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KJ Earns a Major League Win with Help on the Way from the Lucky Craft RTO 1.5
There have only been five winners so far in the history of Major League Fishing, all of them superstars of the sport. While the history books will no doubt one day list the most recent winner, Kelly Jordon, as a member of the star brigade, he’s still in awe of his recent televised victory.
“When you’re in Major League Fishing, you’re fishing against more history than anywhere else in the sport,” he said. “There’s no practice, so it’s the purest form of competitive fishing, a real shoot from the hip format. There’s no time to make a mistake.”
During the MLF Challenge Cup in Texas, KJ met that test and came out on top by constantly adjusting. His final round dominance on Lake Ray Roberts came largely via a lipless crankbait, so it’s easy to overlook the fact that he never would have made it that far had it not been for his favorite square billed crankbait, the Lucky Craft RTO 1.5.
“It’s a plastic bait, so it’s a lot more durable than balsa,” he said. “You can fish it hard without dinging it, denting it or breaking the bill. The secret in any square bill is to find one that will hunt, and we get some of that with every one of these baits. Also, plastic baits are more buoyant, so they back up [out of cover] a little better. The 1.5 has proven itself in the trenches of battle.
“Not too many people are clinging to balsa,” he continued. “The last time someone won on it was when Takahiro won the Classic [in 2004]. He was a balsa snob, and I’m sure he still mixes it in a little, but now he’s got the TO’s and they do a lot more.”
Prior to decamping for Ray Roberts, the MLF pros fished their earlier rounds on Grapevine. It’s not far from where Jordon grew up and started his tournament and guiding careers, but it’s a body of water he doesn’t know well. “I’d only been there one time,” he recalled. “Sometime between 1988 and 1991. I remember the lake being deep and clear and this time it was low and stained. There went any advantage out the window. So I just fished it like I’d fish Lake Fork in late October, concentrating on main lake points and the backs of pockets, a one-two punch.” His chosen tool seemed obvious: the RTO 1.5.
While the likely patterns seemed obvious to KJ, the lake confounded most of the other pros. In the prior day’s elimination round, only Dean Rojas managed to cross the 20 pound threshold they were told it would take to advance. Two others made it by default. Then, in the next day’s sudden death six-man matchup Jordon cruised to an easy 21 pounds 6 ounces. The next best finisher was Skeet Reese with 10-10. The third place angler, who like Reese got to advance despite missing the 20 pound target, was Kevin VanDam. His five fish totaled 6 pounds 15 ounces, or less than KJ’s 7 pound 1 ounce kicker. Kelly also caught an 8-02 during on another day of this Texas beat down.
While the 7-plus came on a castable umbrella rig, the rest of his 21-06 was caught on the Lucky Craft shallow-diving crank.
“It was perfect for it,” Jordon said. “It was stained, but not that off color. You could see sticks 6 inches under the water and the shad were thick. Most importantly, it was post-frontal and the fish were not biting so that deflection was critical. This lure makes neutral fish bite. It’s just perfect that time of year.”
Jordon fished several shad patterned cranks at Grapevine, including Green Sexy and TO Shad. He typically throws them on 15 to 20 pound fluorocarbon and likes a 7’1” medium-heavy Duckett Rods Micro Magic. “It’s a great all-around crankbait rod,” he explained. “Not too long, so you can cast in tight spots, and it has plenty of backbone.
Jordon never leaves home without a wide selection of RTO 1.5s ready to go in his Skeeter. While he’ll turn to a swim jig or chatterbait or spinnerbait when needed, he said most weekend anglers don’t use a crankbait enough.
“It’s unbelievably weedless, especially if you keep it coming, winding it aggressively,” he advised. “Most of the people I see are reeling it too slow. They don’t fish it aggressively enough. They also don’t throw it close enough to the cover. Yes, you can get it hung, that’s why you throw it on heavy line. You won’t get nearly as many bites if you throw it to the edge of the cover instead of in it.”
With four B.A.S.S. victories under his belt, as well as an FLW Tour first place trophy and more big bass awards than anyone else in Elite Series history, you might think it would be tough for the 43 year old veteran to choose his signature career achievement, but he doesn’t hesitate to name the MLF win as his most gratifying.
“It’s probably the most awesome win I’ve had,” he said. “It was only the fifth MLF and when you think of all of the outstanding anglers there – Denny Brauer, Ike, Skeet and KVD, to name a few — everyone from older legends to newer stars, it means a lot.” He didn’t do anything particularly complex to get to the win, he just executed better than anyone else, and a longtime favorite bait gave him the confidence to stick with it.
Get all your Lucky Craft here.
Swimbait Bass
If your stuck in the office and all your thinking about is going fishing here is a video from Carl Jocumsen that may help you make it through the day. Watch as Jocumsen catches a giant Swimbait fish while fishing last week on Lake Murray.
Simple Jig Fishing Class with Gerald Swindle
As with most everything the G-Man does, he will teach Bass University TV students how to keep their jig selection “SIMPLE”. Following Gerald’s approach to simple jig fishing and selection just might make life a whole lot easier! All together “G” guides the class through the “When, Where, and Which” jig to tie on for a variety of situations.
New Products from Reins
Reins Fishing, manufacturer of the premier tungsten weights on the market as well as innovative and highly versatile soft plastics, will introduce at the 2014 ICAST show a tungsten football head weight unlike any other available, as well as two compact flipping baits that are sure to end up in every tournament angler’s arsenal. Additionally, there will be new sizes of two of the company’s distinctive swimbaits, including the one that Paul Mueller used to sack a record one day Bassmaster Classic five fish limit.
The sliding football head incorporates a tungsten football-shaped head with a hole cut through it to allow for use with an angler’s preferred soft plastic and a matching hook. Much of the impetus for this product came from the urging of professional angler David Walker, an Elite Series winner who has qualified for nine Bassmaster Classics and 10 Forrest Wood Cups.
“When it comes to sinkers, they’ve all been the same shape as long as I can remember,” he said. “Meanwhile, we’ve had all sorts of different styles of jigheads to provide different actions. We’re just using the same idea with a slip sinker. It’s a very simple deal, but you can customize it quickly to provide maximum versatility. You can use it for a 10-inch worm or a creature bait and a punch skirt, or you can use it for finesse-style fishing with a 4-inch worm or a craw fished by itself.”
Additionally, the high-density tungsten that has made Reins famous creates desirable noise when it bounces against hard cover like rocks or mussels. “I just use a little bobber stopper in between the head and my hook,” Walker explained. “It sounds just like the beads on a Carolina Rig and it acts as a buffer to protect your knot when it makes contact.”
Reins will also introduce a soft plastic Craw Tube and the Punchin’ Predator creature bait. Neither is an altogether new design, but instead they take existing concepts and perfect them for high-pressured tournament applications. The Craw Tube’s one flat side creates a gliding motion unlike any other lure in its class and the Punchin’ Predator maximizes hookups where others in its category end up with missed strikes. Both are compact but will easily hold a 5/0 hook, and both feature the distinct scent that contributes to Reins soft plastics’ effectiveness.
“We’ve worked hard to improve the action and the hookup percentage,” said Reins pro Michael Murphy. “These are two small baits that can be dropped into tight quarters to lure big fish, and the ability to hold a big hook helps you get them out.”
Finally, for big bass aficionados, Reins introduces a 6.5-inch size of the Fat Rockvibe Shad, the lure that Mueller used for his tremendous catch en route to finishing as the runner-up in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic, along with a new 6-inch size of the Bubbling Shad.
We will be at Booth 1318 throughout ICAST. If you would like to schedule a meeting or interview a pro- staffer, please contact Matt Paino. Available slots are going fast.
For more information about Reins Fishing, go to www.reinsfishing.com
