Rick Shannon, of Phoenix, had a secret weapon in his boat for Day 1 of the 25th Annual Western Outdoor News Striper Derby on Lake Havasu Saturday. He brought a local.

Shannon and Bruce Kessler, of Lake Havasu City, planted their boat just off Site Six, hoping to land the big one in the $100,000 tournament. While they didn’t have the Day 1 big fish, they caught a limit of 10 stripers.

“It was great out there,” Shannon said. “We even threw some back hoping to pull in something larger. We didn’t get it but we’re pretty happy with what we got.”

The big fish of the day went to Steve Lewis, of Phoenix, who caught a 10-pound, 8-ounce striper.

“I caught it right in the lake, using anchovies” Lewis said.

WON tournament director Bill Hutchinson said Day 1 went off well.

“It’s going good,” he said as the weigh-ins wrapped up. “The people are waiting to come in and that usually means they want to stay out because the fishing is good. That should continue Sunday.”

Not everyone had a great day on the lake, though. Matt Randall, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., said he and his partner had a great spot right off Havasu Landing Casino and pulled in seven stripers. They decided to try somewhere else but came up empty so they went back to the spot where their luck was good.

“By the time we got back, someone else had our spot. Sunday, we’re staying in the same spot and not moving,” Randall said.

Steve Stear, of La Palma, Calif., was on Lake Havasu for the first time and also pulled in seven fish. He said he was getting “a lot of hits but not many keepers.”

Stear said he went south on the lake Saturday but will stay closer to Thompson Bay during Sunday’s fishing.

Official Day 1 results were not available at press time Saturday.

The team competition is divided into Father/Son, Father/Daughter, Husband/Wife and Open divisions. Each team is limited to a total of 10 striped bass per day — which must be a minimum of 14-inches to qualify as a tournament catch.

Prizes are awarded to the top 15 finishers in the Open Division and the top finishing team in the other three categories. Shakespeare/Pflueger will award the big fish prize of $1,500 cash for the largest striper caught on a Shakespeare or Pflueger rod and reel.

The tournament features nearly $100,000 in prizes including $20,000 in cash as well as fishing gear and the grand prize — a Triton fishing boat equipped with a Mercury OptiMax 115-horsepower engine, MotorGuide trolling motor and Lowrance electronics valued at $25,000.

Awards will be presented at the Nautical Inn Conference Center Sunday starting at 2 p.m.

You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com.