Big Bass Alert Meet Alex Niapas by Jody Only, Page 2

Big Bass Alert Meet Alex Niapas by Jody Only, Page 2

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

page

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https://www.westernbass.com/article/wwbt-shasta-produces-record-breaking-limit-weighed-alex-niapas