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Kelly Jordon Dominates on Jordan Lake: Texas Pro Racks up 82-4 in Shotgun Round 1 of Bass Pro Tour Stage Three Raleigh

by | Mar 26, 2019 | | 0 Comments

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 26, 2019) – It took virtually no time for the chunky northern-strain largemouth of North Carolina to reveal themselves on Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour’s Day 1 of the Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh presented by Evinrude: Jason Christie boated a 7-pound, 12-ouncer just 4 minutes into competition on Jordan Lake, the first fish of the day.
Christie’s opening shot was just the beginning: By the end of Shotgun Round 1, 11 7-pounders and 48 fish over 5 pounds made it onto SCORETRACKER™, an astoundingly impressive showing for an unknown fishery that most of the field of 80 had never even seen before practice.
But even more impressive was the fish-catching clinic put on by Kelly Jordon.
Fishing his way around a shallow creek arm of this impoundment of the Cape Fear River system north of Raleigh, the Texas pro piled up 82-4 on 26 fish, not only winning the round by over 18 pounds, but also establishing a new single-day MLF Bass Pro Tour weight total.
“It was just an awesome, awesome day,” Jordon said. “This area had gotten a ton of rain, and then the water dropped so much, I thought ‘Maybe this isn’t going to happen’, but guess what? The fish are still here. There’s no telling how much I could’ve caught if it had stayed warm. But what a fishery.”

Jordon did the majority of his damage with an Evergreen Jack Hammer bladed jig with a Lake Fork Tackle Live Magic Shad trailer, and he did it consistently for the first five hours of competition, pinging SCORETRACKER with four to five scorable largemouth per hour until he hit a brief lull late in the afternoon.

He found some good ones, too, highlighting his day with seven 5-plus-pounders, including a 5-2 and 5-6 in the final five minutes of competition.
“Anytime you catch 82 pounds in a day of fishing is an awesome day, and I didn’t want to quit fishing,” Jordon admitted. “It was sad, I wanted to keep fishing because they were starting to fire off again. It was one of those days to remember.”
The rest of the field, while lagging a sizeable distance behind Jordon for most of the day, had some notable success as well.
Todd Faircloth chipped away at Jordon’s lead all afternoon, finishing the round with 63-10
and connecting with the biggest fish of the day, a 9-4 giant that inhaled a jig early in the third period. Faircloth stacked up over 35 pounds of largemouth in the final period to trim Jordon’s lead to 10 pounds before K.J. caught his final two 5-pounders.
Todd Faircloth, also from Texas, made a solid run at leader Kelly Jordon’s weight, with his 63-10 performance by the day anchored by a 9-4 giant. (Click to enlarge/download)
“We had that front pulling through, the lake dropped a little bit from yesterday and I started out fishing on the points, fishing out a little bit, and caught a couple small fish and at the end of the first period,” Faircloth said. “I decided to just change areas and change techniques, and boy did it pay off in big ways.”
Jacob Wheeler and Mark Daniels, Jr. combined for 102-7, Wheeler with 54-5 and Daniels with 52-1. In one 2 ½-hour stretch in the third period, Daniels caught five fish for 27-13. Nine of Wheeler’s 14 fish were 4 pounds or better.
Edwin Evers continued his season of consistency, catching 19 fish for 50-6 and fifth place. That marks Evers’ fourth consecutive round finishing in the Top 5.
Surprised … or Not?
 
The field’s big-fish success didn’t come as a surprise to MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone, who touted the big-fish potential of the Raleigh-area lakes, and was instrumental in bringing the Bass Pro Tour to North Carolina. As Stone repeatedly reported in the weeks leading up to the event, Jordan Lake was set up for a record-breaking performance, despite the fluctuating water levels.

“I think the size of the fish caught these guys off guard a little bit,” Stone said.

The number of fish caught was definitely a surprise to much of the field, too. Thanks to plummeting water levels and dirty water, many of the pros struggled mightily in practice, and most expressed some doubt that they would catch many fish on Jordan. But as he stowed his rods at the end of the day, Wheeler summed it up best: “What can you say? This place is legit!. I mean, wow, it’s got ’em.”
Group B Up Next
 
The second half of the field gets its first crack at Jordan Lake on Wednesday when Group B competition begins. Conditions could be slightly more challenging in the morning, as nighttime lows will dip to near freezing, but a forecast of afternoon sunshine translates into a possible strong afternoon bite.
 
