California's Gary Dobyns captured his long-sought initial WON Bass U.S. Open win Wednesday with an 8.13-pound bag that gave him a 3-day total of 32.91. He beat out the runner-up, Arizona FLW Tour pro Cliff Pirch, by nearly 3 1/2 pounds.
"It wasn't easy," said the 50-year-old Dobyns, who claimed the victory on his 31st wedding anniversary. "The fish changed every day and I had to do something different in a different place to catch them. They just don't do the same thing here for 2 days in a row.
"I wanted this sucker so bad. I've had so much success in fishing and this is the most prestigious tournament in the West, and I'd never gotten it done. Well, I finally got it done."
The 1st-place prize package included $50,000 in cash, and he won another $11,000 in big fish/big stringer money. He also claimed a fully rigged Nitro Z9 with a Mercury Pro XS 225 – the 40th boat he's won in competition during his long career.
His primary baits were a Yamamoto Hula Grub (green-pumpkin), a Lucky Craft BDS 4 crankbait and a Lucky Craft Gunfish 95 topwater bait. Full details of his winning pattern will be posted soon.
Here's a look at the final Top 10:
1. Gary Dobyns: 32.91
2. Clifford Pirch: 29.56
3. Aaron Martens: 25.73
4. Randy Estrada: 25.40
5. John Kerr: 24.50
6. Shad Berweger: 24.49
7. Richard Dutzi: 24.19
8. John Murray: 23.77
9. Art Berry: 23.24
10. Fred Roumbanis: 23.01
| Event Details | Results |
|---|---|
| Circuit | Won Bass |
| Location | Lake Mead |
| Event Date | 2009-08-31 |
| Entries: | 112 |
| Total Paid Out: | $49,200.00 |
| Place | Pro Angler | Fish | Weight | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Faehling | 15 | 25.64 | $10,000.00 |
| 2 | Carl Jocumsen | 15 | 25.07 | $5,500.00 |
| 3 | Tony Richards | 13 | 21.99 | $2,000.00 |
| 4 | Ken Whalen | 14 | 21.86 | $1,500.00 |
| 4 | Rich Halliwill | 12 | 21.86 | $4,250.00 |
| 6 | Stephen Watte | 14 | 21.77 | $1,250.00 |
| 7 | Tommy Jonovich | 15 | 21.69 | $1,100.00 |
| 8 | Tyler Vanderhorst | 15 | 21.68 | $1,000.00 |
| 9 | Doug Delgado | 15 | 21.63 | $900.00 |
| 10 | John Krumsiek | 15 | 21.59 | $800.00 |
| 11 | Marc Mitrany | 14 | 21.54 | $775.00 |
| 12 | Steve Pectol | 14 | 21.44 | $750.00 |
| 13 | Creston Carroll | 13 | 21.42 | $725.00 |
| 14 | Joseph Stroschein | 12 | 21.24 | $2,700.00 |
| 15 | Stan Boyd | 14 | 21.18 | $650.00 |
| 16 | Sterling Pfundheller | 13 | 21.09 | $650.00 |
| 17 | Michael Caruso | 14 | 20.93 | $650.00 |
| 18 | Brent Benish | 13 | 20.78 | $600.00 |
| 19 | Duane Mierop | 14 | 20.71 | $600.00 |
| 20 | James Campbell | 12 | 20.64 | $3,100.00 |
| 21 | John O'Brien | 13 | 20.63 | $600.00 |
| 22 | Cullen Bryant | 13 | 20.57 | $600.00 |
| 23 | Keith Covey | 13 | 20.36 | $0.00 |
| 24 | Dung Van Vu | 14 | 20.33 | $2,000.00 |
| 25 | Bill Brown | 14 | 20.30 | $0.00 |
| 26 | Paul A Williams | 11 | 19.98 | $2,500.00 |
| 27 | Alan Zamora | 13 | 19.95 | $0.00 |
| 28 | Eric Kunkle | 12 | 19.85 | $0.00 |
| 29 | Dean Kreuzer | 12 | 19.77 | $0.00 |
| 29 | Christopher Dixon | 11 | 19.77 | $0.00 |
| 31 | Andy Manahl | 12 | 19.74 | $0.00 |
| 32 | Lewis Southard | 15 | 19.72 | $0.00 |
| 33 | Yoshikazu Komada | 13 | 19.49 | $0.00 |
| 34 | Melanie McBride | 14 | 19.36 | $0.00 |
| 35 | Don Hendrix | 13 | 19.32 | $0.00 |
| 36 | Gary Pinholster | 13 | 19.12 | $0.00 |
