LA GRANGE, Calif.– Hayden Lee of Angels Camp, came to Lake Don Pedro for the BAM Pro-Am West’s third and final stop of 2026 with the goal of making the season’s year-end Tournament of Champions. Stacking up daily limits of 21.19, 16.35 and 15.07, Lee finished with 52.61, more than four-pounds over his nearest competitor claiming victory at the event hosted in partnership with Lake Don Pedro, Chicken Ranch Casino Resort, Tackle Warehouse and conservation sponsor Fisherman’s Warehouse.

“Trying to figure out how to catch keepers was the main thing to make myself make the TOC and it was so tough, I just went to the big baits,” said Lee.

The California pro covered water from the bank to 130-feet deep, finding fish grouped in mixed sizes but rarely finding enough willing to bite from one place to stay put.

“I thought I was going to be able to rope ’em on couple spots and that did not happen,” he shared. “I guess from the boat pressure. I had to pull in and catch one and I would have to bounce.”

That constant search ultimately became the defining feature of his tournament.

“I wasn’t fishing, I was hunting ’em,” he said. “I wouldn’t have done what I did without the LiveScope.”

Crediting a flutter spoon and a deep crankbait for all of Lee’s bites. He focused on the details of his presentation which included 20-pound-test line in open water and 25-pound-test when around structure.

“On an old Shimano Curado 300 reel,” he said. “The green ones – can’t get em anymore.”

Lee found the now discontinued Shimano reel’s 5.1:1 gear ratio to be a critical factor in his presentation. He had the reel paired to a Dobyns 805 punch rod.

The event marked the first pro tournament win for Lee. He was awarded a new Mercury-powered Vexus 1880 for the accomplishment.

Beaty’s Deep Dropshot Delivers Second

Luke Beaty of Martinez, Calif., ended Day One in third with 19.54 pounds. Adding 13.66 on Day Two moved him into second. On Championship Sunday, he weighed 15.14 for an event total of 48.34, securing the runner-up position in the season-ending draw-partner tournament.

Beaty found his better-quality fish deep but getting them into the boat required following their movement well beyond that depth.

“I was seeing the fish in 40-feet, casting my dropshot at ’em, and they were following it down another 20-feet,” he said.

Every one of Beaty’s bigger fish came on the dropshot, a presentation he found during pre-practice and committed to throughout the event. Electronics played an equally important role in putting those fish in the boat.

“Every fish I caught, I was looking at ’em,” he said.

Beaty hopped points in search of his targets, although the bass themselves weren’t necessarily relating to anything he could identify on the bottom. The bigger challenge was putting five together. Despite finishing second with nearly 50 pounds, he didn’t complete a limit before 2 p.m. on any of the three competition days.

His dropshot featured a 5/16-ounce weight and a six-inch Plum Berry Roboworm fished on a Dobyns Champion XP with a Shimano spinning reel and Seaguar braided line.

“I dunno, I just picked up a pink worm and it started working,” Beaty said.

His finish earned a $5,000 payday.

Fernandes Follows Fish Deep

Troy Fernandes of Santa Maria caught the biggest bag of the event on Day One with 21.86 pounds. His Day Two limit of 10.65 and Championship Sunday weight of 11.54 gave the California pro a three-day total of 44.05 and a third-place finish.

“It was a grind today had two little ones in the morning and fished for big ones all day,” he said. “We only caught four and one of em was a six-pounder. Sometimes that’s how it goes”

Fernandes targeted points and banks along with rockpile edges in deeper water. He identified the falling water level as his biggest challenge.

“That pushed ’em deeper,” he explained. “Before I was catchin ’em in 2- to 3-feet of water. And they were easy to catch when you found one. It got tough. They got deep. I was taken that thing down to 50-foot sometimes.”

Fernandes’ six-pounder on the final day came from new water in a pocket he described as “largemouthy.”

“I ran a new pocket,” he said. “Lucky there was one sittin’ up high – up shallow – just how it was in practice and lucky that one bit because a lot of the other ones don’t”

The six-pounder fell for a pink salmon Coike fished on an iROD 753 with 20-pound P-Line Tactical.

“It was on a B10 stinger with a dropshot weight through it,”

Fernandes reeled in $2,525.00 for his time on the water.

Thornhill Adapts His Way to Co-Angler Championship

Curtis Thornhill of Denair, Calif. closed out the final day on Pedro with 5.11, pushing his three-day total to 26.65 and claiming the co-angler crown from the back of the same boat that carried pro champion Hayden Lee.

“Amazing,” he said. “It is nice to win. Overall I couldn’t ask for more.”

Fishing behind different pros each day forced Thornhill to continually adjust his approach.

“The first couple days, I was able to drag things on the bottom and slow down,” he said. “The weather was ideal for a dropshot off the back or a shakey head. So that worked out for me.”

Championship Sunday presented a different challenge alongside Lee.

“Hayden is a helluva fisherman, but he has a little bit different style that doesn’t fit my style from the back of the boat,” Thornhill said. “I dealt with it and adapted, and when we got into some shallower water, I dumped something on the bottom and pulled out a fish.”

An early topwater fish also contributed to his final-day weight, but across three days, one presentation proved the most dependable.

“If I looked at one type of fishing that worked, it was a dropshot,” he said.

Thornhill fished his dropshot on a 7’6″ medium-fast Dobyns Champion with 10-pound braid married to an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. He opted for a 1/2-ounce weight to get into position and an assortment of Roboworms.

“That sucker would just travel real quick down, and that got me in front of the fish,” he said.

There was no magic color. In fact, Thornhill burned through the Roboworm selection on Championship Sunday without catching two fish on the same one.

“Sometimes you gotta throw the kitchen sink, and that’s what I did.”

For Thornhill, the victory came on especially familiar water. He has fished Don Pedro for 30 years, and his championship run earned him $4,450, including a $450 Big Fish payout.

REST OF THE BEST

PRO

1 Hayden Lee Angels Camp, CA 52.61 BOAT- $40k VALUE $580.00

2 Luke Beaty Martinez, CA 48.34 $5,250.00

3 Troy Fernandes Santa Maria, CA 44.05 $2,525.00

4 Logan Huntze Discovery Bay, CA 43.62 $2,045.00

5 Carty Shoen Phoenix, AZ 42.57 $1,770.00

6 Cory Kerber Madera, CA 40.60 $1,612.00

7 Mike Alvarez Clovis, CA 39.64 $1,522.00

8 Nate Couchman Denair, CA 39.07 $1,470.00

9 Aiden Grad Pasco, WA 37.24 $1,440.00

10 Mark Mello Elk Grove, CA 31.73 $1,923.00

CO

1 Curtis Thornhill Denair, CA 26.65 $4,450.00

2 Ronnie Orbaker Madera, CA 22.06 $1,800.00

3 Will Wyman Brentwood, CA 22.02 $1,483.00

4 Andrew Richter Rocklin, CA 20.57 $1,134.00

5 Rick Smith Frazier Park, CA 20.54 $964.00

6 Aaron Kint Fremont, CA 20.37 $980.00

7 John Vangsoulatda Stockton, CA 19.39 $839.00

8 Troy Diatte Salinas, CA 19.29 $819.00

9 J.D. Madden Brentwood, CA 16.94 $1,259.00

10 Jeff Karceski Fresno, CA 14.34 $805.00