Johnny Johnson of Lakeside, Ariz. leads Day 1 of the Wild West Bass Trail stop on Lake Mohave.
SEARCHLIGHT, Nev. – Johnny Johnson, the reigning U.S. Open champion and memorable host of the Fishing with Johnny Johnson television show took a narrow lead today at the first day of the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) Pro/Am on Lake Mohave, presented by the City of Henderson.
Hailing from Lakeside, Ariz., Johnson is quite familiar with desert lake fisheries and made use of his experience to weigh a five-fish limit for 18.61 on a day that proved to be challenging for much of the field, with only 17 pros and five co-anglers weighing a full limit.
“I got eight bites today,” he revealed. “I am catching ‘em in depths up to 20-feet, doin’ some light line fishing.”
When asked about his confidence for Day 2, Johnson stated, “If the wind blows, you will see some big ones.”
Trailing by little more than half a pound was Nevada local Jesse Milicevic with a five-fish total for 18.02. Milicevic reported fishing “local”, getting nine bites and having much fresh water to try out tomorrow.
“I wasn’t expecting that many bites – fishing deep,” shared Milicevic. “Usually when I fish deep, I catch some big ones and it worked out today.”
Like Johnson, Milicevic liked his chances, if the wind blows on Day 2.
Another Nevada angler, Kevin Wiggins rounded out the top-trio with five for 17.83, anchored by a kicker that went 4.40. Wiggins was one of 10 pros to weigh big fish contenders at 4 or more pounds. Five co’s hit or exceeded that four-pound benchmark.
The pro biggest of Day 1 was a 5.57 largemouth weighed in by pro Dale Roesener and on the co side it was Brian Ravelo with a 5.55 smallie.
The anglers should find blast off conditions on Day 2 similar to those of Day 1, with early morning temps near freezing. As the day progresses, some changes are forecasted with an increase in daytime highs into the low 50’s, cloud cover in the afternoon and a shift in the wind from N/NNE to S/SSW
The WWBT Mohave Pro/Am will continue Day 2 on Saturday, February 25 with the full field once again battling to earn a spot among the top-10 on their respective side, seeking to secure a third and final fishing day.
Sunday, February 26 will mark the last day of bass catching with each of the top-10 pros and top-10 co-anglers running their own boat in a format that pits pro against pro and co against co. The daily weights of each anglers are combined for all three competition days for a tournament total that will determine both a WWBT pro and co-angler champion.
A live stream of the daily weigh-in is available beginning at 3 p.m.
Preceding the weigh-in – at 2:40 p.m. – is the daily pre-game show featuring the West’s All-Time Leading Money Winner and WWBT tournament director Gary Dobyns alongside WWBT TV host Craig Gottwals.
The live stream for both is can be found at the Wild West Bass Trail website or at the WWBT Facebook page.
WWBT Pro Top-10 Day One at Lake Mohave:
- 18.61 Johnny Johnson
- 18.02 Jesse Milicevic
- 17.83 Kevin Wiggens
- 17.81 Laythe Moore
- 17.54 Troy Lindner
- 17.08 David Valdivia
- 16.52 Mitch Souther
- 16.50 Byrant Smith
- 15.98 Randy Peirson
- 15.35 Jiggs Benn
The co-angler field was led by Robert Zumwalt for his 14.28.
WWBT Co-Angler Top-10 Day One at Lake Mohave:
- 14.28 Robert Zumwalt
- 13.52 Cody Murray
- 13.38 Lon Armel
- 13.04 Jesse Parks
- 12.57 Dustin Robinson
- 11.42 Gunnar Stanton
- 11.24 Jim Sullivan
- 10.12 Robert Gunnar
- 9.24 David Crunden
- 9.02 Ryan Brewer / Brian Ravelo (tie)
WWBT Mohave Event Schedule:
Daily Blast off and Weigh-In
1000 Cottonwood Cove
Searchlight, Nev. 89046
Blast Off: Safelight
Weigh-in: 3 p.m. EST
Awards will be presented after the top-10 weigh in on Sunday, February 26 at the Fiesta Hotel and Casino, located at 777 West Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson, Nev.
Blast off and weigh-ins are free of charge and open to the public. Fans can cheer on their favorite fishermen and hometown heroes as part of the WWBT fully-televised event to air on Fox Sports and the Pursuit Channel in the first quarter of 2018.
A special thanks to all of the 2017 WWBT sponsors – A & M Graphics, Costa, Dobyns Rods, Evinrude, Gator Guards, General Tire, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Hydro Force, Lowrance Electronics, Lucas Oil, Power-Pole, Protect the Harvest, Ranger Boats and Super Clean.
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Offering professional-level competition throughout the west, the Wild West Bass Trail provides its anglers the opportunity to further develop and advance their fishing careers. Additionally, the WWBT offers its corporate partners the opportunity to expand sales through comprehensive national and regional television coverage, exclusive on-the-water demonstrations and various tournament incentive programs.
For 2017, the WWBT will conduct 16 events that include one Pro/Am circuit and two Teams circuits – one based in California and the other in Arizona. The Pro/Am circuit consists of five tournaments throughout California and Arizona and a year-end, qualifying championship event. Each Teams circuit includes four tournaments and a year-end, qualifying championship. For more information visit WildWestBassTrail.com and follow WWBT at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.
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