Looking Ahead to the Week
 
The field will carry their Shotgun Round weights to Falls Lake on Thursday and Friday for the Elimination Rounds. The Top 20 anglers from each Elimination group will advance to the Knockout Round on Saturday (also on Falls).
The Top 10 anglers in the Knockout Round will advance to the Championship Round on Shearon Harris Reservoir, a 4,100-acre power plant lake that’s known for its population of 6-plus-pound largemouth.
How, When, Where to Watch
 
Competition begins daily at 7:30 a.m. EDT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream starts at 10 a.m. EDT, with live, on-the-water coverage continuing until lines out at 3:30 p.m. The Berkley Postgame Show live stream will start at 5 p.m. daily.
 
Quotable
Kelly Jordon (1st/82-4) – “The water was dropping out in my area, and I thought the fish were leaving. I think a lot of them did. I was scared to death: It rained last night, and I thought it was just going to blow (that area) out, which it didn’t. It did get kind of muddy in there, and probably dropped 6 to 8 inches. Coming out, I had to jump over a beaver dam. I had to put my engine up on it and power over it, and I’ve never had to do that before. Boyd (Duckett) showed me how to do that, because he does it all the time. I figured I would just gun it and try it, and that’s what I did.”
Jacob Wheeler (3rd/54-5) – “All I can say is ‘Wow!’ It’s a phenomenal fishery. It seemed like every bite was 3 to 5 pounds or 5 to 6 pounds. Overall, the number of quality fish that live in that lake is just astounding. You would’ve thought with that cold night, it would get a little tougher, and it didn’t seem that way. This morning I didn’t know if it was going to be that hot and heavy first thing, but I figured when the sun popped out, it would probably be pretty decent. It was pretty consistent all day.”
Edwin Evers (5th/50-6) – “I got some bites early, and that’s just what I needed to get my confidence going. I was just running with it and expanding on it, and man I’m just happy. The last day of practice I kind of figured this deal out, and I’m just happy to have it. I don’t know if I can get a bite on (Falls Lake).”
 
The Day’s Results 
To see all results from Shotgun Round Group A anglers, and to keep up with cumulative results throughout the week, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com and click “Results.”
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About Major League Fishing   
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). New for 2019, the Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV. MLF uses the entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format where every scorable bass counts and the winner is the angler with the highest cumulative weight. For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more in-depth coverage, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.

MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING STAGE THREE RALEIGH EVENT FACT SHEET

by | Mar 25, 2019 | | 0 Comments

Event:
Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh Presented by Evinrude
Date:  
March 26 – 31
Media Credentials:
Takeoff:
Approximately 7 a.m. EDT daily
Key Times:  
(All are EDT) 
7:30 a.m. Lines In, 10 a.m. Lines Out
10:15 a.m. Lines In, 12:45 p.m. Lines Out
1 p.m. Lines In, 3:30 p.m. Lines Out – End of Competition
Postgame
Show:
Approximately 5 to 7 p.m. EDT daily
Boat Launch:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Days 1 & 2:
Farrington Point Boat Ramp, Farrington Point Rd, Chapel Hill, NC
Days 3, 4 & 5:

Upper Barton’s Creek,12900 Six Forks Rd, Wake Forest, NC
Day 6:
Holleman’s Crossing, 4420 Bartley Holleman Rd, New Hill, NC
Stage  
Location:
Bass Pro Shops – 801 Bass Pro Ln., Cary, NC 27513
Broadcast:
Live Stream begins on MajorLeagueFishing.com at 10 a.m. EDT
Event Hashtags:
#MLFRaleigh #BassProTour
Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh  
Presented by Evinrude Event Notes:
  

Stage Three’s New Waters
The three lakes that the Bass Pro Tour field will compete on in Favorite Fishing Stage Three Raleigh Presented by Evinrude – Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and Shearon Harris Reservoir – will be “new waters” for the majority of the 80-angler field. None of these lakes have previously hosted a “tour-level” event, and only a small handful of the field has any experience on the lakes. Geographic proximity likely won’t play into any advantage (or disadvantage) – while there are five Bass Pro Tour anglers from the Carolinas, all five hail from South Carolina.
Carolina in my Mind
Five of the 80 anglers competing on the MLF Bass Pro Tour hail from South Carolina. The Carolinians you’ll see competing in Raleigh include:

