HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (June 28, 2023) – Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama caught 23 scorable bass Wednesday – his best five weighing 24 pounds, 9 ounces – to lead the Knockout Round and advance with the final 10 anglers to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Stage Six tournament at Lake St. Clair.
Lee quickly rose to the top of the leaderboard early in Period 1 and never looked back. His five-fish limit weighing 24-9 gives him a 1-pound, 7-ounce cushion over pro Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas, who ended the day with a five-bass-limit weighing 23-2, good for second place. Mark Rose of Wynne, Arkansas, sits in third place with a limit weighing 22-14, while Texas pro Gary Klein finished the day in fourth with 22-11. Reigning Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, weighed in five bass totaling 22 pounds, 2 ounces to round out the top five.
Wednesday’s Knockout Round was the closest Knockout Round finish in the history of the Bass Pro Tour, featuring six moves in and out of the top 10 in the final hour and ending with a three-way tie on either side of the Toro Cutline, in ninth, tenth and eleventh place. The tiebreaker is decided by each angler’s heaviest bass of the day.
Berkley pro Josh Bertrand of Queen Creek, Arizona made the biggest move on the leaderboard in the final minutes of Period 3, catching a clutch 5-11 smallmouth that moved him from 19th place into the top 10, to finish the day in seventh. Five-pound smallies were key in the Knockout Round, with nine of the top 10 pros finishing the day with at least one 5-pound kicker in their five-fish limit.
The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition resumes Thursday morning with the Championship Round. In the Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total will win the top prize of $100,000.
Lee has been atop the leaderboard every day he’s competed in the event thus far, and it seems he is on the hunt for his first Bass Pro Tour win since 2020.
“We put ourselves in good position today, we just need a big bag tomorrow,” said Lee. “I stopped where I thought the bass were going to be first thing this morning, and they were stacked up. I was throwing a drop-shot rig with a 5-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad at a depth of 17 feet. I’ve noticed the fish have been spitting up big perch all day long, so that’s what I’m trying to mimic with this bait, and it’s worked really well.”
Lee said he is targeting smallmouth bass and grassy edges in the mid-section of Lake St. Clair, using his Lowrance ActiveTarget.
“I’m just looking for grass edges and fish, then throwing my bait in that direction,” said Lee. “Once it gets to the bottom, they’re eating it up.”
For the third time in three days of competition during this event, Lee captured Berkley Big Bass honors, with a 6-pound, 7-ounce smallmouth – the biggest bass of the event thus far – on a drop-shot rig in the second period.
“I mixed it up a little today by throwing a 3/8-ounce Ned Head with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Lil’ General and that’s what I caught the 6-7 on,” Lee said. “That fish was definitely one of the top five best smallmouth I’ve ever caught.”
The brown fish weighing 6-7 earned Lee Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award and is the first time in Bass Pro Tour history that an angler has won the award in both days of the Qualifying Round and in the Knockout Round. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
“I’m just going to keep trying to find the right fish,” said Lee. “That’s the key on Lake St. Clair, getting around a little better quality, bigger than average fish, and we’ve got to do that one more day.”
The top 10 pros from Wednesday’s Knockout Round that now advance to Thursday’s Championship Round on Lake St. Clair are:
1st: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 24-9
2nd: Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, five bass, 23-2
3rd: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 22-14
4th: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, five bass, 22-11
5th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 22-2
6th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., five bass, 21-14
7th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., five bass, 21-10
8th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., five bass, 21-8
9th: Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 21-4
10th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 21-4
Finishing in 11th through 40th place are:
11th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 21-4
12th: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 21-3
13th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 21-0
14th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 20-11
15th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 20-2
16th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 19-13
17th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., five bass, 19-12
18th: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., five bass, 19-7
19th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 19-7
20th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 19-4
21st: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 18-7
22nd: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., five bass, 18-7
23rd: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., five bass, 18-5
24th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 18-2
25th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 17-13
26th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texs, five bass, 17-12
27th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., five bass, 17-12
28th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 17-9
29th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., five bass, 17-3
30th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., five bass, 17-2
31st: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., five bass, 16-5
32nd: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., five bass, 16-4
33rd: Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, five bass, 16-3
34th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 16-2
35th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 15-8
36th: James Watson, Lampe, Mo., five bass, 15-0
37th: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., five bass, 14-8
38th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 14-5
39th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., five bass, 14-4
40th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 11-11
The six-day event showcases 80 of the top professional anglers competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship.