Kyle Grover Leads Day One of 2023 WON BASS U.S. Open Evan Barnes in Second, Quincy Lewis Leads AAA Division

Laughlin, Nev. – October 16, 2023 – As the 183 pro and AAA partners headed out onto the waters of Lake Mohave for the 2023 Bass Cat / Mercury WON BASS U.S. Open presented by Laughlin Tourism Commission and Visit Laughlin, they were greeted with light winds and sunny skies.  What wasn’t known was the kind of welcome they would receive from the bass that inhabit the lake.

The answer to that question was that while the top end of the leaderboard showed strong weights, most of the anglers reported having to grind for every bite as the boat traffic and fishing pressure started having an effect on the fishery.  However tough the bite became, the quality of the anglers in a field like this were bound to figure out how to boat the quality fish, and Anaheim, Calif. pro Kyle Grover and his AAA partner Quincy Lewis brought 20.70 pounds to the scales at Katherine Landing to take the day one lead.

A veteran of many U.S. Opens, Grover has proven himself to be a more than worthy competitor in Western tournament trails with many titles to his name, he used his desert fishing experience to catch his mixed bag of four smallmouth and one quality largemouth.  “I fished the mid-lake area and found an area that had a good population of fish, but even though I could see them on my Active Target, I was only able to make a few of those fish bite,” he said.  “I know there are enough fish there to bring in another limit, but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to duplicate what I did today; we’ll see how tomorrow goes.”

Evan Barnes, a Bassmaster Opens pro from Dardanelle, Ark., fishing his first U.S. Open, caught a full limit of smallmouth with his day one AAA partner Coy Mott that weighed 20.58 pounds to open the event in second place. “Barnes revealed that his experience with northern smallmouth fishing translated to Lake Mohave.  “I’ve spent a lot of time fishing the smallmouth up there and it helped me feel comfortable here,” he said. “I had a good day today, but had opportunities to have a better day, I’m hopeful about what I’ve found and there’s not a lot of traffic in the area, so should be able to put something together tomorrow.”

El Dorado Hills, Calif. pro Jim Vretzos and his AAA partner Travis Hargis weighed 20.23 pounds to finish the day in third place.  They were followed by last year’s runner up Spencer Shuffield from Hot Springs, Ark. and AAA Brian Pappalardo brought 20.17 pounds to the scales to finish the day in fourth place, and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. pro Jerry Ballesteros and his AAA Sean Slonski brought 19.58 pounds to the scales to round out the top five.

Complete Standings can be found below:

Day two of the three-day long Bass Cat / Mercury WON BASS U.S. Open presented by Laughlin Tourism Commission and Visit Laughlin competition itself will begin Tuesday, October 17, with a champion being crowned on October 18 at the conclusion of the final weigh-in. Takeoff with 183 pro and AAA anglers will commence at safe light and weigh-ins will occur at 3:00PM daily. Takeoff and weigh-ins will be held at Katherine Landing at Lake Mohave Marina located at 2690 Katherine Spur, Bullhead City, AZ 86429.

WON Bass has reserved Thursday October 19 and Friday October 20 in case any day of the event is postponed due to unsafe conditions by the National Parks Service.

Join us for an historic event and look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com along with WON BASS and Western Outdoor News social media platforms on https://www.facebook.com/WONBassTournaments and https://www.instagram.com/wonbass/ for event details, livestreams and updates.

The 41st Anniversary 2023 WON BASS U.S. Open is presented by the following sponsors; Bass Cat Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Costa, Abu Garcia, Bridgford Foods, Daiwa, Gamakatsu, Phenix, Power-Pole Total Boat Control, Eagle Claw TroKar, Lithium Pros, Lowrance, Anderson Toyota, Loco’s Bar and Cocina, DD26, Top This, Johnon’s Bait and Tackle, LTC Laughlin Tourism Commission, Last Chance Performance Marine, Yamamoto Baits, Huntington Beach Honda, Peregrine 250, Livingston Lures, Roboworm, Trika Premium Fishing Gear, Liqui Moly Marine, Anglers Marine, Stealth Stix, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches, KUIU, Signature Gate Systems and Welding, Sure Life, Visit Laughlinand Western Outdoor News.