  • Casey Ashley (Donalds) – Winner of the 2015 Bassmaster Classic and 10 additional tour-level victories.
  • Anthony Gagliardi (Prosperity) – One of only a handful of anglers who have won both FLW Tour Angler of the Year (2006) and a Forrest Wood Cup (2014)
  • Andy Montgomery (Blacksburg) – Twice a tour-level winner and owner of 34 Top 10s in his professional career.
  • Britt Myers (Lake Wylie) – A two-time tour-level winner, Myers also has 15 Top 10s to his credit.
  • Marty Robinson (Lyman) – Owner of 22 career Top 10s, Robinson has over $700,000 in career winnings.
Falls, Jordan Set for Shotgun, Elimination, Knockout
Because of the unique flexibility of the MLF Bass Pro Tour to compete on smaller local waters, the first five days of competition will split time between Falls and Jordan lakes. That includes the two Shotgun and Elimination Rounds, and the Knockout Round.
Championship Lake Shearon Harris: “Small but Mighty”
At 4,100 surface acres, Shearon Harris Reservoir – the site of the 10-angler Championship Round – is by far the smallest of the three lakes that the field will compete on. But as MLF NOW! live stream analyst Marty Stone (a North Carolina native) points out, “Shearon Harris is small but mighty. Shearon Harris is small, but it’s so good. It’s a really special lake.”
How Mighty? THIS Mighty
Big fish are the hallmark of all three fisheries, but Shearon Harris in particular has produced some eye-popping results in the recent past: the same co-ed team competing in two tournaments in early March of 2017 weighed in five-fish limits of 41.93 and 46.89 pounds.
From the Local Pro’s Perspective

Stone, who competed as a pro for 15 years prior to his MLF broadcasting duties, hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has fished all three lakes multiple times. Here’s what he has to say about…

  • Jordan and Falls Lakes: Most of the bass will run from 2 ¼ to 6 pounds, and we should see several 7- to 8-pounders. I stopped for a couple of days at Falls (recently) and I caught 25 pounds for my best 5 fish. These are pure Northern-strain largemouth, and they grow big here. We’re coming to them at the prime time for quality fish. Don’t be surprised to see a double-digit bass caught out of one of them.”
  • Shearon Harris Reservoir: If the bass are up shallow in the primrose (on Shearon Harris), look out. Those fish can be big. And I mean BIG. Get your braid out, and you’d better have your feet on the deck … they might pull you in. Shearon Harris has better numbers of fish than Falls and Jordan lakes, and it has huge fish, too. I’ve broken the mid-30s with my five largest weighable fish on this lake.”
Daily Wrap-up
After each day of competition, the Bass Pro Tour Postgame Show presented by Berkley will be held at the Bass Pro Tour set, located at Bass Pro Shops (801 Bass Pro Ln., Cary, NC 27513) Tuesday, March 26, through Sunday, March 31. The Postgame show begins at approximately 5 p.m. EDT each day. Admission to the Postgame Show is free of charge.  
Up-To-The-Minute Results
Unable to make it to Raleigh for Stage Three? Do as 1.2 million others that were not able to make it to Bass Pro Tour Huk Stage Two presented by Favorite Fishing in Conroe, Texas, did and log on to the all-new MajorLeagueFishing.com. Click “Watch MLF NOW!” to watch more than seven hours of live competition including a daily Postgame Show that begins at 5 p.m. EDT.
Catch the Action
MLF NOW!’s live streaming broadcast of the Bass Pro Tour will feature 10 cameras/cameramen shooting on board competitor’s boats throughout all six rounds of each event. Each day’s on-the-water live stream will run five to five-and-a-half hours in a network gameday- like broadcast. Tune in by logging on to MajorLeagueFishing.com or by downloading the Major League Fishing app on your smart device.
How We Got Here
Major League Fishing invited 80 of the world’s best anglers to compete in the inaugural season of the Bass Pro Tour. The roster is comprised of Bassmaster Classic champions, FLW Forrest Wood Cup winners, Anglers of the Year and top tour performers from throughout the world of competitive bass fishing.
How it Works

