CONROE, Texas (Feb. 13, 2019) - We're starting to run out of superlatives to describe the competitive success of Jordan Lee. Just two weeks after claiming the inaugural Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour trophy at the Kissimmee Chain in Florida and two years removed from a Bassmaster Classic win on Lake Conroe, Lee arrived at this impoundment of the San Jacinto River with both momentum and history on his side.
Whether he relied on the former or the latter - or just simply fished the conditions in front of him - Lee finished the second Shotgun Round of the MLF Bass Pro Tour Huk Stage Two presented by Favorite Fishing with the heaviest weight of the day: 32 pounds, 3 ounces on 12 fish. Lee wound a vibrating jig around the lower end of Conroe for most of the competition day, connecting with a consistent string of 2- and 3-pounders through the first period and then adding 14-12 to SCORETRACKER® in Period 3 to overtake Andy Montgomery for the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader Award for the day.
"I'm still trying to ride the vibrating-jig wave from (the Kissimmee Chain)," Lee joked. "I'm addicted to it now. I threw a little Berkley squarebill and a spinnerbait too, but it was I was just feeling it with the vibrating jig today."
Lee finished the day with a 4-5 and a 3-3, which leads him to believe that bigger fish might be moving in as waters warm.
"I feel like there's better quality moving in," Lee confirmed. "I'm encouraged by that. I'll just keep doing what I did today and hope the bigger fish keep coming carries on for the rest of the week."
Montgomery lands a monster
Montgomery, who finished with eight fish for 25-11, staked his claim to the lead as the final seconds ticked down on Period 1. Montgomery hooked a giant fish as his boat official started the 10-count to the end of the
Montgomery hooked a giant fish as his boat official started the 10-count to the end of the round, and pulled the fish over the gunwale just as his official called "time's up" for the period. It was deemed a legal catch: 9-6, easily the biggest fish caught in the two Shotgun Rounds and the Berkley Big Bass of the Day.
"It didn't pull back that hard - it just loaded up and shook its head a couple of times," Montgomery said. "I thought it was a 5-pounder when I saw him. It was pretty nerve-wracking though. I could hear my boat official counting, I could hear Matt Lee's official counting because he was close to me and they were on different counts. I just did every darn thing I could to get my hands on that fish."
Packed tight around the Elimination Line
The battle for Top 20 and a spot in Elimination Round 2 will be extra tight on Friday: less than 5 pounds separates Randy Howell in 18th (11-4) and James Elam in 30th (6-6).
Elimination Rounds begin Thursday
The 40 anglers from Group A are back on Lake Conroe Thursday morning for the first Elimination Round. Brent Ehrler, Wesley Strader, Jason Christie, Bradley Roy and Adrian Avena heads into the day at the top of the group. Places 14 through 25 - roughly the range of anglers flirting with the Elimination Line at 20th - are separated by roughly 5 pounds.
How/where to watch
Official live scoring updates are available via SCORETRACKER from the start of competition at 7:30 a.m. CT. The MLF NOW! live stream begins at 10 a.m. CT, with on-the-water coverage following the action until the end of competition at 3:30 p.m. The MLF Berkley Postgame Show begins at 5 p.m.