He had been close the past two years, including a frustrating second place finish in 2018. Nick Salvucci had said that he wanted to win the U.S. Open more than anything – now he can claim that title as his own.
After taking over the lead on day two, Paso Robles, Calif. pro Salvucci did enough on the final day to close out the victory, despite coming in to the Calville Bay sales one fish short of his daily limit. He did enough the first two days in posting consecutive 11-pound limits, and his more than two and a half pound lead allowed for a margin of error seldom seen in a U.S. Open on Lake Mead. He arrived as the final angler to present his fish to the scales, and when the screen hit 9.44 pounds, he had what he needed and more.
Salvucci’s total weight of 31.98 pounds eclipsed DeeJay Evans, who had taken over the lead with one of the largest bags of the event only moments earlier. For his efforts, Salvucci will receive $100,000 cash and the keys to a 2019 Bass Cat Puma FTD powered by a Mercury Pro XS 250 Four Stroke outboard.
More importantly, Salvucci gets to take home the hardware. “I’ve wanted this trophy for so long, and I’ve been fishing this lake so well for the past several years that it hurt to come so close,” he said. “Now, I get to put my hands on that trophy and I’ve got the perfect place for it at home; I can’t believe it’s finally happened.
Salvucci reported spending his tournament in the mid-lake area. Specifically, he fished the Echo Bay area of the Overton Arm, and worked his way back towards the main lake. He said he caught them on multiple lures. “I didn’t really have any one thing that I caught them on, I junk fished my way through, throwing what I felt l needed to throw,” he said. “The real key to this week was to keep a positive attitude and just keep my head down. I pulled the hood of my Aftco shirt over my head and stayed focused – it feels amazing.”
Las Vegas, Nev. pro Evans’ final day creel was one of the largest of the event, and his total weight of 29.28 pounds earned him second place for the event. Evans reported catching his fish in one area, something that is unusual for Lake Mead. “I fished a pocket near Temple Bar that was not more than 100 yards by 100 yards,” he said. “I caught them on finesse fishing tactics, tubes and drop-shot rigs; I just kept circling the area catching as many fish as I could on each pass.”
He knew that he had a lot of ground to make up on the leader starting the day, so he was thrilled with his finish. “I really did all I could, and doing the math at the tanks, I really didn’t think I had enough to catch Nick,” he said. “He did a great job all week, and I congratulate him on his win.”
Scott Hellesen, from Whittier, Calif. managed to put together a solid tournament, and finished with a total of 26.74 pounds to move up into third position. Ryan Yamagata, from Las Vegas, Nev. steadily climbed the leaderboard each day and finished fourth with 25.47 pounds. Dylan Maxon, from Phoenix, Ariz. rounded out the top five with 25.45 pounds for the tournament.
On the AAA side, day one leader Bo McNeely struggled on day two, but rebounded nicely on the final day with pro partner Ryan Yamagata to earn the win. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. angler ended the tournament with 26.92 pounds. Covina, Calif. AAA Brian Reeves finished second with 26.89 pounds, he was followed in third place by Brandon Smith of Indio, Calif. with 26.55 pounds. Joe Leonard of Windsor, Calif. Finished fourth with 25.88 pounds and James Robinson of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. finished fifth with 23.34 pounds.
