La Grange Ca. – The 24th edition of the Future Pro Tour Classic Championship - presented by Gone Fishin' Marine of Dixon Ca, was an epic battle from start to finish, as only 24 qualifying teams made a bid for angling glory at the shores of one of the most fertile lakes in the motherlode foothills - beautiful Lake Don Pedro.
Chicken Ranch Casino Resort was the ground zero for all pre-classic activities including the traditional Classic banquet celebration that allowed all qualifiers, friends and family, the opportunity to share a delicous meal and interact with each other in a non-competitive environment.
Lucas Diacon (aka Cool Hand Luke) collected his 3rd Youth Angler League "Angler of the Year" award at the traditional Classic Celebration banquet. Lucas is being "moved up" to the adult division for 2026 to help him further develop his angling skills. Good job Lucas....we know that you are destined to be the next Justin Lucas!
“Making it a Double”
Matt and Dan Abella made history as they have the distinction of being the only team to ever capture both the coveted FPT Angler of Year crown and a FPT Classic crown - within the same year.
Coming off stellar performances posted throughout a grueling 5-event season - that garnered them the prestigious FPT Bioenno Marine Angler of the Year title, these siblings “Doubled Down”, to win this year’s championship event with a “wire-to-wire” performance, edging out 2nd place finishers Nick Barse and Terry Devinceci by mere ounces with an impressive 10-fish limit that rocked the scales at 31.87!
Clearly emotional and lost for words, this dynamic duo expressed to the crowd attending the awards ceremony, that after three “runner-up” finishes in previous FPT Classic Championship and AOY races, that it felt fantastic to FINALLY bring home the gold.
For the win, they received $10,000 cash, custom crystal trophies, and commemorative FPT logo’d Invicta brand watches to highlight their victory.
Congratulations Matt and Dan - our newest members of the FPT Hall Of Fame!
Dan and Matt Abella with the winning fish!
Luke Contino takes R2sea YAL title
With motivated youth anglers like 2-time Angler of the Year Lucas Diacon and 2023 Angler of the Year Jaxen Huckaby hot on his tail, winning the River2Sea Youth Angler League Classic Championship title was no easy task for Luke Contino.
Posting impressive finishes throughout the year earned him a berth in this championship competition, and fortunately he was able to extend his winning ways at the “big show” when it mattered the most.
Luke brought an impressive 5-fish limit to the scales that weighed 11.39 pounds, to capture his first River2Sea Youth Angler League title, a custom trophy, and $200 cash prize!
Congratulations Luke on a great year and impressive Classic win!
THANK YOU
We would like to thank all participants and partnering sponsors for helping make the FPT Top-75 Western Tour the west’s premier series for amateur-level bass anglers. Your unwavering support is greatly appreciated and never taken for granted.
But now it’s time to take the rest of the year off and enjoy the upcoming holiday season with family and friends....so that we can all be rested and ready for a great 2026 season that will start Feb 28th at beautiful Shasta Lake!
Everyone have a safe - and happy holiday season!
Pedro churned out some good fish!
Matt Vella took BIG FISH Honors
Nick Kleckner and Dave Nolan took third place
Nick Barse and Terry Devinceci took 2nd Place honors