The 25th U.S. Open began Monday at Lake Mead and only three anglers weighed double-digit bags. Day 1 leader Ben Koller of Peoria, Ariz. caught his two best fish in the first 30 minutes and weighed 11.96 pounds.
Immediately behind him is tour pro Cliff Pirch with 11.45. The U.S. Open features a shared-weight format, but Pirch, a late signup, was forced to fish solo.
Jamie Cyphers of Cedar City, Utah, overcame a bad start – he said he and his co-angler dumped a few early fish – and weighed 10.62. His sack included a 4.40-pound largemouth, the day's big bass.
Here's a look at the current Top 20. Note that defending champ Scott Nielsen is 20th. Aaron Martens, who won back-to-back titles in 2004–05, is not entered. He's fishing the Toho Bassmaster Elite Series this week. Mike Folkestad, the only three-time U.S. Open winner, is 28th with 7.23 pounds.
1. Ben Koller -- Peoria, AZ -- 5, 11.96
2. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 11.45
3. Jamie Cyphers -- Cedar City, UT -- 5, 10.62
4. Andrew Jackson -- Boulder City, NV -- 5, 9.80
5. Eric Brewer -- Nuevo, CA -- 5, 9.39
6. Sean Hinton -- Mollison, CO -- 5, 8.58
7. Kurt Palmer -- Kirtland, NM -- 5, 8.43
8. Justin Kerr -- Simi Valley, CA -- 5, 8.22
9. John Morrow -- Brea, CA -- 5, 8.20
10. Fred Krumsiek -- Glendale, AZ -- 5, 8.14
11. Leon Knight -- Tehachapi, CA -- 5, 8.12
12. Thanh Le -- Lake Havasu, AZ -- 5, 8.02
13. Mark DiBrito -- Phoenix, AZ -- 5, 7.97
14. Roy Hawk -- Salt Lake City, UT -- 5, 7.93
15. Dale Devlin -- Las Vegas, NV -- 5, 7.91
16. Aaron Leon -- Henderson, NV -- 5, 7.83
17. Tim Blanchard -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 7.79
18. Sean Stafford -- Fairfield, CA -- 5, 7.71
19. Neil Campbell -- Fallbrook, CA -- 5, 7.70
20. Scott Nielsen -- Salt Lake City, UT -- 5, 7.62