| Event Details | Results |
|---|---|
| Circuit | Won Bass |
| Location | Lake Mead |
| Event Date | 2019-09-15 |
| Entries: | 255 |
| Total Paid Out: | $150,000.00 |
| Place | Pro Angler | Fish | Weight | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Salvucci | 14 | 31.98 | $150,000.00 |
| 2 | DeeJay Evans | 15 | 29.28 | $0.00 |
| 3 | Scott Hellesen | 15 | 26.74 | $0.00 |
| 4 | Ryan Yamagata | 15 | 25.47 | $0.00 |
| 5 | Dylan Maxon | 15 | 25.45 | $0.00 |
| 6 | Brett Hite | 14 | 24.92 | $0.00 |
| 7 | Mark Williams | 15 | 24.83 | $0.00 |
| 8 | Clifford Pirch | 15 | 24.54 | $0.00 |
| 9 | Laythe Moore | 15 | 24.53 | $0.00 |
| 10 | Jordan Collom | 15 | 24.39 | $0.00 |
| 11 | David Baca | 10 | 24.27 | $0.00 |
| 12 | Andrew Napoleon | 15 | 24.26 | $0.00 |
| 13 | Justin Kerr | 13 | 24.09 | $0.00 |
| 13 | Brent Shores | 15 | 24.09 | $0.00 |
| 15 | Keegan Graves | 14 | 24.08 | $0.00 |
| 16 | Cody Spetz | 15 | 23.76 | $0.00 |
| 17 | Todd Kline | 13 | 23.68 | $0.00 |
| 18 | Luke Clausen | 14 | 23.42 | $0.00 |
| 19 | Kevin Hugo | 15 | 23.26 | $0.00 |
| 20 | Marty Lawrence | 15 | 23.11 | $0.00 |
| 21 | Austin Bonjour | 15 | 22.72 | $0.00 |
| 22 | Randy Estrada | 13 | 22.42 | $0.00 |
| 23 | Gabe Bolivar | 15 | 22.37 | $0.00 |
| 24 | Tom Leedom | 15 | 22.34 | $0.00 |
| 25 | John Murray | 13 | 22.32 | $0.00 |
| 26 | Kyle Grover | 15 | 22.29 | $0.00 |
| 27 | Bryan Grier | 15 | 22.24 | $0.00 |
| 28 | Sean Torgrude | 13 | 22.20 | $0.00 |
| 29 | Kevin Short | 15 | 22.00 | $0.00 |
| 30 | Mike Walsh | 15 | 21.96 | $0.00 |
| 31 | Jesse A Marquez | 14 | 21.56 | $0.00 |
| 32 | Daniel Elias | 15 | 21.51 | $0.00 |
| 33 | Ricky Shabazz | 15 | 21.17 | $0.00 |
| 34 | Jim Moynagh | 11 | 21.14 | $0.00 |
| 35 | Jeff Martineau | 15 | 21.10 | $0.00 |
| 36 | Jared Lintner | 12 | 20.99 | $0.00 |
| 37 | Aaron Martens | 15 | 20.97 | $0.00 |
| 38 | Julius Mazy | 15 | 20.43 | $0.00 |
| 39 | Chad Randles | 13 | 20.03 | $0.00 |
| 40 | Jesse Parks | 15 | 20.01 | $0.00 |
| 41 | Raymond Archer | 15 | 19.95 | $0.00 |
| 42 | Billy Hines | 15 | 19.78 | $0.00 |
| 43 | Sheldon Collings | 12 | 19.76 | $0.00 |
| 43 | Shane Spinning | 13 | 19.76 | $0.00 |
| 45 | Garrett Howard | 14 | 19.74 | $0.00 |
| 46 | Rusty Salewske | 15 | 19.73 | $0.00 |
| 47 | Jim Wells | 13 | 19.59 | $0.00 |
| 48 | Jay Cranney | 12 | 19.37 | $0.00 |
| 49 | Tommy Jonovich | 11 | 19.36 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Steve Klein | 15 | 19.32 | $0.00 |
| 51 | Matt Stefan | 13 | 19.16 | $0.00 |
| 52 | Randy Blaukat | 12 | 19.02 | $0.00 |
| 53 | Josh Bertrand | 14 | 18.84 | $0.00 |
| 54 | Brent James | 11 | 18.75 | $0.00 |
| 55 | Wade Strelic | 14 | 18.65 | $0.00 |
| 56 | Inder Lopez | 15 | 18.64 | $0.00 |
| 57 | Gabe Thomas | 11 | 18.30 | $0.00 |
| 58 | Kevin Finley | 12 | 18.29 | $0.00 |
| 59 | Michael Phua | 13 | 18.23 | $0.00 |
