Kevin Hugo finished second place, Todd Tobiasson wins AAA Division
Las vegas, Nev. – September 12, 2025 –– When day two of the 2025 Ranger Boats WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Mercury began, Dylan Denny held a lead over Western stalwart pro Joe Uribe Jr. Dennis opened the event with a strong 17.63-pound day anchored by big fish from both he and his day one AAA partner Chris Tanner. Those two fish accounted for nearly 10 pounds of the limit.
Uribe started the event with 16.41 pounds, a great limit for Lake Mead just about any time there is a tournament there. However, half of the weight came in the form of the largest bass he had ever caught at Lake Mead, an 8.05-pound behemoth that few have ever seen anything of that stature come out of those waters.
Waiting in the wings in third place was Kevin Hugo, who was the only other pro to post a limit eclipsing 15 pounds. Hugo’s 15.22 pounds saw him in third place after the opening round. In bass fishing tournaments, a kicker fish can go a long way, but having consistent quality is often what makes the difference.
Uribe weighed in midway through the final weigh-in and posted 9.32 pounds to take the Ranger Hot Seat and would stay there until the last two anglers came to the scales. The Surprise, Ariz. pro’s total weight of 25.73 pounds was eclipsed when Hugo, from Canyon Lake, Calif. weighed 10.75 pounds to take the lead with 25.73 pounds with only the day one leader left to weigh.
Denny, from Dewey, Ariz. came to the podium and placed his bag on the scales needing a little over eight pounds to take over the lead, and when WON Bass Tournament Director Bill Egan called the weight at 10.40 pounds, Denny had won the Lake Mead Open with a two-day total weight of 28.03 pounds.
Denny claimed the winner’s purse of the 2025 Ranger Boats WON Bass Lake Mead Open presented by Mercury, earned the Ranger Boats Z518 / Mercury ProXS 150 prize boat provided by Bass Pro Shops. He also received a cash purse of an additional $10,000 and a $1,200 Stringer Prize to bring his total earnings to well over $60,000.
The Arizona pro explained that he fished “up the river” for the event, and that it took being flexible with his presentations to catch his fish. “I really had to just feel what the fish were doing and throw different things to catch them,” he said. “I really feel like the way my two AAA partners and I fished together each day was the real key, we gelled and made a team each day, and that was key.”
He reported catching key fish on Lucky Craft LV 500 lipless crankbaits, a 6th Sense Lures Curve 55 crankbaits ripped through the grass. He also switched up to a 1/2-ounce Evergreen Jackhammer in B Hite Special with a matching trailer. When things got tougher on day two, he also mixed in a Carolina rig but did not mention his lure.
He said he did not expect to win but was elated. “I really did not think I could pull this off,” he said. “I really had a good first day and that was obviously the reason I won, but I am so absolutely blown away to have won this event, it’s just amazing.”
The rest of the top five pros stacked up like this; Uribe finished third, fourth place went to Wes Nunley of Washington, Utah. with 24.72 pounds, and Noah Sanford from Boulder City, Nev. placed fifth with 23.60 pounds.
Hugo reported fishing in the Vegas Wash because he had caught a couple of frog fish in there on the final day of practice after spending three days practicing Temple Bar. He reported that the dirty water seemed to make the bite a little better. Once the tournament began, the fishing pressure made him turn to finesse tactics and deeper water; the key was fishing the first sharp drops coming out of coves.
He caught his big fish each day on Wacky Rigged 5-inch Green Pumpkin Purple Copper Yamamoto Senkos on size 2 Gamakatsu G Finesse Stinger hooks fished on 702 iRod Genesis 3 spinning Rod with Shimano Sustain spooled with 10-pound-test Seaguar Smackdown Stealth Gray braid with a leader consisting of Seaguar 10-pound-test Seaguar Invizx.
The majority of his fish came on a 3/8 Football Head rigged with a Yamamoto Hula Grub in Green Pumpkin Red on an iRod 704 Genesis 3 Heavy action with 12-pound-test Seaguar Invizx. He caught a key keeper on day one on a DT10 Rapala Crank and another on a Yamamoto Ned Rig on Day two.
While he wanted more, Hugo was pleased with the outcome. “I’m happy with the finish, I fished clean and did what I wanted,” he said. “I would have loved to have won, but Dylan had a great event, congratulations to him.”
The AAA Championship went to Las Vegas, Nevada’s Todd Tobiasson who moved up from second place to claim victory with a total weight of 27.90 pounds. He earned $4,000 for his efforts.
