JOIN ME ON THIS JOURNEY.
Follow me as I travel from Utah to Lake Mohave for the U.S. OPEN 2022. I plan on discussing the things I had to do to qualify, prepare, and ultimately fish in one of the most coveted bass tournaments in America.
Check back soon. I will be adding content to this page as we prepare to leave and make our way to Hartwell, SC.
Overview
Jordan just left for the US OPEN in Mohave. Wish him luck! He was nervous but confident.
He will pre-fish Friday & Saturday. I will meet him Saturday in Mohave, and then have a day of rest on Sunday.
For some of you that do not know how these tournaments work here is a breakdown
Sunday: Listen to Church online, complete any registration requirements, visit the exhibits at the event and meet PRO’s. A time to mingle and get to know one another.
Sunday Night: He receives a text message disclosing the pros that he will be assigned to fish with . Each day he will fish with a new PRO. He does not know the PRO. With close to 200 teams they will be organized into flights. Given their launch order, instructions, etc. for the event.
Monday Morning: He will be on the docks, and in the water by 4:30 AM. He will position his gear in the Pro’s boat as discussed the day before. Pro’s may expect certain things to be done at “Last Catch: for example when the PRO say’s “Last Cast” he will secure the gear, net, and put his life Jackets on positioned in his seat for next location.
Weigh-in: They will fill the body bags (Fish bags) with water and the catch of the day – and take them to the weigh station. They will conduct the weigh-ins and receive a scorecard for the day’s work.
Monday Night: He will wait for the text message to arrive telling him who he will fish with the next day.
Tuesday Morning: He will wake at 3AM and be at the docks by 4AM. He will repeat what he did the day before, except this time, he will be in different locations with a different PRO.
He is not allowed to discuss the previous day’s spots with the new PRO. He must maintain integrity in the sport. He is expected to be ready to go, and they have but a short time to fish as a team. This means great communication, etc.
Wednesday: is a repeat of the previous day but again, with a new PRO. This is also the final weigh-in day. If the last three days proved successful, they will wait in excitement for the evening awards ceremony.
Prizes for the AAA and PROs are given out. There are thousands of dollars in prizes and even a bass boat will be given to the lucky anglers.
- It takes months to prepare for something like this. It is a lot of hard work and dedication.
- The AAA and the PRO work as a team bass fishing. The fish will count to both individuals.
- Jordan is considered a AAA, and he will compete against other AAA.
- The PRO competes against other Pros.
Day 1- Arrival
All Pro’s and AAA anglers must register when arriving at the tournament. The pre-registration took place at Katherine Landing in Mohave. A full-service marina inside the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Katherine Landing at Lake Mohave offers guests an array of boat and water sports rentals, lodging, camping, dining, fully stocked marina store, fuel dock and boat repairs.
Jordan standing next to Pro Danny Davis in front of the US OPEN backdrop.
Jordan fished his first tournament with Danny when he was thirteen years old. Danny has been training Jordan as a pro-fisherman ever since. His honesty and integrity in the sport has instilled such a positive impact on how Jordan fish’s. Everything from how to tie a knot properly to respecting other fishermen, and their spots. Danny fishes tournaments with Jordan and the two of them are a force to contend with. We really appreciate Pro’s like Danny that take the time to mentor the youth and help them learn not only how to fish but other important life skills. Danny has be instrumental in this young mans progress as a tournament fishermen.
This is a video of the marina. We will launch from this Marina. The boaters had an option of renting a slip or dropping their boat in on the day of the tournament
When I arrived, we had to sign waivers and check in. This was called early registrations/check-in.
Jordan ran into his fishing coach and founder of Redrock Bass Clif Gallagher. To see these two together at the US OPEN sitting together just chill’n was a very cool moment. Jordan was one of the first anglers that joined Redrock. At the time he was half his current height with a head full of curly hair. Clif has been a part of Jordan’s success in Bass fishing since day 1. He’s been such a great influence on Jordan and continues to inspire, challenge and help him reach for the moon! Clif is a retired Veteran that has grown a Youth Bass League in S. Utah to over 50 Youth competing in 10 tournaments a year.
Day 2- SPonsor Row
This is the big kick-off event. This year it featured an expanded Sponsor’s Expo and coincide with a ceremony inducting the inaugural class of the WON BASS Hall of Fame. Jordan was lucky enough to meet some of these legends during the event. This was also the meeting where they provided instructions to the teams. Instructions included everything from when the tournament would start, to weigh-in procedures, slips, etc. here are some pictures of Jordan at Sponsor Row.
What made this event so special for Jordan is he met the team at Power-pole in person and was able to thank them for his sponsorship. They were so cool. 1st Class in all they do!.
Another item that made the night so incredible was that Jordan was able to meet, several of the members of the inaugural class of the WON BASS Hall of Fame.
To top of the night, Jordan was able to meet and visit with one of his favorite pro bass anglers. Chris Zaldain from the Bassmaster Elite Series fishing the US. OPEN. You might know him from his youtbube channel, and he presence around Googan Squad.
Below are some pictures from Day 2 – Sponsor Row.
What an incredible opportunity to be able to visit with and get to know one of the legends in the bass industry. This is a picture of Jordan standing next to recently inaugurated “Hall of Fame” legend Mike Folkestad.
Rick Clunn another Legend, and inaugurated “Hall of Fame” bass fisherman. He was so cool. Took time to visit with Jordan. Jordan was excited to see him and meet these Pro’s that he has watched for so many years.
One of Jordan’s all time favorite Pro fishermen. Past U.S. Open Champion Roy Hawk. Talk about a great guy. Jordan wished Roy luck each morning and I would often see the two of them chatting a few moments here and there.
Don Iovino was also included in the Hall of Fame. Jordan had a rare opportunity to get a quick snapshot of the two together.
Description coming soon.
Jordan standing next to Billy. Billy has been instrumental in the success of WON BASS. Him and his team pulled off an incredible event. He final words to Jordan “Looking forward to seeing you in the coming years” I think like all of us, we recognize that Jordan has found his footing in the space and is going to make the leap to PRO one day.
Jordan was able to meet and visit with one of his favorite pro bass anglers. Chris Zaldain from the Bassmaster Elite Series fishing the US. OPEN. You might know him from his youtbube channel, and he presence around Googan Squad..
Before the kick off.
During the kick-off.
Day 3- Tournament Starts
Woke up at 3:45 AM. Met at the boat at 4:30. Did final check of the gear and then headed over to the launch site. Jordan’s Pro had his boat in a slip so there was no need getting there early to launch from the ramp. Jordan was at the boat at 5:30 AM with gear ready to go.
He arrived in the dark. All the co-angler’s were busy connecting with their Pro’s on the docs. It was cool to see all the hand shakes, etc.
These are some pictures and videos of the morning of the tournament. The boats we split up into multiple flights. Jordan was in the first flight and was the second boat. So this meant they were second in-line to launch. One of the videos below show them racing off.
Day 5- Next Day
Jordan was paired up with Rusty Salewske’ https://majorleaguefishing.com/anglers/rusty-salewske-165922/
Day 6- FINAL DAY
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