The format for Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour events will be similar to the General Tire World Championship events that aired on CBS in 2017 and 2018. The 80 anglers will be separated into two groups, 40 anglers in each. Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27 are Shotgun Rounds 1 and 2, where 40 anglers (Group A and Group B) compete to catch the highest cumulative two-day weight each day. Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29 are Elimination Rounds 1 and 2 where 40 anglers (Group A and Group B) compete to catch the highest two-day cumulative weight. Anglers’ Shotgun Round weight is combined with the weight they catch in the Elimination Round. The top 20 anglers from each group advance to the Knockout Round. Saturday, March 30 is the Knockout Round where 40 anglers (top 20 from each Elimination Round) compete. All anglers will begin the Knockout Round with zero weight. The Top-10 finishers advance to the Championship Round on Sunday, March 31 when they will compete to catch the highest weight. All anglers will begin the Championship Round with zero weight. A camera in every boat will livestream the action from Championship Sunday on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Animis Opibusque Parati
Although Stage Three marks the first event for the Bass Pro Tour in the Carolinas, MLF is no stranger to the Carolinas. The 2018 Challenge Select was held on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and was won by Keith Poche.
First Cast
Retired National Hockey League player and former Carolina Hurricane Tim Brent will throw the ceremonial first cast to kick off the Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Evinrude on Tuesday morning, March 26. Media availability will follow upon conclusion.
Military Appreciation Day
On Friday, March 29, the Bass Pro Shops store located at 801 Bass Pro Ln, Cary, NC 27513 will host a Military Appreciation Day from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. EDT, with demonstrations including a special ops recruiting virtual reality experience, and vehicle and weapons displays. There will be free giveaways for the first 250 customers, a 5 percent discount for Veterans on in-store purchases and a Veteran’s BBQ from 3:30 – 5 p.m. EDT.
Ladies Day Out
On Saturday, March 30,the Bass Pro Shops store located at 801 Bass Pro Ln, Cary, NC 27513, will host a Ladies Day Out Event. The store will provide free giveaways to the first 250 women that visit the store. Female-focused seminars on hunting, fishing, cooking and outdoor recreation will be held in-store from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT.
Teach a Child to Fish
On Saturday, March 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT, Pond Hopper Nation and Major League Fishing will provide fishing rods, t-shirts, tackle & instruction to children and families at Lake Crabtree County Park located at 1400 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560. MLF anglers fish with the kids, take photos, sign autographs and more. To participate, parents must register at the Bass Pro Shops store located at 801 Bass Pro Ln, Cary, NC 27513 between 10 a.m. and noon EDT to receive a participation voucher.
Ride Along
Major League Fishing will offer boat rides that allow credentialed media access to cover the Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Three Presented by Evinrude on the water. Rides must be scheduled in advance. Requests should be submitted to  Media@MajorLeagueFishing.com.
New Leader in the Clubhouse
Phoenix boats will provide a Daily Leader award, paying $500 to the angler leading days 1-4 of each Stage.
Berkley Big Bass of the Day
The angler that catches the largest bass of the day will be awarded the Berkley Big Bass of the Day. The angler with the largest bass caught throughout the competition will win $1,000.
About Major League Fishing
Founded in 2011, Major League Fishing (MLF) brings the high-intensity sport of competitive bass fishing into America’s living rooms on Outdoor Channel, Discovery, CBS, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). New for 2019, the Bass Pro Tour consists of eight events and a championship streamed live on www.MajorLeagueFishing.com and MOTV. MLF uses the entertaining and conservation-friendly catch, weigh and immediate-release format where every scorable bass counts and the winner is the angler with the highest cumulative weight. For more information on the league and anglers, visit www.majorleaguefishing.com and follow MLF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For more in-depth coverage, see Game & Fish magazine, the official publication of MLF.

Knoxville Delivers Huge Crowds For Record-Setting Bassmaster Classic World Championship

by | Mar 25, 2019 | | 0 Comments

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 49th GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods in Knoxville set multiple records over the three-day event, including a new high mark for total attendance of 153,809, B.A.S.S. and the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission announced.

“Long lines of fans waiting to enter Thompson-Boling Arena were similar to crowds at game days when the University of Tennessee Volunteers play some of their biggest rivals there,” said B.A.S.S. Director Chase Anderson, a native of Knoxville. “The Classic Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods was packed from the moment Gov. Bill Lee cut the ribbon to open the show, and it continued with capacity crowds through the weekend.”

Anderson noted that attendance was great despite the fact that Tennessee’s basketball team was playing in the SEC Championship Tournament in Nashville all three days of the Classic.

“Hosting the Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville was simply an incredible experience,” said Chad Culver, Senior Director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission. “We knew it was going to be huge, but to beat the all-time attendance record really showed how our community embraced this event. We also appreciate the support we received from the City of Knoxville, Knox County and State of Tennessee to bring this event to Knoxville.”

The Expo, which was held March 15-17 in the Knoxville Convention Center and the adjacent World’s Fair Exhibition Hall, drew a record total attendance of 92,819 over the three days it was open, according to turnstile counts. And show-goers were in a buying mood. One retailer reported a 30 percent increase over its best Classic sales mark ever, and sales at the B.A.S.S. merchandise booth were double the average for the past two years.

