Q
uieter
than many
of the western tournament
anglers, Alex Niapas of
Boulder Creek, Calif., lets
his bass catchin’ speak
for itself.
Niapas humbly
describes himself as
“just a tournament
angler.” However, fellow
tournament pros will
recall his history-making,
record-breaking feat
as the 2019 Wild West
Bass Trail (WWBT) Lake
Shasta Pro/Am champ
with the five-fish limit
that went 30.22 and
included an 8.32 spotted
bass alongside a 13.58
largemouth.
Others will recall
Niapas for the string
of big bass catches
he has recorded over
the past decade-plus,
and even more fans
of the sport were
introduced to the
California fisherman
as all gave the nod
to his recent teener
big bass alert when
he closed the 2022
season with a 14-8 largemouth.
Not one usually for the spotlight, WesternBass
checked in with Niapas to find out more about the
St. Croix pro who calls Melones his home water.
WB: Okay, from the beginning… how did you get started fishing?
Niapas: My dad took me fishing as a kid (since I was four or five-years-old) for pretty much everything from bass to catfish. I started getting into tournaments in high school, fishing with my Buddy Tom, who started and owned Glory Hole Sports. After winning some team tournaments, I wanted to jump up in scale, so I went to Pro/Ams.
WB: Lakes or Delta? Love or Hate?
Niapas: I like lake fishing. It is more diverse. When I first started fishing the Delta, I struggled mildly. I was fishing it like a lake and adjusted to it with some of the tactics that I used at the lakes, and
Spring 2023
then the tides on the Delta just became another variable.
WB: Is your home water – Melones – your favorite place to fish?
Niapas: Yeah, because it is so diverse, there are so many things you can be doing.
WB: Seems like during
the pre-spawn time of year,
we’re going to start seeing
your name in the headlines
with big bass alerts. What
would you attribute that big
bass success to?
Niapas: I know where
the fish are moving to, that
they’ll feed on the trout, and that they’re less picky; so, if they see something that looks like a trout, they will attack it.
WB: So, we’re talking
swimbaits? And if so, are you
saying it’s a trout imitator?
Niapas: Yeah. The Hawg
Hunter. I’ve been throwin’ it for
more than 10 years now. But
not always. In the Motherlode
reservoirs, I am throwin’ a trout imitator a lot; but sometimes, in the summer, bluegill is more productive.
®
St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass Series - GRASP
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https://www.westernbass.com/article/wwbt-shasta-produces-record-breaking-limit-weighed-alex-niapas