Posted -  August 28th, 2008  6:06am CST
 
JUSTIN KERR NIPS GARY DOBYNS FOR 2008 U.S. OPEN TITLE
Kerr Earns $150,000 By .47 Pounds

Story and Photo by Bill Mays

Las Vegas, NV —In a race going down to the final flight on Wednesday, pro Justin Kerr of Simi Valley, California nipped Gary Dobyns of Yuba City by .47 pounds to win the 2008 WON Bass U.S. Open tournament on Lake Mead.

Kerr, whose 9.16-pound sack today pulled him from fourth place to the lead, utilized a one-two punch of oxblood RoboWorms and Super Spooks each day of the contest to edge past Dobyns who weighed 8.23 pounds today.

“It wasn’t as good a day,” Kerr said of Wednesday’s fishing, noting “I could only catch a limit in the morning all week. Today, I finally culled one in the last five minutes.” He finished with 27.31 pounds.

Catching a bass that has swirled on his topwater, he followed with the plastic worm to catch a 2.2 pounder that allowed him to release a fish weighing just 1.2 pounds. “There’s no way I would have won without that fish,” said the champion, who takes home cash and prizes worth $150,000.

Thwarted after another strong showing in the desert, Dobyns said, “I busted one off at the boat. I’m very disappointed in my fishing.” His runner-up total went 26.84 pounds.

Holding down third place was former champion John Kerr of Ramona, Calif. (no relation to the winner) who finished with 25.38 pounds. His final day sack went 6.73 pounds and all week he relied on a mix of reaction baits and drop-shot worms. “I covered as much water as possible,” he said.

Unable to secure a limit on the final day, Shaun Bailey of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. settled for fourth place after leading on Monday and Tuesday. His final tally was 25.24 pounds.

Another Californian, Tom Matsunaga of Gardena held on to fifth place with a three-day weight of 23.10 pounds. “The better fish just didn’t bite,” he said of his drop-shot action in 30 feet of water.

The tournament, which was held out of the Silverton Lodge Casino-Bass Pro Shops, experienced calm conditions and temperatures in the low 100’s.