The Get Hooked On Fishing activity center, with casting lessons, a catfish pond and educational exhibits about fisheries, wildlife and conservation, drew a record 18,500 participants, mostly elementary-age children.

“I was told the Expo was one of the biggest events to take place in the World’s Fair Exhibition Hall since the World’s Fair in Knoxville in 1982,” Anderson said. “And everyone was blown away by the fact that 6,500 fans lined the Tennessee River at Volunteer Landing for takeoff at daybreak Saturday.

“I knew Knoxville and east Tennessee would show up for the biggest event in sportfishing.”

Actually, Classic Week drew fans from throughout the country and even beyond the United States borders.

An interactive map in the Expo showed that visitors came from every U.S. state and several foreign countries. B.A.S.S. customer service officials reported record sales of memberships, with applications received from 35 states. Lifetime membership sales were up 50 percent over the previous year’s sales, including one purchased by Gov. Lee, whose wife, Maria, is an avid angler.

In addition, 258 members of the media applied for credentials to cover the Classic, including journalists from 28 states, as well as Japan, China, Australia, Italy, Germany and Canada.

Fans also tuned in from afar to watch the action on Bassmaster LIVE — which established new records in video plays and minutes watched — and follow the event on Bassmaster.com. Online visits were recorded from 179 countries, including Italy (the home nation of Classic competitor Jacopo Gallelli), Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa, four of 10 nations with active B.A.S.S. Nation affiliates.

“After drawing huge crowds in Houston in 2017 and Greenville, S.C., where we set a new attendance record of 143,000 last year, we are proud and ecstatic to see the Classic continue to grow in attendance and prominence in the world of sportfishing,” Anderson said. “We will go all-in to maintain that momentum and exceed those records when we celebrate the 50th Bassmaster Classic a year from now.”

2019 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: GEICO

2019 Bassmaster Classic Presenting Sponsor: DICK’S Sporting Goods

2019 Bassmaster Classic Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Abu Garcia

2019 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo Presenting Sponsor: DICK’S Sporting Goods

2019 Bassmaster Classic Local Host: Visit Knoxville Sports Commission

2019 Bassmaster Classic Local Partners: Calhoun’s, Pilot Flying J, TVA

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. With more than 510,000 members internationally, B.A.S.S. is not only home to the nation’s premier fishing tournament trails, but it also boasts the most expansive and comprehensive media network in the fishing industry. Its media include The Bassmasters on the ESPN networks, more than 130 hours of tournament programming on the Pursuit Channel, 250 hours of on-the-water streaming coverage on Bassmaster LIVE and 1 million monthly visitors to the flagship website on bass fishing – Bassmaster.com. B.A.S.S. also provides more than 4.4 million readers with the best in bass fishing coverage through Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times, and its radio and social media programs and events reach hundreds of thousands each month.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, culminating in the ultimate event on the biggest stage for competitive anglers, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The trail also includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series, and the Bassmaster Team Championship.

Ott DeFoe and Mark Daniels Jr. collect a Classic Bonus

by | Mar 21, 2019 | | 0 Comments

Ott DeFoe and Mark Daniels Jr. both relied heavily on red craw colored crankbaits and the Toyota Tundras they purchased to ride to the top of the 2019 Bassmaster Classic leaderboard. And as a result, both cashed in on Toyota Bonus Bucks.

“The chance to win Bonus Bucks was the biggest reason I switched to a Toyota a couple seasons ago,” says new Classic Champion, DeFoe. “And I also believe it’s our responsibility as anglers to support the brands like Toyota that give so generously to our sport.”

For Mark Daniels Jr. his decision to purchase a Toyota was largely about reliability. “I’m going to be honest, I used to be a die-hard Chevy man, but the reliability you get with a Toyota is just awesome,” says Daniels. “The Tundra I tow with has 77,000 miles on it, and the only thing it’s ever been in the shop for is new tires and oil changes.”

You don’t have to fish in the Bassmaster Classic to win Bonus Bucks. You just have to drive a 2015 or newer Toyota Truck, sign up Free for Bonus Bucks, and be the highest finishing registered participant in one of the hundreds of tournaments supported by the program.

To learn more, please visit www.toyotafishing.com, or call (918) 742-6424 and ask for Kendell or Chip and they will help you get signed-up.

Ott Catches a Big!

by | Mar 21, 2019 | | 0 Comments

This should get your blood pumping, 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champ Ott DeFoe catches a big one on Bass U TV Live!

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