CHARLES COUNTY, Md. - Kelly Jordon had caught a limit of small fish Sunday morning and was ready to make a run to a spot with bigger bass when he made just a few more flips.
When he landed a 4-pounder, he decided to stay. Then he caught two more big bass that gave him the heaviest limit of the day with 17 pounds, 15 ounces, and a narrow victory in the Capitol Clash bass fishing tournament on the Potomac River.
The personable pro from Mineola, Texas, had a four-day total of 19 fish weighing 60 pounds, 9 ounces to claim his fourth BASS title and the $100,000 first prize. Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., was second with 18 fish weighing 60-2.
Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., who is locked in a battle with Mike Iaconelli for the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, finished third with 57-8. Iaconelli, of Runnemede, N.J., was fourth with 55-6 and now has a 45-point lead over Kennedy in the point standings going into the final Bassmaster Elite Series tournament next month on Missouri's Table Rock Lake- The Rock.
Day 3 leader Rick Morris of Virginia Beach, Va., who had a 2-ounce lead over Iaconelli going into the final day, slipped to fifth with 54-12.
Jordon, who was third after Day 1 and then tumbled to sixth after Day 2, began Sunday in fourth place, 6 ounces ahead of Reese, who was fifth. He started fishing in a creek with a buzzbait and had two fish miss the lure, but he followed up both times with a Senko and caught both bass.
When the topwater bite slowed, Jordon pitched to holes in the grass in the creek, but he didn't get any bites.
"I did that until 9 o'clock," Jordon said. "Then I said it was time to flip mats, because that's how I was catching them all week."
The Texan, who has amassed more than $800,000 in career earnings, said the only problem was that there were no mats visible unless the tide was low. The outgoing tide was happening later and later in the day as the tournament went on.
"So I ran to where I knew there were some big mats in the main river," Jordon said. "I planned on catching a small limit."
Jordon had caught some small fish from those mats during practice. Flipping the thickest mats he could find in 3 to 4 feet of water using a 7-foot, 9-inch Fenwick rod, a new Abu Garcia REVO STX reel spooled with 65-pound SpiderWire, a 1-ounce Lake Fork Tackle tungsten Mega-Weight and either a Lake Fork Tackle Craw Tube or a Kicker Craw, he got a bunch of bites and quickly had a limit weighing about 7 pounds.
"Then I caught a 4-pounder," he said. "Then another 4-pounder. Then a 5-7. I caught them all from 11 to 12 o'clock and never got another bite."
Those fish gave Jordon the Bag of the Day, but until he weighed in, he said he was sure Reese had him beat with his limit weighing 17-14.
Reese, who led after the second day and caught the majority of his fish flipping a Berkley Power Hawg around fallen trees, was done in by a tough day Saturday when he brought only three fish weighing 8-15 to the scales at Smallwood State Park.
"I had a great day today," said Reese, who has now had finishes of second, third and fourth on the Potomac in BASS events. "I'm pleased with what I caught, but obviously I'm extremely disappointed I didn't get a win. The reason I didn't was yesterday. I didn't execute. I should have had at least 15 pounds, but I had fish come undone or break off because of the barnacles. It hurts."
2006 Capitol Clash Pro 08/10-08/13
Potomac River, Charles County Md.
(PRO Division) Standings Day 4
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 19 60-09 305 $102,000.00
Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 12-03 Day 3: 4 12-14 Day 4: 5 17-15
2. Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 18 60-02 300 $30,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-05 Day 2: 5 17-00 Day 3: 3 8-15 Day 4: 5 17-14
3. Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 20 57-08 290 $25,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 5 13-05 Day 3: 5 13-14 Day 4: 5 14-06
4. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 20 55-06 285 $18,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 5 16-03 Day 3: 5 16-05 Day 4: 5 11-14
5. Rick Morris Virginia Beach, Va. 20 54-12 285 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 13-10 Day 3: 5 16-10 Day 4: 5 11-02
6. Kevin Short Mayflower, Ark. 20 54-11 276 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 10-05 Day 4: 5 15-06
7. Gerald Swindle Warrior, Ala. 20 54-07 272 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 12-14 Day 3: 5 12-05 Day 4: 5 13-11
8. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, Ark. 20 52-12 268 $15,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-10 Day 2: 5 15-12 Day 3: 5 9-03 Day 4: 5 11-03
9. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, Ark. 20 52-04 264 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 14-12 Day 3: 5 12-09 Day 4: 5 13-01
10. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, Mo. 19 50-13 260 $14,500.00
Day 1: 4 7-09 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 19-14 Day 4: 5 8-11
11. Jeremy Starks Charleston, W.Va. 19 48-01 257 $12,500.0
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 11-12 Day 3: 5 11-06 Day 4: 4 9-02
12. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 19 45-09 254 $12,300.00
Day 1: 5 17-06 Day 2: 5 13-03 Day 3: 5 10-06 Day 4: 4 4-10
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Big Bass
Day
1 Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 5-12 $1,000.00
2 Grant Goldbeck Gaithersburg, Md. 5-15 $1,000.00
3 Mike McClelland Bella Vista, Ark. 5-01 $1,000.00
4 Kevin Short Mayflower, Ark. 5-15 $1,000.00
Kevin Short Mayflower, Ark. 5-15 $500.00
Grant Goldbeck Gaithersburg, Md. 5-15 $500.00
Day
1 Kevin Langill Terrell, N.C. 18-01 $1,000.00
2 Frank Scalish Cleveland Heights, Ohio 17-11 $1,000.00
3 Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, Mo. 19-14 $1,000.00
4 Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 17-15 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 72 443 994-15
2 74 439 966-07
3 32 214 469-14
4 10 58 148-15
----------------------------------
188 1154 2580-03
2006 Charles County, MD -
Capitol Clash Pro Points After Potomac River,
Charles County, Md.
Ending 08-13-2006,
Day 4
-------------------------------------------
Place Name St Pts
-------------------------------------------
1 Michael Iaconelli N.J. 2455
2 Steve Kennedy Ala. 2410
3 Dean Rojas Ariz. 2344
4 Kevin VanDam Mich. 2331
5 Aaron Martens Ala. 2324
6 Kevin Wirth Ky. 2263
7 Greg Hackney La. 2193
8 Gerald Swindle Ala. 2192
9 Skeet Reese Calif. 2191
10 Kelly Jordon Texas 2177
11 Edwin Evers Okla. 2159
12 Jason Quinn S.C. 2158
13 Tommy Biffle Okla. 2152
14 Denny Brauer Mo. 2102
15 Russ Lane Ala. 2099
16 John Crews Va. 2094
17 Matt Reed Texas 2056
18 Alton Jones Texas 2052
19 Mike Wurm Ark. 2047
20 Jared Lintner Calif. 2003
21 John Murray Ariz. 2002
22 Davy Hite S.C. 1994
23 Timmy Horton Ala. 1991
24 Peter Thliveros Fla. 1985
25 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 1979
26 Zell Rowland Texas 1958
27 Randy Howell Ala. 1936
28 Mike McClelland Ark. 1929
29 Gary Klein Texas 1903
30 Rick Clunn Mo. 1892
31 Mark Tucker Mo. 1874
32 Jeff Kriet Okla. 1869
33 Lee Bailey Ala. 1868
34 Terry Scroggins Fla. 1865
35 Todd Faircloth Texas 1852
36 Bill Lowen Ohio 1844
37 Brent Chapman Kan. 1831
38 Takahiro Omori Texas 1817
39 Kenyon Hill Okla. 1812
40 Terry Butcher Okla. 1792
41 Paul Elias Miss. 1785
42 Stephen Browning Ark. 1784
43 Greg Gutierrez Calif. 1780
44 Dave Wolak Pa. 1772
44 Kotaro Kiriyama Ala. 1772
46 Shaw Grigsby, Jr Fla. 1753
47 Mark Tyler Ariz. 1746
48 Ishama Monroe Calif. 1743
49 Yusuke Miyazaki Texas 1729
50 Bradley Hallman Okla. 1728
51 Chad Brauer Mo. 1724
52 Morizo Shimizu Calif. 1717
53 Scott Rook Ark. 1716
54 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 1711
55 Bernie Schultz Fla. 1702
56 Ray Sedgwick S.C. 1691
57 Darrin Schwenkbeck Md. 1687
58 Chris Lane Fla. 1673
59 Ken Cook Okla. 1670
60 Steve Daniel Fla. 1658
61 Marty Stone N.C. 1631
62 Jami Fralick S.D. 1628
63 Jimmy Mize Ark. 1621
64 William Smith, Jr Ky. 1609
65 Fred Roumbanis Calif. 1608
66 Jeff Connella La. 1599
67 Brian Snowden Mo. 1597
68 Mark Menendez Ky. 1549
69 Dave Smith Okla. 1537
70 Charlie Youngers Fla. 1524
71 Kevin Langill N.C. 1521
72 Mike Reynolds Calif. 1495
73 Preston Clark Fla. 1484
74 Jon Bondy Canada 1482
75 Paul Hirosky Pa. 1477
76 Charlie Hartley Ohio 1476
77 Keith Phillips Ala. 1474
78 Pete Ponds Miss. 1465
79 Britt Myers N.C. 1461
80 Kurt Dove Va. 1458
81 Frank Scalish Ohio 1456
82 Elton Luce Jr Texas 1446
83 Rick Morris Va. 1440
84 Terry Segraves Fla. 1435
85 Bradley Stringer Texas 1425
86 Kevin Short Ark. 1423
87 David Gliebe Ky. 1405
88 Mike O'Shea Calif. 1391
89 Joe Thomas Ohio 1388
89 Grant Goldbeck Md. 1388
91 Jarrett Edwards Ariz. 1379
92 Vince Hurtado Calif. 1373
93 Guy Eaker N.C. 1344
94 Byron Velvick Nev. 1339
95 Bink Desaro Idaho 1297
96 Doc Merkin Ill. 1241
97 Charlie Weyer Calif. 1234
98 Ken Brodeur Conn. 1192
99 Rick Ash Pa. 1177
100 Mark Rogers Fla. 1170
101 Brooks Rogers Texas 1031
102 Randy Yarnall Pa. 1027
103 Jimmy Houston Okla. 969
