 yellow braid and 8-pound-test FC Sniper Fluorocarbon leader and a Neko Rig with a Green Pumpkin Daiwa Neko Fat worm, a 5/64-ounce Voss Tungsten nail weight and a size 4 Gamakatsu B10S hook.
Uribe said that being able to adjust to the conditions was key. “We had to hunt a little, but when we found that they had moved into the cuts and gotten shallower, the Neko Rig really helped us,” he said. “I fished clean all week; I never lost any fish, and I’m just really humbled to have won this event against these anglers and to have qualified for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for the second year.”
Chris Martin, of Rocklin, Calif. was able to maintain his second-place position from the first two days of the event as well, finishing with 52.06 pounds. The Bass Pro Shops Marine Department Manager in Rocklin said that he fished close to the same areas as Uribe and used one technique the whole event. He threw a trio of 3/4-ounce Bass Union Football Jigs, purple, brown and purple and green pumpkin with green pumpkin purple copper Yamamoto Bait Cowboys as a trailer.
“I caught them in 15 to 30-feet on day one, and they went shallower, in 5 to 20 feet today,” he said. “I really would have liked to pull out the win, but I fished as clean as I could and just got beaten. Congratulations to Joe, he fished a great event. I’m excited to have qualified for the 2026 B.A.S.S. Nation
Each of the pros and AAA anglers who finished in the top five will earn a Golden Ticket berth into the 2025 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic, and I really need to thank Jeff Ahrens at Cultivated Landscape for his help in being here this year.”
Alex Niapas of Altaville, Calif caught his second consecutive limit eclipsing 21 pounds on day three and finished third for the event with 51.28 pounds, fourth place went to Jerry Ballesteros of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. finished fourth with a total weight of 46.96 pounds and Ryan Cool of Redding, Calif, rounded out the top five in the pro division with a three-ay total of 45.87 pounds.
Jacob Crawford of San Pedro, Calif. claimed the title of AAA Division Champion, posting a three-day total of 55.00 pounds to walk away with the trophy and a $5,000 payday. Troy Diatte of Salina, Calif. finished in second place with 48.20 pounds. Third place went to Dennis Saiki of Torrance, Calif. with 43.64 pounds.Derek Anderson f Meadow Vista, Calif. finished fourth with 42.74 pounds and Redding, California’s Eddie Bouslaugh Jones finished out the AAA Division top five with 42.67 pounds.
Follow future WON Bass Pro Am events with a daily livestream of the weigh-ins at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/won-bass-shasta-open-pairings-results.
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Final Pro Standings
| RANK | Angler | Hometown | Fish | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total |
| 1 | Joe Uribe, Jr. | Surprise AZ | 15-15 | 20.32 | 18.83 | 16.22 | 55.37 |
| 2 | Chris Martin | Rocklin CA | 15-15 | 18.75 | 16.46 | 16.85 | 52.06 |
| 3 | Alex Niapas | Altaville CA | 15-15 | 7.96 | 21.89 | 21.43 | 51.28 |
| 4 | Jerry Ballesteros | Rancho Cucamonga CA | 15-15 | 13.72 | 16.72 | 16.52 | 46.96 |
| 5 | Ryan Cool | Redding CA | 15-15 | 13.47 | 15.03 | 17.37 | 45.87 |
| 6 | Greg Gutierrez | Red Bluff CA | 15-15 | 16.31 | 12.27 | 16.82 | 45.40 |
| 7 | Kyle Grover | Rancho Santa Margarita CA | 15-15 | 11.66 | 13.53 | 19.88 | 45.07 |
| 8 | Logan Huntze | Discovery Bay CA | 15-15 | 17.91 | 12.93 | 14.13 | 44.97 |
| 9 | Cody Meyer | Eagle ID | 15-15 | 15.25 | 13.96 | 13.82 | 43.03 |
| 10 | Joe Mariani | Winters CA | 15-15 | 16.88 | 13.21 | 12.01 | 42.10 |
2025 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Final AAA Standings
| Rank | Angler | Hometown | Fish | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total |
| 1 | Jacob Crawford | San Pedro CA | 15-15 | 13.23 | 21.89 | 19.88 | 55.00 |
| 2 | Troy Diatte | Salinas CA | 15-15 | 9.09 | 17.68 | 21.43 | 48.20 |
| 3 | Dennis Saiki | Torrance CA | 15-15 | 15.00 | 14.47 | 14.17 | 43.64 |
| 4 | Derek Andersen | Meadow Vista CA | 15-15 | 15.60 | 11.25 | 15.89 | 42.74 |
| 5 | Eddie Bouslaugh Jones | Redding CA | 15-15 | 16.88 | 8.97 | 16.82 | 42.67 |
| 6 | Kody Sindorf | Anderson CA | 15-15 | 16.06 | 13.96 | 12.14 | 42.16 |
| 7 | Jeff Baird | Washington UT | 15-15 | 14.40 | 15.03 | 12.22 | 41.65 |
| 8 | Eric Giordano | Redding CA | 15-15 | 13.94 | 13.51 | 13.74 | 41.19 |
| 9 | James Scott | Lancaster CA | 15-15 | 9.96 | 11.58 | 19.32 | 40.86 |
| 10 | Jake Etcheverry | Hughson CA | 15-15 | 16.87 | 13.95 | 9.96 | 40.78 |
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta – Joe Uribe Jr. – 55.37 pounds
April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake
May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave