By WON Bass Communications
LAUGHLIN, Nev. – There is one constant that can be counted on in the world of professional bass fishing, and that is… change. When the field for the 2023 WON Bass U.S. Open left Katherine Landing at Lake Mohave Marina on Tuesday, the anglers were greeted with a warm, slick-calm environment that contrasted the breezy Day 1 conditions. How that would affect the fishing on the bathwater-clear fishery was in question.
While the 28,000 surface acres of Lake Mohave should provide plenty of real estate to target, the body of water tends to fish small. Couple that with high skies and flat winds, and the result was a high probability of change atop the leaderboard. As the Day 2 weigh-in began, it appeared that the day’s conditions may have an effect on the anglers, as several saw opposite results of their opening-round performance.
For Day 1 leader Kyle Grover of Anaheim, Calif., that was not the case as he backed up his 20.70-pound limit with a 19.56-pound haul to bring his total weight to 40.26 pounds and enabling him to maintain his lead.
Grover holds a half-pound lead over Hot Springs, Ark. pro Spencer Shuffield, who caught a 19.58-pound limit of smallmouth to bring his total weight to 39.75 pounds. Bryant Smith of Roseville, Calif. followed up his Day 1 18-pound limit with 18.98 pounds to end the day in third place with 37.38 pounds, while Garrett Howard, from Riverside, Calif. added 17.57 to finish Day 2 in fourth place with 36.83 pounds. Rounding out the Top 5 was Patrick Touey, from Santa Maria, Calif. who brought 18.84 pounds to the scales for a total of 36.58 pounds.
Grover reported having the majority of his day’s weight at 11 a.m. but made one key cull in the waning moments of the day that made the difference. He had encountered the 4 1/2-pounder the day before.
“I stopped on this point a couple of miles from takeoff yesterday and made a cast at her, she bit, and I broke her off on the hookset,” he said. “I made the same stop today and she was sitting in the same spot, made the same cast, she bit, and this time I landed her; she culled a 3-pounder.”
He said he knows there are plenty of fish in his areas but is unsure how they will respond.
“I threw at around a hundred fish today and got eight or 10 to bite,” he said. “I know I need to back it up with a big bag, I’m just not sure that I’ll be able to; tomorrow is going to be interesting. Winning the U.S. Open would mean so much to me. I’m going to go out and do everything I can to close it out tomorrow.”
Shuffield said he threw at more fish than the leader and managed to catch a few more but is also concerned about what the conditions will do to his ability to present to the fish.
“I’m fishing fairly deep, and my main areas are expected to be in heavy winds tomorrow,” he said. “I know the fish are there and I hope I can make them eat, but we’ll have to see how tomorrow goes. I’d love to get this done tomorrow.”
In the AAA Division, Steven Cook of Willow, Alaska weighed 16.03 pounds to take the Day 2 lead with 34.86. Second place on the AAA side is held by Donald Lugert of Needles, Calif., who added 15.39 to bring his total to 34.33. Brian Reaves of Bullhead City, Ariz. moved into third with 18.84 pounds to bring his total to 33.74.
For complete pro standings, click here.