104 Robert Hamilton Jr Tenn. 551
105 Conrad Picou La. 390
106 Dustin Wilks N.C. 151
After Charles County, MD ending 08-13-2006,
Day 4
Joe Conway 2006 BASS Federation Championship, 15-7
Preston Clark 2006 Bassmaster Classic, 29-01
Mike McClelland Bassmaster Open Championship, 17-12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Place Name Body Of Water Day lbs-Ozs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Ishama Monroe Lake Amistad, Texas 3 34-01
2 Aaron Martens Santee Cooper Reservoir, 4 32-10
3 Mike Wurm Santee Cooper Reservoir, 3 32-04
4 Kevin Wirth Santee Cooper Reservoir, 2 31-15
5 Jimmy Mize Lake Amistad, Texas 2 31-14
6 Ken Cook Lake Amistad, Texas 1 31-10
7 Fred Roumbanis Lake Amistad, Texas 4 28-01
8 Denny Brauer Lake Champlain, N.Y. 4 23-0
9 Greg Hackney Lake Sam Rayburn, Texas 1 22-02
10 Michael Iaconelli Lake Guntersville, Ala. 2 22-01
2006 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
After Potomac Ricer, Charles County, MD ending 08-13-2006,
Day 4
-------------------------------------------
Place Name St Pts
-------------------------------------------
1 Steve Kennedy Ala. 2410
2 Jared Lintner Calif. 2003
3 Bill Lowen Ohio 1844
4 Bradley Hallman Okla. 1728
5 Jeremy Starks W.Va. 1711
6 Darrin Schwenkbeck Md. 1687
7 Chris Lane Fla. 1673
8 Jami Fralick S.D. 1628
9 William Smith, Jr Ky. 1609
10 Jeff Connella La. 1599
11 Kevin Langill N.C. 1521
12 Jon Bondy Canada 1482
13 Paul Hirosky Pa. 1477
14 Keith Phillips Ala. 1474
15 Britt Myers N.C. 1461
16 Kurt Dove Va. 1458
17 Vince Hurtado Calif. 1373
18 Doc Merkin Ill. 1241
19 Ken Brodeur Conn. 1192
20 Rick Ash Pa. 1177
21 Conrad Picou La. 390
After Charles County, MD ending 08-13-2006,
Day 4
---------------------------------------------------------
Place Name 2005 Finish 2006 Standings
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Denny Brauer 113 14
2 Stephen Daniel 147 60
3 Alton Jones 98 18
4 Matt Reed 96 17
5 John Murray 92 21
6 Yusuke Miyazaki 118 49
7 Fred Roumbanis 133 65
8 Ray Sedgwick 123 56
9 Bradley Stringer 151 85
10 Dean Rojas 67 3
11 Grant Goldbeck 152 89
12 Kelly Jordon 66 10
12 Gary Klein 85 29
14 Peter E Thliveros 79 24
15 Bink Desaro 149 95
16 Elton Luce Jr 135 82
17 Ken Cook 110 59
18 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr 95 46
19 Randy Howell 74 27
20 Gerald Swindle 53 8
21 Mike McClelland 68 28
22 Randy Yarnall 141 102
22 Chad Brauer 90 51
22 Mike O'Shea 127 88
25 Zell Rowland 63 26
26 Pete Ponds 112 78
27 Davy Hite 54 22
28 Jason Quinn 43 12
29 Byron Velvick 124 94
30 Paul Elias 70 41
31 Russell Lane 41 15
32 Charlie Weyer 122 97
33 Kotaro Kiriyama 65 44
33 Morizo Shimizu 73 52
35 Joe Thomas 109 89
35 Terry Butcher 60 40
37 Kenyon Hill 57 39
38 Stephen Browning 57 42
39 Jimmy Houston 117 103
39 Lee Bailey 47 33
41 Mike Wurm 32 19
41 Tommy Biffle 26 13
43 Kevin Wirth 14 6
44 Michael Iaconelli 8 1
44 Todd Faircloth 42 35
46 John Crews 19 16
46 Brent Chapman 40 37
46 Kevin VanDam 7 4