Sean Coffey Finishes in Second Place, Matthew Keats Wins AAA Division
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – October 10, 2026 –– As reported earlier in the day, with Tropical Storm Rachel approaching through the Southern Border carrying unsafe conditions to Lake Mead, the National Park Service made the call to pull the day three permit for the event, resulting in the cancelation of the scheduled final day of the 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open presented by Ranger Boats and Mercury on Sunday.
That meant that Saturday’s competition would be the culminating day of the event. With the most important bass fishing tournament in the Western United States now being a two-day event, the anglers knew there would be no holding back and they would have no choice but to step on the accelerator and catch everything they could.
Mesa, Ariz. pro Sean Coffey took his place in the Ranger Boats Hot Seat midway through the final weigh-in after climbing from his second-place position from the first day. Coffey posted an 11.39-pound limit to bring his total weight to 26.22 pounds. That weight would hold strong until the final angler to come to the scales at Calville Bay Marina.
That person was none other than 2008 U.S. Open Champion Justin Kerr from Lake Havasu City, Ariz. needed 13.34 pounds to take the lead, and when the scales tipped at 13.41, Kerr had won his second WON Bass U.S. Open title and the keys to a 2026 Ranger Z520R powered by a Mercury ProXS250 valued at $90,000 and a $70,000 cash prize.
Brandon Keuhl of Peoria, Ariz. finished third in the pro division with 25.64 pounds, he was followed by Jason Borofka of Lavon, Tex. in fourth place with 23.90 pounds while fifth place went to Hermie Romero of Boulder City, Nev. with 23.78 pounds.
Kerr said that he made the run to the Overton Arm and targeted clumps of Spiny Niad grass with a pair of lures. “I caught six of my keepers on a Morning Dawn Baby Jackhammer and Bullpoint Shad as a trailer,” he said. “I caught the rest of the keepers I weighed on a jig I tied with my mentor Aaron Martens years ago. It was a handmade black and blue jig with a matching Rage Craw trailer.”
Kerr said his main stretch of grass was one he had to make multiple presentations to create strikes. “I had one really good stretch of grass that I caught quite a few of my fish from that patch, but I had to make at least 25 casts to it to get bites,” he said. “I had a good one chase my bait out today and miss my Jackhammer, I told my co-angler to throw in there quick, and our biggest fish of the day ate it.”
He said that he is thrilled to win his second U.S. Open, and that he felt the presence of two of his greatest friends and mentors throughout the event. “Having that jig be a part of things today really made me feel like Aaron was with me today,” he said. “I also felt like my friend Mike Brakebill was with me today too. Both of those guys were major influences on me, and they were on my heart today.”
Coffey, who led the second day of the 2025 U.S. Open before being overtaken said that he knew he was a fish short after he put his boat on the trailer. “I had a 1.43 in my bag and I had a strong feeling that it was going to cost me,” he said. “I didn’t lose any good fish that cost me, I just didn’t get as many bites today and I just fell short.”
He said he targeted Spiny Niad grass in the Overton Arm both days with a trio of reaction baits. His primary bait was a 1/2-ounce white and chartreuse spinnerbait with nickel and gold double willowleaf blades that he makes for himself, a self-made 1/2-ounce white bladed jig and matching trailer and a Berkley J-Walker Topwater bait. “I caught most of my fish on the spinnerbait and bladed jig, but my two biggest bites came on the topwater bait.
“I really did everything I could and am pleased with the performance despite falling short, Justin is the man and it doesn’t surprise me that he came through – congratulations to him.”
In the AAA Division, Matthew Keats of took the title with a two-day total of 24.15 pounds. He earned $8,000 cash plus a Honda Fourtrax ATV from Huntington Beach Honda. Ross Gebhardt of Sunset, Tex. finished second with 26.22 pounds. Third pace went to James Boston of Collinsville, Okla. With 21.83 pounds. Terry Peterson of West Jordan, Utah placed fourth with 21.74 and Brandon Scott of Englewood, Colo. Rounded out the top five in the AAA Division with 21.53 pounds.
The full scheduled payout will be made to the field at Sunset Station Casino in Henderson, Nev. following the day two weigh-in. The day three big bass prizes of $1,000 each for the top 10 big bass in each division will be divided evenly amongst the winners from day one and day two.
The daily livestream of the weigh-ins aired at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments. Daily takeoffs and weigh-ins occured 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.