| 60 | Chris Zaldain | 11 | 18.12 | $0.00 |
| 61 | Steve Molinari | 10 | 17.91 | $0.00 |
| 62 | Blake Dyer | 12 | 17.89 | $0.00 |
| 63 | Ted Holverson | 14 | 17.88 | $0.00 |
| 64 | Chris Teixeira | 13 | 17.83 | $0.00 |
| 65 | Bill Brown | 13 | 17.76 | $0.00 |
| 66 | Matt Frazier | 14 | 17.71 | $0.00 |
| 67 | Jeff Hudson | 11 | 17.68 | $0.00 |
| 68 | John Stewart | 10 | 17.66 | $0.00 |
| 69 | Bryant Smith | 14 | 17.62 | $0.00 |
| 70 | Brian Tressen | 12 | 17.49 | $0.00 |
| 71 | Dean Rojas | 12 | 17.47 | $0.00 |
| 72 | Joe Uribe, Jr. | 12 | 17.44 | $0.00 |
| 73 | Shaun Bailey | 14 | 17.38 | $0.00 |
| 74 | Sean Coffey | 11 | 17.29 | $0.00 |
| 75 | Shane Meisel | 11 | 17.27 | $0.00 |
| 76 | Jay Wright | 12 | 17.26 | $0.00 |
| 77 | Travis Jewell | 12 | 17.24 | $0.00 |
| 78 | Dung Van Vu | 9 | 17.11 | $0.00 |
| 79 | Scott Frazier | 10 | 17.02 | $0.00 |
| 80 | Art Berry | 11 | 16.88 | $0.00 |
| 81 | Neil Flores | 12 | 16.84 | $0.00 |
| 82 | Rich Willoughby | 11 | 16.82 | $0.00 |
| 83 | Michael Perry | 10 | 16.70 | $0.00 |
| 84 | Jiggs Benn | 12 | 16.63 | $0.00 |
| 85 | Scooter Griffith | 11 | 16.56 | $0.00 |
| 86 | Bradley Hallman | 11 | 16.50 | $0.00 |
| 87 | Clayton Eslick | 11 | 16.45 | $0.00 |
| 88 | Tim Klinger | 11 | 16.42 | $0.00 |
| 89 | Donnie Scroggins | 12 | 16.19 | $0.00 |
| 90 | Melvin Williams | 10 | 16.18 | $0.00 |
| 91 | Ray Arbesu | 11 | 16.10 | $0.00 |
| 92 | Bobby Lanham | 11 | 16.03 | $0.00 |
| 93 | Greg Halliman | 12 | 16.00 | $0.00 |
| 94 | Guy Savidan | 10 | 15.97 | $0.00 |
| 95 | Ken Whalen | 13 | 15.91 | $0.00 |
| 96 | Kurt Dove | 12 | 15.73 | $0.00 |
| 97 | Todd Woods | 9 | 15.64 | $0.00 |
| 98 | Jerren Slaton | 10 | 15.50 | $0.00 |
| 99 | Danny Clark | 11 | 15.45 | $0.00 |
| 100 | Justin Patti | 9 | 15.34 | $0.00 |
| 101 | Dan Merchant | 11 | 15.27 | $0.00 |
| 102 | Kona Borja | 10 | 15.19 | $0.00 |
| 103 | Bill O'Shinn | 11 | 15.17 | $0.00 |
| 104 | Jonathan Schuyler | 10 | 15.13 | $0.00 |
| 105 | Patrick Touey | 11 | 14.99 | $0.00 |
| 106 | Jacob Lute | 7 | 14.96 | $0.00 |
| 107 | Jeremy McKay | 11 | 14.92 | $0.00 |
| 108 | Vern Ridgway | 11 | 14.91 | $0.00 |
| 109 | Jacob Russell | 9 | 14.72 | $0.00 |
| 110 | Dan Frazier | 9 | 14.54 | $0.00 |
| 111 | Greg Miser | 8 | 14.43 | $0.00 |
| 112 | Cody Steckel | 9 | 14.36 | $0.00 |
| 113 | Johnny Johnson | 11 | 14.29 | $0.00 |
| 114 | George Kramer | 8 | 14.20 | $0.00 |
| 115 | Jamie Shaw | 10 | 14.19 | $0.00 |
| 116 | Trevor Reis | 11 | 14.17 | $0.00 |
| 117 | Dustin Remy | 11 | 14.12 | $0.00 |
| 118 | Steven Mack | 11 | 13.88 | $0.00 |
| 119 | Cory Kramer | 10 | 13.83 | $0.00 |
| 120 | Carlos Garcia | 8 | 13.17 | $0.00 |
| 121 | Cody Murray | 8 | 13.11 | $0.00 |
| 122 | Brad Smith | 9 | 13.10 | $0.00 |
| 123 | Shawn Lee | 9 | 13.07 | $0.00 |
| 124 | Mike Mcclelland | 7 | 13.06 | $0.00 |