FINAL STANDINGS

Place Angler Hometown, State
Fish
Big Fish
Total
Winnings
1 Justin Kerr Simi Valley CA
15/15
2.72
27.31
$151,000
2 Gary Dobyns Yuba City CA
15/15
3.60
26.84
$19,500
3 John Kerr Ramona CA
15/15
2.65
25.38
$13,500
4 Shaun Bailey Lake Havasu City AZ
13/13
3.23
25.24
$12,500
5 Tom Matsunaga Gardena CA
15/15
2.39
23.10
$8,000
6 Duane Dunstone Reno NV
15/15
23.00
$7,000
7 Clyde Evans Las Vegas NV
15/15
2.25
22.63
$6,000
8 Matt Shura Mesa AZ
15/15
22.46
$5,000
9 Dick Watson Alta Loma CA
15/15
21.97
$4,500
10 Tim Klinger Boulder City NV
15/15
2.32
21.91
$4,000
11 Robert Lee Angels Camp CA
15/14
2.96
21.76
$4,700
12 John Perkins Lake Havasu City AZ
15/15
2.28
21.47
$3,300
13 Gerald Loughran Glendale AZ
15/15
21.06
$3,100
14 Bryan Grier Salinas CA
15/13
20.86
$2,750
14 Rich Tauber Camarillo CA
15/15
20.86
$2,750
16 Jeremy Wildman Henderson NV
15/15
20.83
$2,500
17 Bradley Yang Los Angeles CA
15/15
2.24
20.63
$2,500
18 Michael Rooke Lake Havasu City AZ
15/15
20.57
$2,250
19 Brent Oldham Huntington Beach CA
14/14
20.31
$250
20 John Murray Phoenix AZ
14/14
20.28
21 Eddie Rodriguez Las Vegas NV
13/13
2.57
20.02
$2,500
22 Tony Capparelli Camarillo CA
15/15
19.95
23 Dennis Kolender Henderson NV
14/14
2.12
19.91
24 Jamie Cyphers Los Vegas NV
15/15
19.17
25 Steve Molinari Waddell AZ
13/13
18.95
26 Derek Yamamoto Boulder City CO
13/13
18.91
27 Jay Wright Seal Beach CA
14/14
1.97
18.89
28 John Morrow Brea CA
13/12
2.01
18.83
29 Byron Velvick Boulder City NV
13/13
1.63
18.81
30 Gary Klein Weatherford TX
13/13
18.64
31 John Parks Aztec NM
13/13
18.51
32 Eric Brewer Nuevo CA
12/12
2.11
18.39
33 Rusty Brown Tustin CA
12/12
18.32
34 Wes Carey Highland CA
13/13
2.36
18.16
35 Curtis Bietz Scottsdale AZ
12/12
2.49
18.06
36 Boris Antolos Torrance CA
12/12
18.01
37 John Yourk Scottsdale AZ
13/13
1.87
17.88
38 Neil Campbell Fallbrook CA
14/14
17.76
39 Jerry Huff, D.V.M. Las Vegas NV
14/14
17.62
40 Fred Krumsiek Glendale AZ
12/12
2.41
17.32
41 Kevin Luby Henderson NV
12/12
1.79
16.99
42 Jeffery Klicka Brawley CA
13/13
2.95
16.91
$1,000
43 Leon Knight Tehachapi CA
12/12
16.72
44 Dean Yamagata Las Vegas NV
11/11
2.43
16.67
44 Randy Estrada, M.D. Corona CA
12/12
16.67
46 Gary Boyd Reseda CA
13/13
16.63
47 Ron Hammett Alpine CA
13/13
16.53
48 Gary Moore Anaheim CA
10/10
2.22
16.18
49 Vern Ridgway Mesa AZ
11/11
2.38
16.06
50 Moses Mokuahi Henderson NV
12/12
2.42
15.91
$1,000
51 Scott Nielsen Salt Lake City UT
10/10
2.32
15.58
52 Mark Dotterer Scottsdale AZ
11/11
15.49
52 Steven Grier Salinas CA
11/10
15.49
54 Kevin Caruso Glendale AZ
11/11
2.23
15.36
55 Marvin Barellano Monterey Park CA
12/12
15.12
56 David Gliebe Stockton CA
12/12
15.05
56 Aaron Leon Henderson NV
10/10
15.05
58 Fred Roumbanis Bixby OK
11/11
14.89
59 Rodney McNabb Ramona CA
10/10
14.68
60 Mike Folkestad Yorba Linda CA
11/11
14.56
$10,000
61 Lucky Brundle West Valley City UT
8/8
2.54
14.30
$1,000
62 Donald Smith Rifle CO
11/11
14.27
63 Will Jefferies Bountiful UT
11/11
14.26
64 Brian Nixon Grand Junction CO
10/10
2.26
14.23
65 David Naugle Las Vegas NV
10/10
2.18
14.05
66 Don Hilton Las Vegas NV
12/12
13.55
67 Kevin Wiggins Las Vegas NV
9/9
12.84
68 Michael McLernon Oceanside CA
8/8
12.36
69 Clifford Pirch Payson AZ
8/8
11.89
70 Ryan Schopp Grand Junction CO
8/8
1.91
11.36
71 Paul Gonzales Las Vegas NV
9/9
10.92
72 Aaron Martens Leeds AL
8/7
10.76
73 Roy Hawk Knightsen CA
7/7
2.04
10.37
74 Sean Stafford Fairfield CA
7/7
9.83
75 Johnny Montealegre Southgate CA
6/4
9.74
76 Paul Leader El Cajon CA
7/7
9.58
77 Matt Lisiewski  
7/7
1.60
9.36
78 John Valerio Palmdale CA
7/7
9.34
79 Roger Pluff San Jacinto CA
7/7
9.25
80 Wayne Carey Alta Loma CA
6/6
8.01
81 Ron Bettiga WINDSOR CA
6/6
7.83
82 Cory Dispensiero Palmdale CA
2/2
2.17
4.75
83 William Ruehle Surprise AZ
3/2
2.87

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