Rusty Salewske Takes Opening Day Lead of 2021 WON Bass U.S. Open

Rusty Salewske Takes Opening Day Lead of 2021 WON Bass U.S. Open Alpine, Calif. pro holds less than one pound lead over Travis Jewell

Las Vegas, Nev. – October 12, 2021 – Having the first scheduled competition day of the 2021 WON Bass U.S. Open presented by Bass Cat Boat and Mercury put the whole field in a sense of urgency.  In typical years, winning a U.S. Open requires stringing three consistent days together, with a spectacular day in the mix.  Having one less day of competition in 2021 meant that anglers needed to hit the ground running and locate the right bites in a compressed timeline.

Not usually an angler that puts together big stringers on Lake Mead, Alpine, Calif. pro Rusty Salewske, a former FLW Tour winner, slapped 11.81 pounds on the WON Bass scales at Callville Bay during the first half of the weigh-in, and it was enough to take the day one lead.  Salewske’s performance was enough to give him slightly less than a one-pound lead over Sandy, Utah pro Travis Jewell, who posted a 10.84-pound limit to stand in second place after the first day of competition.

Salewske reported making a fairly long run at takeoff, and fishing one general area to fill his creel for the day.  “We caught 15 to 20 fish today, but we only weighed fish from one main area, then went searching,” said Salewske.  “We power fished all day, covered a lot of water and tried to figure out where we might be able to duplicate or expand on the areas.”

The day one leader said that he had his area to himself in the morning but isn’t sure what to expect tomorrow.  “I’m certainly hopeful that I’ll be able to figure it out tomorrow again, but I saw some anglers in the general vicinity later, but I had left my main area by then,” he said.  “I’m hopeful that things will go well tomorrow, but this is Lake Mead and these fish are nomadic, they could be miles away from where they were today – I’ll just have to see in the morning.”

Jewell said he burned nearly a complete tank of fuel through his Bass Cat / Mercury putting his bag together.  He reported having to cover water but alternate between power and finesse tactics to trick his fish.  “I had to to a little bit of everything today,” he said.  “I had an awesome practice and was hoping the fish I found would be there after the windy day yesterday.  I had to move around, but found some good ones, and hope we can make it happen again tomorrow.”

Rounding out the top five on the pro side; Davis Hart of Glendale, Ariz. finished the day in third place with 10.68 pounds, followed by Ione, Calif. pro Cliff King who tallied 10.50 pounds and Ben Byrd of Moab, Utah and Gary Martlage of Phoenix, Ariz. tied for fifth place with 10.41 pounds each.

Because of the shared weight format, the AAA anglers rack up the same weights as their pro partners on day one of the WON Bass U.S. Open.  The top five anglers in that division were: First place, David Shearrer of Lake Forest, Calif., 11.81, second place Ken Hromada from Chandler, Ariz. with 10.84, third place Gabriel Jones from Henderson, Nev with 10.68, fourth place Brandon Bowers from Chandler, Ariz. with 10.50, and Liz Jones from Canoga Park, Calif. and Robert Rogers from Redondo Beach, Calif. tied for fifth with 10.41 pounds.

After tomorrow’s final weigh-in, the pro winner will receive the keys to a 2021 Bass Cat Puma FTD powered by a Mercury Pro XS 250 Four Stroke outboard valued at $64,000 and cash prizes.  The live weigh-in broadcast, presented by Life Source Water Systems will bring you the weigh-in at Callville Bay Marina begins around 3:00PM, access the activity at http://www.wonbassevents.com, and on the WON Bass Facebook page.

The Sponsors of the 2021 U.S. Open are: Bass Cat Boats, Mercury, HUK Performance Fishing, KUIU, Phenix Rods, Daiwa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Seaguar Fluorcarbon, Lew’s, Strike King, Power Pole, Life Source Water Systems, Gamakatsu, Lowrance, Next Gen Lithium, Century Marine, Costa, Anglers Marine, San Juan Marine, Boatmasters, Last Chance Performance Marine, Huntington Beach Honda, Sure Life, Chevron / Techron Marine and Access Parks.

Day One Standings are Below:

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