2026 WON Bass U.S. Open Final Pro Standings
| Place | Angler | Hometown | Fish | B/B | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
| 1 | Justin Kerr | Lake Havasu City AZ | 10-10 | 4.03 | 12.89 | 13.41 | 26.30 |
| 2 | Sean Coffey | Mesa AZ | 10-10 | 4.27 | 14.83 | 11.39 | 26.22 |
| 3 | Brandon Kuehl | Peoria AZ | 10-10 | 6.01 | 12.63 | 13.01 | 25.64 |
| 4 | Jason Borofka | Lavon TX | 10-10 | 3.09 | 12.33 | 11.57 | 23.90 |
| 5 | Hermie Romero | Boulder City NV | 10-10 | 4.00 | 12.16 | 11.62 | 23.78 |
| 6 | Bill Brown | Grand Junction CO | 10-10 | 11.60 | 11.04 | 22.64 | |
| 7 | Kyle Grover | Rancho Santa Margarita CA | 10-10 | 3.52 | 11.16 | 11.45 | 22.61 |
| 8 | Kevin Hugo | Canyon Lake CA | 10-10 | 4.05 | 14.90 | 7.53 | 22.43 |
| 9 | Mike Steckel | Las Vegas NV | 10-10 | 13.37 | 8.73 | 22.10 | |
| 10 | Julius Mazy | Phoenix AZ | 10-10 | 4.61 | 8.44 | 13.59 | 22.03 |
2026 WON Bass U.S. Open Final AAA Standings
| Place | Angler | Hometown | Fish | B/B | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total |
| 1 | Matthew Keats | Scottsdale AZ | 10-10 | 14.90 | 9.25 | 24.15 | |
| 2 | Ross Gebhardt | Sunset TX | 10-10 | 2.94 | 12.33 | 11.00 | 23.33 |
| 3 | James Boston | Collinsville OK | 10-10 | 2.74 | 9.31 | 12.52 | 21.83 |
| 4 | Terry Peterson | West Jordan UT | 10-10 | 3.55 | 12.63 | 9.11 | 21.74 |
| 5 | Brandon Scott | Englewood CO | 10-10 | 4.82 | 8.12 | 13.41 | 21.53 |
| 6 | Jamie S Johnson | Australia | 10-10 | 10.29 | 11.12 | 21.41 | |
| 7 | John Harris | San Diego CA | 10-10 | 10.37 | 10.78 | 21.15 | |
| 8 | Michael Grisham | Glendale AZ | 10-10 | 8.25 | 12.22 | 20.47 | |
| 9 | Christopher Lockie | Las Vegas NV | 10-10 | 9.76 | 10.59 | 20.35 | |
| 10 | Gary Bradford | Prescott AZ | 10-10 | 8.73 | 11.57 | 20.30 |
The 2026 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mead in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Jan. 8 to 10, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion Garrett Ellenson – 98.37 pounds
Feb. 19 to 21, 2026 – Lake Shasta – Champion Brennan Osborn – 62.28 pounds
April 16 to 18, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion – Garrett Ellenson – 95.87 pounds
May 7 to 9, 2026 – Lake Havasu – Champion – Cody Steckel – 50.24 pounds
Oct. 9 & 10, 2026 – U.S. Open at Lake Mead – Justin Kerr – 26.30 pounds
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2026 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mead was brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Ttiton Boats, Nitro Boats, Mercury Marine, Bridgford Foods, AFTCO, Power Pole, Costa, Berkley, Gamakatsu, Okuma, Lowrance, Stealth Lithium Batteries, Daiwa, G-Ratt Baits, Reese Fishing, Signature Gates, Abu Garcia, DD26, Anglers Marine, Borer Soft Plastics, Johnny Creek, Loco’s Bar & Cocina, Anderson Toyota, Clearlake Outdoors, Kittle’s Outdoors & Sport Co. and Fenwick.
— DAY ONE —
Sean 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.
The 2026 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada, will culminate with the 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mead in October. The five event dates are as follows:
Jan. 8 to 10, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion Garrett Ellenson – 98.37 pounds
Feb. 19 to 21, 2026 – Lake Shasta – Champion Brennan Osborn – 62.28 pounds
April 16 to 18, 2026 – Clear Lake – Champion – Garrett Ellenson – 95.87 pounds
May 7 to 9, 2026 – Lake Havasu – Champion – Cody Steckel – 50.24 pounds
Oct. 9 to 11, 2026 – U.S. Open at Lake Mead
For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2026 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.
The 2026 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mead is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Ttiton Boats, Nitro Boats, Mercury Marine, Bridgford Foods, AFTCO, Power Pole, Costa, Berkley, Gamakatsu, Okuma, Lowrance, Stealth Lithium Batteries, Daiwa, G-Ratt Baits, Reese Fishing, Signature Gates, Abu Garcia, DD26, Anglers Marine, Borer Soft Plastics, Johnny Creek, Loco’s Bar & Cocina, Anderson Toyota, Clearlake Outdoors, Kittle’s Outdoors & Sport Co. and Fenwick.
