The big question is if Jordan Lee can catch lightning in a bottle for the third consecutive year and complete a Classic feat that’s never been done.
Lee, of Grant, Ala., scored the biggest comeback in Classic history to win on Lake Conroe in 2017, then followed it up with another rally to win last year on Lake Hartwell. Heading into the 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, the 27-year-old has a shot at accomplishing an unprecedented hat trick – no angler has won three consecutive Classics.
It doesn’t seem to be weighing on him, however.
“Not really. Haven’t been really thinking about it,” he said. “I didn’t really think about it last year. It’s obviously a big chance, you got an opportunity. But I’m a realist. I know how hard it is to win a tournament. It’s just got to go your way … but I’m really looking forward for the chance, the opportunity, to get three. It’s going to be fun.”
Lee might be easy-going off the water, but in his boat, he’s always a man on a mission. This year out of Knoxville on the Tennessee River, a first-time venue for a Classic, Lee will take his best shot at history.
Last year, he became only the third angler with Rick Clunn (1976-77) and Kevin VanDam (2010-11) to win back-to-back Classics. He’s also only the sixth angler to win more than one title. Clunn and VanDam have won four Classics each, while Bobby Murray, Hank Parker and George Cochran are the only other anglers with more than one title.
But there’s no chicken counting. The Tennessee River, along with Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes, represents somewhat of a mystery egg for Lee, who has never competed there.
“I do not know very much at all,” Lee said. “I know pretty much the basics of what species live in there, but I’ve never fished a tournament there.”
Lee did spend three days there late last year pre-practicing.
“If you want to call it that. I went out there in November, and it was literally the coldest three days that we’ve had,” he said. “It was in the teens, low 20s, high of low 30s.
“I did not get much from it. I didn’t really get much from it at all. It’s going to be a whole different ballgame as far as the weather we’ve gotten recently, the high water, the muddy water.”
From intelligence he’s gathered, Lee knows the basics of the Classic fishery, the Tennessee River around Knoxville and Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes.
“The river system has got some big fish in it. Fort Loudoun, from what I’ve read, they put some Florida strain in there a few years back,” he said. “I’ve seen some tournament results from April last year, there were some big fish caught. I think you’re going to see some big fish, but the muddy water, depending on the way if it gets warm, it could be a really good tournament.”
Lee knows fishing conditions for this and all tournaments are pretty much weather based. It happened for him at Hartwell, and he expects some sort of change in the weather this year. He knows if there are several warm days during Classic week, fishing could become wide open.
“The last Classic, the weather definitely changed to my benefit,” Lee said. “It changed to how I was wanting to fish – sunny warm days. I got to fish around the docks. The practice was cold and rainy, probably like we’ll have in this one. It just changes a lot in spring.”
At Hartwell, Lee went into the final day 6 1/2 pounds behind leader Jason Christie. He brought in 16-5 on Day 3 for a 47-1 total and edged Brent Ehrler by 1 pound. His comeback on Lake Conroe was record-breaking, in both places and weight. Mired in 15th place, Lee plied one point for 27-3 to finish with 56-10. It was somewhat miraculous since he only weighed three fish for 8-6 on Day 1.
“At Conroe, I found those fish in practice and the first day never got bit off that spot, because there were 4 or 5 footers there from some the super strong south wind,” Lee said. “That was the only place I caught anything worth size in practice. That’s why I had a pretty tough practice. I had that one point, and I was just poking around. That spot got better as the tournament went on.”
Motor issues on Day 3 forced him to stay on it. Slowly and methodically, he culled up to the largest bag of the event by 4 pounds. He said one of the most-asked questions he’s taken is if he thought he might have left that area during the slow periods if his boat was operating correctly.
“Probably,” he said. “A few years back, I would have moved and came back and moved. I think now, I’ve gotten a little bit more patience – a little bit, not much more. I’m not very patient. If they’re not biting, I’m looking for somewhere to go.
“It was like a sign from God when my motor was messing up. I was like I’m fishing here no matter what.”
Lee doesn’t think one spot will create the winner in Knoxville, but he offers an idea of what the winner might have to do. He said from his experiences on Lake Guntersville and Lake Wheeler that Tennessee River bass like to get shallow.
“The winner in this tournament I feel like is going to have a big day, a 20-plus pound day and just kind of hold on,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to be a hard tournament to keep going back to the same area. You’re going to have to run some new water. That lake doesn’t have a huge, huge population of fish, like some of the other Tennessee River lakes.
“There’s all these good ledges, but springtime those fish like to be shallow, especially if the water is off-color. It has a lot of current and normally in the springtime those fish want to get as far away as they can from that cold current.”
For those conditions, Lee gave his selection of anglers, other than himself, who he thinks should fare well.
“I think your shallow, muddy water guys. Obviously your local guys who know the area,” he said. “They’re going to have a little upper hand knowing where the fish live. They probably haven’t fished it a whole lot in the last few years. I don’t see a huge home-field advantage.
“Wesley Strader, he would be my pick. He’s a super good spinnerbait and crankbait fisherman. I feel like those two baits are going to be the players, if it’s colder, muddier water. He’s really good at that. He’s good at everything, but I really think he’ll do well and even have a chance to win.
“I think Edwin (Evers) is hot right now. He’s always a danger in the Classic. And Jason Christie. I feel like the Classics, it’s been the same few guys, and I feel like Christie can hit them big with a colder spinnerbait, if it’s that type of bite.”
Since he’s come from way off the pace in his two championships, Lee entertained what might be the farthest behind an angler might be able to climb this year on Championship Sunday.
“I’m going to be doing the math, I guess,” he said. “Five, 6 pounds. If you’re 5 pounds back and have a really good day, 20-plus, you have a really good shot.”
While he had a great celebration last year in Hartwell, there were times he became overwhelmed with emotion. He had said he felt kind of bad for others who have fished numerous events and not won. He was certainly humbled that he had claimed two Classic crowns before age 26. What might a third, and the historic moment it would certainly be, mean to him?
“I know what No. 2 meant to me,” Lee said. “It’s hard to put into words, the feeling you get when you win a tournament like the Classic. That’s the feeling that I know I’ve fished hard for and worked hard for – you always just want to win that tournament. To be able to do it that second time, you just know how special that feeling is. It’s hard to explain.
“To win another – that’s what I want to do – it’s a challenge, but it has to go your way. Things have to click for you on the water. Last year, they clicked for me. Throughout the event, I just felt like I was tuned in. It’s just that feeling where you know you did it – there’s nothing like it. That’s kind of what I’ve lived for – just trying to win that big tournament. It will be awesome to try to do it again. If it happens it will, if not, it will be fun trying.”
