Grover's Mixed Bag Leads Day 1 Of U.S. Open

WON Bass Communications

LAUGHLIN, Nev. – As the 183 pro and AAA anglers headed out onto the waters of Lake Mohave for the start of the 2023 WON Bass U.S. Open, 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, though, 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 1 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 1 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 I 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, who 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, who jad 19.58 pounds to round out the Top 5.

For complete pro standings, click here.