| 125 | Jim Elliott | 9 | 12.98 | $0.00 |
| 126 | John Zeolla | 10 | 12.96 | $0.00 |
| 127 | Kevin Wiggins | 8 | 12.91 | $0.00 |
| 128 | Oscar Lopez | 8 | 12.83 | $0.00 |
| 129 | Tony Lain | 11 | 12.80 | $0.00 |
| 130 | Devin McDonald | 10 | 12.77 | $0.00 |
| 131 | Travis Pitt | 9 | 12.70 | $0.00 |
| 132 | Russ Barger | 9 | 12.67 | $0.00 |
| 133 | Andrew Upshaw | 9 | 12.62 | $0.00 |
| 134 | Brett Leber | 9 | 12.47 | $0.00 |
| 135 | Matthew Adamson | 9 | 12.43 | $0.00 |
| 136 | Levi Samz | 8 | 12.41 | $0.00 |
| 137 | Vince Borges | 9 | 12.22 | $0.00 |
| 138 | Alex Klein | 9 | 12.21 | $0.00 |
| 139 | Ken Mah | 6 | 12.20 | $0.00 |
| 140 | Shannon Abbott | 9 | 12.13 | $0.00 |
| 141 | Pete Marino | 8 | 12.06 | $0.00 |
| 142 | Andy Manahl | 9 | 11.99 | $0.00 |
| 142 | Gildardo Gollas | 8 | 11.99 | $0.00 |
| 144 | Carl Limbrick, Jr | 8 | 11.90 | $0.00 |
| 145 | Siwon Kang | 9 | 11.87 | $0.00 |
| 146 | Rod Wynn | 10 | 11.81 | $0.00 |
| 147 | Jason Hickey | 7 | 11.76 | $0.00 |
| 148 | Zack Holwerda | 8 | 11.68 | $0.00 |
| 149 | Hobby Nelson | 9 | 11.52 | $0.00 |
| 150 | Jason Talbot | 7 | 11.50 | $0.00 |
| 151 | Doug Gaskill | 8 | 11.47 | $0.00 |
| 152 | Roy Hawk | 8 | 11.32 | $0.00 |
| 153 | Rodney Reed | 6 | 11.28 | $0.00 |
| 154 | Jason Thompson | 8 | 11.21 | $0.00 |
| 155 | Chip Gilbert | 8 | 11.02 | $0.00 |
| 156 | Gary Wasson | 7 | 10.98 | $0.00 |
| 157 | Clayton Meyer | 8 | 10.94 | $0.00 |
| 158 | Tom Ormsby | 8 | 10.91 | $0.00 |
| 159 | Mark Dotterer | 7 | 10.88 | $0.00 |
| 160 | Jason Swim | 8 | 10.84 | $0.00 |
| 161 | Kirk McKinney | 7 | 10.82 | $0.00 |
| 162 | Kevin Caruso | 7 | 10.70 | $0.00 |
| 163 | Jason Bradshaw | 8 | 10.58 | $0.00 |
| 164 | Derek Spetz | 9 | 10.48 | $0.00 |
| 165 | Byung ho Kang | 9 | 10.47 | $0.00 |
| 165 | Tom Lowery | 7 | 10.47 | $0.00 |
| 167 | Dylan Denny | 6 | 10.40 | $0.00 |
| 168 | Jason Cloke | 8 | 10.14 | $0.00 |
| 169 | Greg Gutierrez | 6 | 9.96 | $0.00 |
| 170 | Tai Au | 7 | 9.89 | $0.00 |
| 170 | Paul Tassie | 7 | 9.89 | $0.00 |
| 172 | Joe Patz | 6 | 9.84 | $0.00 |
| 173 | Loren Bryant | 5 | 9.80 | $0.00 |
| 174 | Matthew Williams | 7 | 9.78 | $0.00 |
| 175 | James Howard | 7 | 9.68 | $0.00 |
| 176 | Dane Lawrence | 6 | 9.65 | $0.00 |
| 177 | Kyle Coppinger | 6 | 9.64 | $0.00 |
| 178 | Jim McLaughlin | 7 | 9.56 | $0.00 |
| 179 | Keith Diffey | 6 | 9.51 | $0.00 |
| 180 | Ish Monroe | 7 | 9.44 | $0.00 |
| 181 | James Fenney Jr | 7 | 9.42 | $0.00 |
| 182 | Kyle Georgi | 6 | 9.39 | $0.00 |
| 182 | Ron Hammett | 6 | 9.39 | $0.00 |
| 184 | Zachary Elrite | 8 | 9.18 | $0.00 |
| 185 | Mike Rennie | 7 | 9.15 | $0.00 |
| 186 | Tim Price | 4 | 9.14 | $0.00 |
| 187 | Tom Nokes | 6 | 9.10 | $0.00 |
| 188 | Ed Webb | 7 | 9.08 | $0.00 |
| 189 | Allen Clark | 7 | 8.90 | $0.00 |
| 190 | Dick Watson | 7 | 8.78 | $0.00 |
| 191 | Jay Guterding | 6 | 8.77 | $0.00 |
