Bertrand Grabs Early Lead At U.S. Open

By Dan O'Sullivan
WON Bass

For the first time in its history, the WON BASS U.S. Open is being held at a fishery other than Lake Mead as a result of historic record low water levels. With those developments, the City of Laughlin, Nev. was at the ready to host the three-day tournament and Lake Mohave stood as the new playing field for the 40th anniversary of the most prestigious bass fishing event in the Western United States.

With the change in scenery, the possibility existed for heavier weights to be presented at the tournament scales at Katherine Landing. At any desert fishery, high winds and big waves are always a possibility, and rarely are slick conditions the reality. However, high skies, slight wind and slick water was what greeted the anglers on Day 1 of the event.

But this field always features some of the best anglers in the West, and where there are bass, the field will show out. That was precisely the outcome of the day’s competition.

Leading the pack on Day 1 was Bass Pro Tour competitor Josh Bertrand of Arizona, who brought 23.45 pounds of smallmouth bass to the scales. He and his AAA partner Kyle Keegan spent the day running through their areas and culled through a pair of limits to set the pace.

Bertrand declined to state what his exact pattern was, but said he feels comfortable with whatever the conditions present.

“I can fish fast if I need to or slow down, depending on the conditions,” he said. “My practice was good, but I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of weights to expect, so this is a really good start.”

Patrick Touey, who is fishing his first event on Mohave, and his AAA partner Chuck Turner spent the day cycling through several areas looking for active fish and found enough smallmouth to catch 20.42 pounds to start the event in second place.

“I started practicing on the bank and didn’t like what I found, so I looked deeper and found some deeper grass to target,” Touey said. “We’d pull up and find them there, catch a few and move on to the next spot; it was a good day.”

Three-time U.S. Open champion Clifford Pirch, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Payson, Ariz., and Eric Hammer brought 19.47 pounds to the scales to land in third and give Pirch a very realistic chance of becoming the first angler to claim four U.S. Open championships.

Sean Coffey and Fisher Griffith weighed in 18.97 pounds to put them in fourth place and Dylan Maxon and Dave Phillips posted 18.89 pounds to round out the Top 5.

For full standings, click here.