Jordan Lee Packs a Lunch, and a Lucky Penny, Too - Major League Fishing

Jordan Lee Packs a Lunch, and a Lucky Penny, Too

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Jordan and Kristen Lee with Jordan's "lucky penny" (to go along with his lunch) as he fights the Elimination Line. Photo by Alan McGuckin
August 22, 2019 • Alan McGuckin • Bass Pro Tour

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Carhartt pro Jordan Lee didn’t have the day he was hoping for Wednesday in the Shotgun Round of REDCREST Presented by Venmo on the Upper Mississippi River. He sat 25th out of 30 at the end of the day, but makes no excuses, including the fact he forgot his lunch yesterday.

In reality, the former Auburn college bass fishing champ rarely eats during a tournament anyhow. Plus, his ride-along MLF official was kind enough to grab Jordan some jerky and trail mix yesterday to make sure nobody went hungry.

Lee says he munched on the supplementary lunch supplied by his MLF official, but the 13 bass he scored were only good enough for 23 pounds, and a place near the bottom of the leaderboard.

Today is a new day, and Lee’s armed with two strawberry Smucker’s Uncrustables and a pair of protein bars packed by his wife, Kristen. But she’s not overly hopeful her lunch will mean much to his catching success.

“The kid won’t eat,” grinned Kristen, beneath her Carhartt hat in the foggy 58-degree air just before takeoff.

That said, she tossed a lucky penny into the chest pocket of his jacket that she found lying heads-up in the Target parking lot yesterday.

“Maybe the penny will help, maybe it won’t,” says her always unrattled husband. “I knew what I found in practice wasn’t great, but I have no regrets about how I fished yesterday either.”

Lee says he plans to lean a little more on Texas-rigged soft plastics today, and will mix-in a drop-shot and a vibrating jig, too. Mostly, he’ll fish today like a brand new day in nonchalant and carefree fashion – that’s the essence of the mega-talented “Jo Lee.” 

And hey, if peanut butter and strawberry jam don’t do the trick for a better place on the leaderboard, maybe Abe Lincoln will.