California's Aaron Haring (pictured) took the day 1 lead at the U.S. Open on Monday by catching a 14.50-pound limit at Nevada's Lake Mead.
"It was a great day," said Haring, whose bag was anchored by a 4.05-pound largemouth. "We caught 'em early."
Post-frontal weather conditions brought light winds and a modest 88-degree high temperature, and weights were lower than anticipated for the field of 143 pros and 143 co-anglers.
Joe Uribe Jr., also of California, was 2nd with 14.13 and Scott Neilson of Utah was 3rd with 14.13. California's Brent Ehrler, who won the FLW Tour Championship last month, was 4th with 11.54.
Two-time defending champion Aaron Martens of Alabama was 8th with 10.44 and Nevada's own Byron Velvick, also a two-time champion, was 9th with 9.44.
Here's the day 1 Top 10:
1. Aaron Haring: 14.50
2. Joe Uribe: 14.13
3. Scott Nielsen: 11.63
4. Brent Ehrler: 11.54
5. Matt Shura: 10.68
6. Ben Koller: 10.67
7. Clifford Pirch: 10.53
8. Aaron Martens: 10.44
9. Byron Velvick: 9.98
10. Mark Walsh: 9.64
The 3-day tournament runs through Wednesday.
