Lee’s 23-11 propels him into Stage Six Knockout Round on Lake St. Clair
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – On a good day of fishing where nearly everyone caught a limit, Jordan Lee is making it look easy on Lake St. Clair.
Lee had the biggest bag for the second day in a row at General Tire Stage Six at Lake St. Clair Presented by John Deere Utility Vehicles (23 pounds, 11 ounces), and easily won his competition group with a two-day total of 46 pounds, 3 ounces, an advantage of more than 4 pounds over second-place angler Spencer Shuffield.
In addition to having the heaviest five-fish bag on both days, Lee took the Berkley Big Bass the second time in two days. During an event when everyone is getting bites, Lee seems to have dialed in the bigger bass it will take to win the event.
Lee bags day-best bag for a second time
Lee has had mixed results on St. Clair, missing the cut the last time the Bass Pro Tour visited in 2021 and scoring a fourth-place showing in Elite Series competition in 2017. But Stage Six is lining up to be one of Lee’s best finishes on St. Clair as he’s figured out how to catch big bags and kickers on both days.
Lee had two of the four fish over 5 pounds placed on SCORETRACKER® on Monday, including the day’s best on his first scorable fish, a 5-pound, 11-ouncer. Lee’s biggest the first day was 5-14 and both have helped separate him from the pack.
Lee is fishing in Canadian waters, where he practiced without making a cast. His scouting appears to be paying off, though. With Canadian waters remaining off limits to fishing until the start of the season – the first day of Stage Six – Lee could only scout and look for areas before the competition began.
“I was gambling this tournament and feel blessed that it’s working out,” he said. “Not being able to fish in practice, I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been a great two days.”
He’s fishing similarly to most of the field – utilizing a drop-shot offshore – but the areas he’s fishing have been the difference-makers as they’re kicking out better-than-average fish.
“I started catching small ones this morning and found a bunch of big ones later in the day,” Lee said. “I feel good about the areas I’ve found, but these fish on this lake are notorious for moving around. I’m going to come back out for the Knockout Round and mosey around and take it one day at a time.”
Lee’s go-to presentation is a drop-shot with Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad.
“It’s no secret that MaxScent is playing, it always does for smallmouth,” he said. “I’m not using the Flat Worm this time and going with the bigger 5-inch bait since the bass are eating perch. I tried a bunch of different colors and it hasn’t seemed to matter. They are eating it.”
Lee hopes to continue his success for two more days and contend for another Bass Pro Tour win.
“The Knockout Round is where it all matters with the weights zeroing, so I’m going to need another big day,” Lee said. “I’m hoping the school I found late today is still there. But so far, it’s been two unbelievable days on the water.”
Points shakeup looming
After coming into the event with a 28-point lead in the Bally Bet Angler of the Year race, Ott DeFoe was in the catbird seat with two events to go, but there may be a shakeup on the horizon. His two closest pursuers entering this event were smallmouth gurus Dakota Ebare and Bass Pro Tour rookie Matt Becker, 28 and 43.5 points back, respectively.
Becker has already advanced with a third-place showing in Group A and Ebare is in great shape in Group B after sacking 20-6 to open the event in sixth. Both are likely to close the gap or even pass DeFoe, who finished 30th in Group A, for roughly 60th place overall in the event.
Alton Jones Jr. was just 5 points back of Becker and also advanced today. Things will go down to the wire when the tour returns to Michigan for Stage Seven on Saginaw Bay and the Saginaw River in early August.
What’s next
Group B returns to St. Clair on Tuesday for their second day of fishing. The Top 20 will advance to the Knockout Round and the rest will be eliminated from competition. Lines go in at 8 a.m. EDT and you can watch all the action on MLFNOW! beginning at 7:45 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF app.