Alabama angler wins with 27-pound day

HOUSTON -- Jordan Lee of Grant, Ala., has come a long way since 2011 when he finished second to his brother Matt in the broiling summer heat at the Bassmaster College Championship at Beaverfork Lake in Conway.

He won the college championship in 2012 and earned a spot in the Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville, Ala., where he finished fifth.

On Sunday, he started the final round of the Classic at Lake Conroe in 15th place. He was 13 pounds, 14 ounces out of the lead with no reasonable chance to win.

But unreasonable things sometimes happen in bass fishing, and Lee caught five bass that weighed 27-4, the heaviest limit of the tournament, while everyone ahead of him faltered.

His perseverence, and a three-day total of 56 pounds, 10 ounces, netted him the $300,000 first prize.

"I've been close before, but everybody says when it's your time it's your time," Lee said. "I had 8 pounds the first day. At noon [Saturday] I had zero in the box. Think about that. On the second day of this tournament, I had 8 pounds total at noon. When I went out today, there was no way I thought I had a shot at winning."

The third day didn't start any better than the first two for Lee. His outboard motor malfunctioned and confined him to one spot. On top of that were the spectator boats, including a duck-hunting boat with a mud motor.

"That big, loud, noisy thing," Lee said. "I'm thinking, 'Really?' After I didn't catch anything for a while, those guys yelled, 'See ya later,' and they roared away. I thought, 'Maybe that'll stir them up a little.' "

The motor trouble helped Lee because it forced him to slow down and coax bites from fish that have been pounded relentlessly for weeks from local and regional tournaments.

Fortunately for him, they were all big fish.

"The first one I caught was 7-7, but there was a whole school of 5- and 6-pounders with him," Lee said. "The water turned black with them, and I just tried to get a few in the boat."

The spot was a nondescript point that looked like all the other points on the lake, but this one held big bass in practice.

It didn't produce in the first two days, but Lee caught them Sunday with a citrus Strike King Pro Model 5XD crankbait and a brown football jig with a Rage Claw trailer.

Lee called Trip Weldon, the tournament director, for a rules clarification about 90 minutes before check-in. He loaded his fish into a spectator boat, which meant he wasn't allowed to fish any longer, and he returned to the ramp.

Brent Ehrler, who led through the first and second rounds, came up short with a fading pattern. He said it hurts to be come so close and miss his first Classic title. He finished third with a total of 54-14 behind Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., who finished with 55-1.

"It stings the most when you're that close," Ehrler said. "And to not get it by not much weight. That's tounament fishing. The faster you rebound from it, the better it's going to be."

Kennedy caught five bass that weighed 21-15 on the last day. He said he had a few execution misfires, but that he didn't miss anything that would have beaten Lee.

Sports on 03/27/2017

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