The AAA Division wrapped up like this. Second place went to day one leader Chris Tanner from Phoenix, Ariz. with 24.78 pounds. Third place went to Chris Gauthier of Henderson, Nev. with 23.61 pounds. He was followed in fourth place by Hubaldo Valerio Jr. of Fruita, Col. with 23.29 pounds and David Zamora of Blythe, Calif. finished fifth with 23.17 pounds.
Each of the pros and AAA anglers who finish in the top five will also earn a Golden Ticket berth into the 2026 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins aired on the WON Bass Facebook page, located at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The top 10 in each division are posted below: for complete standings, visit - https://wonbassevents.com/pages/lake-mead-open-pairings-and-results.
2025 WON Bass Lake Mead Open Final – Pro Standings
|
|
Angler |
Hometown |
Fish |
Wght |
Pnlty |
B/B |
Total |
|
1 |
Dylan Denny |
Dewey AZ |
10-10 |
28.03 |
4.61 |
28.03 |
|
|
2 |
Kevin Hugo |
Canyon Lake CA |
10-10 |
25.97 |
4.74 |
25.97 |
|
|
3 |
Joe Uribe, Jr. |
Surprise AZ |
9-9 |
25.73 |
8.05 |
25.73 |
|
|
4 |
Wes Nunley |
Washington UT |
10-9 |
24.72 |
0.50 |
24.22 |
|
|
5 |
Noah Sanford |
Boulder City NV |
10-10 |
23.60 |
4.17 |
23.60 |
|
|
6 |
Clifford Pirch |
Payson AZ |
10-10 |
23.18 |
4.52 |
23.18 |
|
|
7 |
Trace Myers |
Santaquin UT |
10-9 |
23.36 |
0.50 |
22.86 |
|
|
8 |
Christopher Irigoyen |
Henderson NV |
10-9 |
23.07 |
0.50 |
4.73 |
22.57 |
|
9 |
Todd Kline |
San Clemente CA |
10-10 |
22.29 |
3.64 |
22.29 |
|
|
10 |
Justin Patti |
Peoria AZ |
10-8 |
23.24 |
1.00 |
3.79 |
22.24 |
|
10 |
Bill Brown |
Grand Junction CO |
10-10 |
22.24 |
3.27 |
22.24 |
2025 WON Bass Lake Mead Open Final – AAA Standings
|
|
Angler |
Hometown |
Fish |
Wght |
Pnlty |
B/B |
Total |
|
1 |
Todd Tobiasson |
Las Vegas NV |
10-10 |
27.90 |
|
|
27.90 |
|
2 |
Chris Tanner |
Phoenix AZ |
9-9 |
24.78 |
5.61 |
24.78 |
|
|
3 |
Chris Gauthier |
Henderson NV |
10-8 |
24.61 |
1.00 |
23.61 |
|
|
4 |
Hubaldo Valerio Jr. |
Fruita CO |
10-10 |
23.29 |
23.29 |
||
|
5 |
David Zamora |
Blythe CA |
10-9 |
23.67 |
0.50 |
23.17 |
|
|
6 |
Kevin Duncan |
Las Vegas NV |
10-10 |
22.99 |
4.23 |
22.99 |
|
|
7 |
David Shearrer |
Trabuco Canyon CA |
10-10 |
22.91 |
22.91 |
||
|
8 |
Frank Schwamborn |
Pomona CA |
10-10 |
22.63 |
3.88 |
22.63 |
|
|
9 |
Ivan Peterson |
Boulder City NV |
10-10 |
22.57 |
22.57 |
||
|
10 |
Daniel Lutz |
Las Vegas NV |
10-10 |
22.55 |
3.29 |
22.55 |
For complete details to register for future events, or to find results, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2025 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2025 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Feb. 5 to 7, 2025 - Lake Shasta – Champion Joe Uribe
April 9 to 11, 2025 - Clear Lake – Champion John Pearl
May 7 to 9, 2025 - Lake Havasu – Champion Roy Hawk
Sept. 10 to 12, 2025 - Lake Mead – Champion Dylan Denny
Oct. 6 to 8, 2025 - U.S. Open at Lake Mohave
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2025 WON Bass Lake Mead Open was brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Volta Power Lithium, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick Rods, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine, Signature Gates, DD26 Fishing, Bad Ass Bearings, Cipher Fishing, Megaware Keelguard and GRatt.
Local presenting sponsor was Callville Bay Marina