| 192 | Mike Peterson | 7 | 8.70 | $0.00 |
| 193 | Bub Tosh | 5 | 8.69 | $0.00 |
| 194 | Stephen Tauriello | 6 | 8.63 | $0.00 |
| 194 | Mike Williams | 5 | 8.63 | $0.00 |
| 196 | Greg Garcia | 6 | 8.54 | $0.00 |
| 196 | Jiwoong Yoo | 6 | 8.54 | $0.00 |
| 198 | Delaney Dwyer | 7 | 8.52 | $0.00 |
| 199 | Jacob Roundtree | 5 | 8.38 | $0.00 |
| 200 | David Naugle | 6 | 8.35 | $0.00 |
| 201 | Derek Francom | 8 | 8.34 | $0.00 |
| 202 | Todd Holverson | 5 | 8.28 | $0.00 |
| 203 | Louis Fernandes | 5 | 8.26 | $0.00 |
| 204 | Mark Poe | 4 | 8.13 | $0.00 |
| 205 | Noy Vilaysane | 6 | 8.04 | $0.00 |
| 206 | Brett Posladek | 6 | 7.98 | $0.00 |
| 207 | Ian Boehm | 6 | 7.92 | $0.00 |
| 208 | Shawn O'Connell | 6 | 7.89 | $0.00 |
| 209 | Rick Mason | 6 | 7.88 | $0.00 |
| 209 | John Morrow | 6 | 7.88 | $0.00 |
| 211 | Steve Gibson | 5 | 7.81 | $0.00 |
| 212 | Miles Howe | 5 | 7.78 | $0.00 |
| 213 | Dusty Kahler | 6 | 7.67 | $0.00 |
| 214 | Matt Shura | 6 | 7.57 | $0.00 |
| 215 | Wade Headrick | 7 | 7.56 | $0.00 |
| 216 | Mac McCullough | 6 | 7.51 | $0.00 |
| 216 | Paul Hodges | 5 | 7.51 | $0.00 |
| 218 | Rick Correa | 5 | 7.21 | $0.00 |
| 218 | James Salazar | 7 | 7.21 | $0.00 |
| 220 | Gary Moore | 5 | 7.12 | $0.00 |
| 221 | Douglas Jones | 5 | 7.04 | $0.00 |
| 222 | Matthew Luna | 6 | 6.93 | $0.00 |
| 223 | Mike Brillhart | 5 | 6.91 | $0.00 |
| 224 | David Kemper | 5 | 6.78 | $0.00 |
| 225 | Sam Rosefsky | 4 | 6.74 | $0.00 |
| 226 | Trace Myers | 5 | 6.73 | $0.00 |
| 227 | Ron Ratlief | 4 | 6.49 | $0.00 |
| 228 | Robert Ostercamp | 4 | 6.29 | $0.00 |
| 229 | Michael Crowther | 4 | 6.17 | $0.00 |
| 230 | Benjamin Green | 5 | 6.04 | $0.00 |
| 231 | Vincent Melkus | 4 | 6.02 | $0.00 |
| 232 | Scott Davis | 4 | 5.92 | $0.00 |
| 233 | Jim Hallauer | 5 | 5.85 | $0.00 |
| 234 | Jesse Slaton | 4 | 5.68 | $0.00 |
| 235 | Rich Vincent | 4 | 5.61 | $0.00 |
| 236 | Justin Ramsay | 4 | 4.99 | $0.00 |
| 237 | Cy Floyd | 4 | 4.95 | $0.00 |
| 238 | Stephen Price | 3 | 4.53 | $0.00 |
| 239 | Philip Roesener | 3 | 4.32 | $0.00 |
| 240 | Christopher Dixon | 3 | 4.18 | $0.00 |
| 241 | Robert Zumwalt | 3 | 4.14 | $0.00 |
| 242 | Michael Spain | 3 | 3.93 | $0.00 |
| 243 | Bobby Hamner | 2 | 3.24 | $0.00 |
| 244 | Gary Freeman | 2 | 3.20 | $0.00 |
| 245 | Guy Williams | 2 | 2.76 | $0.00 |
| 246 | Darius Arberry | 2 | 2.69 | $0.00 |
| 247 | George Fedor | 2 | 2.64 | $0.00 |
| 248 | Cliff King | 2 | 2.63 | $0.00 |
| 249 | Trait Zaldain | 2 | 2.55 | $0.00 |
| 250 | Cory Hoopes | 2 | 2.48 | $0.00 |
| 251 | Marvin Finley | 1 | 1.76 | $0.00 |
| 252 | Bryan Diehm | 1 | 1.18 | $0.00 |
| 253 | Steven Bowlin | 0 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
| 253 | Chase Colby | 0 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
| 253 | Brandon Ober | 0 | 0.00 | $0.00 |
No magazine appearances found for this angler.