Lee Wins Group A By More Than 4 Pounds

By MLF Communications Staff

HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Despite the dreary, overcast weather and changing conditions, Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala. maintained the pace he set on Monday, weighing in five bass totaling 23 pounds, 11 ounces to win the Group A Qualifying Round at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Lake St. Clair. Lee’s two-day total of 46-03 left him 4-08 ahead of second-place Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., who had 41-11.

Period 3 marked big changes for several anglers, shaking up the playing field as pros vied for big fish to move across the cutline and advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. The biggest moves came from Wynne, Ark.'s Mark Rose, who started the day in 17th place and dropped down to 28th before going on a third-period flurry to finish out the day in ninth. North Carolina’s Bryan Thrift also moved into the Top 20 during the final period, while Takahiro Omori and Josh Butler dropped below the cutline and were eliminated from the competition.

The Top 20 advancing anglers from Group A will now have an off day Tuesday, while the 40 anglers competing in Qualifying Group B will complete their Qualifying Round.

“The past two competition days have been unbelievable and I feel really blessed,” said Lee. “Since we couldn’t practice on the Canadian side of Lake St. Clair, I came over here on a whim, just gambling. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it’s been a great experience.

“I caught a lot of small fish this morning but found a school of big fish late in the day, so I’m excited about moving on to the Knockout Round. These smallmouth are notorious for moving, but I’m not going into panic mode if they move. I just plan to move around and see what else we can find.”

Two hefty smallmouth – weighing 5-11 and 5-02 – anchored haul on Monday.

“The [Berkley] MaxScent always plays for smallmouth, and this week has been no different,” said Lee. “I’m throwing a dropshot rig with a 5-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad on my signature 6-foot, 10-inch super finesse Abu Garcia Jordan Lee spinning rod, using 6-pound Berkley x5 Braid and an 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader. These fish are out a little deeper and have been feeding on perch, so they seem to like this bigger bait.”

Lee earned Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with the 5-11 that he caught in Period 2 on a dropshot rig. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

Anglers launch each day at 7:20 a.m. ET from the Lake St. Clair Metropark, located at 31300 Metro Parkway in Harrison Township. Each day’s takeout is held at the launch location beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The tournament features pros competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with each angler’s five (5) heaviest bass per day tallied as their day’s weight. Anglers strive to catch their heaviest five fish each day while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the live ScoreTracker leaderboard.

After each group's two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the Top 20 anglers from each group advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round,where weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)

1. Jordan Lee -- 22-08 (5) -- 23-11 (5) -- 46-03 (10) -- 5-11

2. Spencer Shuffield -- 22-07 (5) -- 19-04 (5) -- 41-11 (10) -- 4-12

3. Matt Becker -- 20-09 (5) -- 20-10 (5) -- 41-03 (10) -- 5-06

4. Greg Vinson -- 20-12 (5) -- 19-08 (5) -- 40-04 (10) -- 4-11

5. Terry Scroggins -- 20-05 (5) -- 18-01 (5) -- 38-06 (10) -- 4-04

6. Dean Rojas -- 17-10 (5) -- 20-09 (5) -- 38-03 (10) -- 5-08

7. Cody Meyer -- 19-11 (5) -- 18-02 (5) -- 37-13 (10) -- 4-07

8. Brent Chapman -- 19-04 (5) -- 18-06 (5) -- 37-10 (10) -- 4-02

9. Mark Rose -- 17-13 (5) -- 19-10 (5) -- 37-07 (10) -- 4-10

10. Alton Jones Jr. -- 21-05 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 37-03 (10) -- 3-10

11. Ryan Salzman -- 20-09 (5) -- 16-09 (5) -- 37-02 (10) -- 4-10

12. Michael Neal -- 19-06 (5) -- 17-07 (5) -- 36-13 (10) -- 3-09

13. James Watson -- 18-04 (5) -- 18-06 (5) -- 36-10 (10) -- 4-04

14. Andy Morgan -- 18-12 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 36-07 (10) -- 4-00

15. David Dudley -- 19-04 (5) -- 17-02 (5) -- 36-06 (10) -- 4-02

16. Marty Robinson -- 17-10 (5) -- 17-13 (5) -- 35-07 (10) -- 4-14

17. Bryan Thrift -- 17-02 (5) -- 18-04 (5) -- 35-06 (10) -- 4-05

18. Cole Floyd -- 17-09 (5) -- 17-01 (5) -- 34-10 (10) -- 3-10

19. Jonathon VanDam -- 17-01 (5) -- 17-08 (5) -- 34-09 (10) -- 4-00

20. Adrian Avena -- 16-00 (5) -- 18-07 (5) -- 34-07 (10) -- 4-08

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

21. Josh Butler -- 17-08 (5) -- 16-08 (5) -- 34-00 (10) -- 4-00

22. Andy Montgomery -- 17-02 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 33-12 (10) -- 3-10

23. Britt Myers -- 17-06 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 33-09 (10) -- 3-13

24. Kelly Jordon -- 18-14 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 33-07 (10) -- 3-01

25. Takahiro Omori -- 17-00 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 33-02 (10) -- 4-15

26. Boyd Duckett -- 18-09 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 32-14 (10) -- 3-06

27. Randall Tharp -- 17-12 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 32-10 (10) -- 3-05

28. Wesley Strader -- 16-03 (5) -- 15-15 (5) -- 32-02 (10) -- 3-12

29. Casey Ashley -- 15-12 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 31-15 (10) -- 3-15

30. Ott DeFoe -- 17-10 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 31-13 (10) -- 3-01

31. Anthony Gagliardi -- 15-02 (5) -- 16-09 (5) -- 31-11 (10) -- 3-14

32. Fletcher Shryock -- 18-12 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 31-02 (10) -- 3-02

33. Cliff Crochet -- 15-12 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 30-05 (10) -- 4-04

34. Timmy Horton -- 13-08 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 29-05 (10) -- 3-14

35. David Walker -- 14-02 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 28-13 (10) -- 3-10

36. Roy Hawk -- 14-11 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 28-07 (10) -- 3-08

37. Dave Lefebre -- 10-10 (4) -- 15-11 (5) -- 26-05 (9) -- 4-01

38. Randy Howell -- 8-10 (3) -- 17-02 (5) -- 25-12 (8) -- 3-14

39. Chris Lane -- 11-13 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 25-09 (10) -- 3-15

40. Mitch Crane -- 12-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-08 (5) -- 0-00