| 37 | Mike A Turner | 13 | 19.08 | $2,000.00 |
| 38 | Joe Drake | 11 | 18.96 | $0.00 |
| 39 | Bump Elliot | 12 | 18.61 | $0.00 |
| 40 | Roger Cummings | 13 | 18.58 | $0.00 |
| 41 | John Land | 13 | 18.51 | $0.00 |
| 42 | Kenneth Haring | 12 | 18.37 | $0.00 |
| 43 | Aaron Yun | 11 | 18.30 | $0.00 |
| 44 | Daniel Quarmby | 12 | 18.24 | $0.00 |
| 45 | Keith Beever | 12 | 18.21 | $0.00 |
| 46 | Thomas Elliott | 12 | 18.19 | $0.00 |
| 47 | Justin Martens | 13 | 18.18 | $0.00 |
| 48 | Jeff Hudson | 14 | 17.97 | $0.00 |
| 49 | Tami Curtis | 12 | 17.96 | $0.00 |
| 50 | Aaron Heath | 12 | 17.95 | $0.00 |
| 51 | Wes Zimmerman | 12 | 17.81 | $0.00 |
| 52 | Michael Kuzara | 13 | 17.67 | $0.00 |
| 53 | Charles J Greco | 12 | 17.65 | $0.00 |
| 54 | Naoaki Fujimoto | 12 | 17.54 | $0.00 |
| 55 | Kenneth Cobb | 13 | 17.38 | $0.00 |
| 56 | Ryan Yamagata | 12 | 17.32 | $0.00 |
| 56 | Jonathan Brown | 11 | 17.32 | $0.00 |
| 58 | Wesley Carey | 12 | 17.30 | $0.00 |
| 59 | Roland Andrade | 12 | 17.24 | $0.00 |
| 60 | Tony Velasco | 12 | 17.17 | $0.00 |
| 61 | Brian Brewer | 13 | 17.01 | $0.00 |
| 62 | Moe Gray | 12 | 16.91 | $0.00 |
| 62 | Tim Blanchard | 12 | 16.91 | $0.00 |
| 64 | Oscar Delgadillo, Sr | 12 | 16.86 | $0.00 |
| 65 | Terry Stark | 11 | 16.79 | $0.00 |
| 66 | Bill Eastes | 11 | 16.63 | $0.00 |
| 67 | Douglas Minor | 12 | 16.60 | $0.00 |
| 68 | Carol Martens | 11 | 16.12 | $0.00 |
| 69 | Chris Ricci | 11 | 16.00 | $0.00 |
| 69 | John Wick | 10 | 16.00 | $0.00 |
| 71 | Nathan Swanson | 11 | 15.97 | $0.00 |
| 72 | Neil Smith | 9 | 15.71 | $0.00 |
| 73 | Sunny Hawk | 11 | 15.57 | $0.00 |
| 74 | Duke Gross | 11 | 15.55 | $0.00 |
| 75 | Abel Svitavsky | 9 | 15.37 | $0.00 |
| 76 | Richard Garcia | 11 | 15.13 | $0.00 |
| 77 | Tracy Purtee | 11 | 15.10 | $0.00 |
| 78 | Aaron Greene | 11 | 15.00 | $0.00 |
| 79 | Jim Kirkwood | 9 | 14.53 | $0.00 |
| 80 | Mike Guerra | 11 | 14.34 | $0.00 |
| 81 | Rick Hillis | 9 | 13.68 | $0.00 |
| 82 | Thomas Yazzie | 9 | 13.55 | $0.00 |
| 83 | Dink Mendez | 11 | 13.50 | $0.00 |
| 84 | Masafumi Nishida | 8 | 13.43 | $0.00 |
| 85 | Mark Torrez | 10 | 13.31 | $0.00 |
| 86 | Edward Gavin II | 8 | 13.19 | $0.00 |
| 87 | Ralph Wells | 9 | 12.52 | $0.00 |
| 88 | Glenn Morey | 6 | 12.23 | $2,000.00 |
| 89 | Dewayne Jackson | 9 | 11.40 | $0.00 |
| 90 | David Drake | 8 | 11.36 | $0.00 |
| 91 | Tom Ochoa | 7 | 10.36 | $0.00 |
| 92 | Dan George | 8 | 10.35 | $0.00 |
| 93 | Jesse Pinkerton | 6 | 10.28 | $0.00 |
| 93 | Liz Jones | 8 | 10.28 | $0.00 |
| 95 | Ernie Stumpf | 8 | 10.22 | $0.00 |
| 96 | Steve Lindner | 7 | 10.20 | $0.00 |
| 97 | Geoff Peterson | 7 | 10.01 | $0.00 |
| 98 | Mark Snitow | 6 | 9.83 | $0.00 |
| 99 | Minoru Willie Waller | 7 | 9.76 | $0.00 |
| 100 | R Stephen Gustafson | 8 | 9.70 | $0.00 |
| 101 | Mark J White | 7 | 9.55 | $0.00 |
| 102 | Greg Claiborne | 6 | 9.53 | $0.00 |
| 103 | Josh Batterson | 6 | 9.13 | $0.00 |
| 103 | Vincent Aaron Gennaro, Jr | 7 | 9.13 | $0.00 |
| 105 | Robert Cromwell | 7 | 9.02 | $0.00 |
| 106 | Ethan Nakano | 6 | 8.96 | $0.00 |
| 107 | Darrell LaMoure | 5 | 8.35 | $0.00 |
| 108 | Robert Lee Record, Jr | 6 | 7.61 | $0.00 |
| 109 | John Cassidy | 4 | 6.83 | $0.00 |
| 110 | Donald Duffey | 4 | 5.80 | $0.00 |
| 111 | Trevor Young | 3 | 3.44 | $0.00 |
| 112 | Harvey Naslund | 3 | 2.80 | $0.00 |
