Richard Brian

Anglers wait to dock their boats at Callville Bay Marina after fishing during the 2008 Western Outdoor News Bass U.S. Open held on Lake Mead last Tuesday.

By Sean Ammerman

Thu, Sep 4, 2008 (midnight)

The 2008 Western Outdoor News Bass U.S. Open proved to be one of the toughest fishing tournaments ever held on Lake Mead.

No angler was able to amass a three-day total of largemouth bass that weighed more than 30 pounds, a rarity for a professional fishing tournament.

Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, Calif., came the closest, as he took first place and $151,000 in prizes with a total catch of 27.31 pounds. Kerr caught his winning fish with five minutes remaining.

The tournament ran Aug. 25 to 27 with the results based on the anglers' five heaviest bass from each day. The waters of Lake Mead were more challenging than usual for the anglers, who cannot use live bait, because the August is not a feeding month for the fish.

The biggest bass caught weighed 3.6 pounds.

"When it's nice and calm those fish won't come up unless it's in the first couple hours in the day," tournament official George Kramer said. "It's so difficult to put yourself in contention. You can't be asleep on your boat. You have to be fully committed from the morning to the last hour."

The tournament was especially tough for local anglers used to fishing Lake Mead during other parts of the year.

"We just had a rough time out there today," said Boulder City angler Byron Velvick as he addressed the audience at the final weigh-in on Aug. 27.

Velvick, who became famous for being the bachelor on ABC's "The Bachelor," fell 16 places the final day to finish 29th out of 83 professionals. Velvick also hosts BassCenter on ESPN, a fishing technique program.

The top Southern Nevada angler was Clyde Evans from Las Vegas, who finished seventh and took home $6,000 for a total catch of 22.63 pounds.

Boulder City's Tim Klinger was the next best Southern Nevadan as he took 10th and earned $4,000 from at 21.91 pounds.

"It's just real tough fishing out there," Klinger said. "The places where I usually catch a lot of fish and do well in these tournament weren't working today."

Other local angers who found success included Las Vegas resident Eddie Rodriguez, who took home $2,500 and Las Vegas resident Jonathan Brown, who won the amateur division and earned $13,500 in prizes from a total catch of 25.01.

Despite the challenging waters and big-name professionals who fished the event, the tournament suffered a drop-off in the number of competitors.

Kramer said the field of 83 was one of the lowest in the tournament's 26-year history.

Sean Ammerman is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2661 or sean.ammerman@hbcpub.com.