Wait No More – Shuffield Claims Coveted U.S. Open Title

Finally, the conditions at Lake Mohave calmed down. And finally, Spencer Shuffield has his first WON Bass U.S. Open title. 

Following the cancelation of day 2 due to unsafe conditions caused by high winds at the Colorado River reservoir, Shuffield sacked up 21.5 pounds on Wednesday to overtake Ben Milliken and claim the most coveted tournament in the west. Shuffield, who placed second twice to go with a third in his three other U.S. Open appearances, finished with 41.19 pounds over two days, besting Milliken (39.24) by just under two pounds. 

“I worried that I had put myself out of reach when I weighed 19.69 on day one, but I had over 21 pounds at nine o’clock this morning and I felt good about my chances,” Shuffield said.  “I spent my whole tournament fishing in ‘The Bowl’ area and I was using my Garmin Livescope to find the fish to target; and it worked out.”

Shuffield, a regular on the Bass Pro Tour, said this win ranks as the greatest accomplishment of his career.

“I wanted to fish this event for years and after I fished it four years ago and finished in second place, I wanted to win it badly,” he said.  “I won the Tackle Warehouse Invitational TITLE a few years ago and this one just hits differently.  To have my name on that trophy next to Aaron Martens, Mike Folkestad, John Murray, Rick Clunn, Josh Bertrand and Bryant Smith, who won it last year, just means a ton.

“I love this lake, love the way WON Bass runs this event and look forward to this event the most every year and I will be back to fish it as a top priority; I can’t believe I am the 2025 WON Bass U.S. Open Champion.” 

For the win, Shuffield collected a cash prize of $65,000 to go with a boat/motor package valued at $85,000. Kyle Grover, who was second after day 1, finished third with 38.22 with Ty Manterola taking fourth with 37.61 pounds. Smith, last year’s champ, finished fifth with 36.96 pounds.

Shuffield relied on a dropshot rig with a trio of different offerings – 3.5- and 4-inch Z-Man Jerk ShadZ and a Geecrack Imo Kemushi floating stick worm rigged on size 2 VMC dropshot hook and a 1/2-ounce Ark Tungsten dropshot weight. He used a 7-foot, 3-inch medium-light Ark Fishing Reinforcer spinning rod paired with an Ark Fishing Gravity G7 spinning reel spooled with 15-pound-test Yo-Zuri Super 9 Braid (white) and 10-pound Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon line as his leader.

Milliken, who competed on the Bassmaster Elite Series the past two seasons, briefly held the lead thanks to his 19.78-pound stringer of smallmouth. 

“I only had two and a half days of practice, but I wanted to have flexibility in patterns, and I found deep and shallow fish,” he said.  “When the tournament started, my deep fish had disappeared, so I turned to my shallow fish and was able to catch ‘em there.”

Milliken reported catching his fish in shallow washes that held baitfish and had grass on the bottom. He caught his smallmouth in 2 to 10 feet of water on a pair of 6th Sense Lure Company baits – a Wig Hair Jig and Party Prop Spybait.  He threw the Party Prop on his signature 7-4 medium-light Milliken Series spinning rod and used a 7-6 light model for the hair jig.

Despite falling short, he was thrilled to be in contention at an event so rich in history.

“I’ve looked forward to competing in the tournament like Aaron Martens, John Murray and Clifford Pirch did; some of these guys are my heroes,” he said. “I came close to winning it and had I not lost a couple of good ones, I may have, but that’s the way this sport goes, you have to execute to win, but I’m content with the way I fished.”

Notable

> Brian Brown of Las Vegas, Nev., claimed the AAA Division title with a total weight of 38.59 pounds. He was followed by Jacob Crawford, Russ Nievar, Mike Hawkins and Andrew Packard in the top five.

> The top five finishers in the pro and AAA divisions will receive berths in the 2026 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the 2027 Bassmaster Classic.

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