Coffey Stands in Second place in Pro Division; Matthew Keats AAA Division

LAS VEGAS – While the news heading into the 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury was primarily about the low water levels at Lake Mead, once the first morning of the event began; the news was all about the competition.

178 pros and their AAA partners launched from Calville Bay Marina in hopes of claiming the pro winner’s prize of a 2026 Ranger Z520R powered by a Mercury ProXS250 valued at $85,000 and a $70,000 cash prize. In the AAA Division, the field is competing for an $8,000 winner’s share plus a Honda Fourtrax ATV from Huntington Beach Honda.

The conditions for the opening round of the 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open were bright and sunny with light breezes that saw some increases in windspeed as the day wore on. The result was excellent, controlled fishing for the anglers on day one. Kevin Hugo from Canyon Lake, Calif. and his AAA partner Matthew Keats from Scottsdale, Ariz. took the first round lead with a total weight of 14.90 pounds. They were followed in second place by Mesa, Ariz. pro Sean Coffey and his AAA partner Tom Warren of Maricopa, Ariz. with 14.83 pounds. Third place for the day was pro Mike Steckel from Las Vegas, Nev. and his AAA partner William Penrod from Salome, Ariz. with 13.37 pounds. Past U.S. Open Champion Justin Kerr from Lake Havasu City, Ariz. and his AAA partner Dean Simpson III from Sun City, Ariz. placed fourth with 12.89 pounds and Brandon Kuehl of Peoria, Ariz. and his AAA Terry Peterson of West Jordan, Utah rounded out the top five with 12.63 pounds.

While it has historically taken an average of 11 to 12 pounds a day to win the U.S. Open on Lake Mead, with looming severe weather with high winds that may cancel a day of the competition, it appears that milking areas for everything is the plan for many anglers.

Hugo said that he was thinking exactly that. “It really looks like day three is going to be canceled so I really leaned on my areas and caught what I could,” he said. “My partner and I spent our day covering water slowly, choosing our presentations by what the conditions showed us and we managed to catch 10 keepers with a couple of the right ones.”

Hugo said he was making a moderate run and using a variety of baits and techniques. “If the sun is out, I slowed down and fishing finesse, but if there was some cloud cover or wind, I could fish horizontally. There are quite a few boats in the area, but I feel like my pace is giving me an advantage, so I will go out and step on it again tomorrow and try and catch everything I can.”

Coffey, who led the second day of the 2025 U.S. Open said that he made a 20-minute run in the morning and spent his whole day targeting baitfish around grass with shad-colored moving baits. “I’m fishing several different baits and I was able to make some good decisions today and execute well, he said. “Things slowed down midday, but in the last part of the day, I went deeper and managed to catch my biggest fish which really helped. I plan on pushing things tomorrow because of the chance of it being a two-day event, I feel pretty good about it.”

The field will fish on day two with expected 10 to 15 mile per hour winds with the potential for 25 mile per hour gusts. However, there is a possibility that day three will be cancelled by the National Park Service as there are 20 to 30 mile per hour wind speeds with gusts to 60 miles per hour predicted

The daily livestream of the weigh-ins aired at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments. Daily takeoffs and weigh-ins occur at Calville Bay Marina

The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/us-open-pairings-and-results.