Us Open Video Preview by TC Sports Report
U.S. OPEN FEATURING INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS
For additional information contact
Rich Holland, WON BASS Editor
Top Japanese pro Morizo Shimizu has signed up to fish the U.S. Open as the field continues to grow with just under a month until the big event gets underway with the Tribute to the Legends dinner in the Railhead Room of the host resort Boulder Station in Las Vegas the night of Friday July 16. Individual tickets and a limited number of tables (seating 8 or 10) are still available for this once in a lifetime event that will salute Ray Scott, Forrest Wood, Johnny Morris, Cotton Cordell and Darrell Lowrance. The Master of Ceremonies is a legend in his own right, the one and only Jimmy Houston.
Getting back to Shimizu, the pro has been having a good year on tour this year, just missing qualifying for the Elite playoffs, but easily securing a spot for the Classic. While Shimizu is the definite headliner, this year’s U.S. Open has more than a dozen entrants from Japan, Korea , Australia and Mexico. . The U.S. Open has always held an important place in Japan and the interchange that has resulted has opened the way for incredible innovation in tackle technology, with many of the top baits and techniques developed in Japan getting their U.S. debut on Lake Mead in the U.S. Open.
The first U.S. Open winner of Japanese descent, Gary Yamamoto, used his own innovative baits to win the championship in 1995 and solidified his position as one of the top lure makers in the world. Just two years earlier Pat Donoho had used a Michael’s Rico popper to catch some of his winning weight, while last year Gary Dobyns pointed to his Lucky Craft Gunfish as putting the weight he needed into his limits.
Owner American, longtime hook sponsor for the U.S. Open, has used its connections with Owner in Japan to develop products especially for the demands of fishing waters such as Lake Mead, including it’s new Softbait series and the Twistlock Light hook series designed in cooperation with Gary Yamamoto to match his swimming Senko baits. Owner’s Dennis Yamamoto (no relation) said that once they got started they decided to make a full range of Twistlock Lights (which feature Owner’s patent pending centering pin spring) to fit everything from skinny Senkos to Owner’s new Shaky Worm and Shiver Tail.
Who will win the 2010 WON BASS U.S. Open and take home $50 grand and a Nitro Z-8 fully rigged with a Mercury 225 Pro XS outboard? Will an international pro break through or a young U.S. pro hungry for the recognition offered by winning the most prestigious tournament in the West?
Only time, and technique, will tell.
To enter the U.S. Open or to reserve a table or seat at the Tribute to the Legends dinner, call Ashley at (949) 366-0030 ext. 38. You can also find more information and an entry form at the WON BASS Web site. https://www.wonbass.com/
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