By MLF Communications Staff
EUFAULA, Okla. – Kelly Jordon of Flint, Texas, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces – the largest limit weighed in the three-day event – to vault to the top of the leaderboard and win the MLF Invitational at Lake Eufaula, collecting the top prize of $83,500. Jordon’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 57-03 earned him the victory by a 2-14 margin over second-place finisher Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Ill., who caught 15 bass weighing 54-05, good for $50,000.
Jordon did a lot of internet work pre-tournament, which paid off with his winning spot at the bottom end of the lake and most of his good places elsewhere.
“I found a lot of stuff (on the web),” Jordon said. “I could run all over this lake and catch fish; I like to fish how this lake is fishing right now.”
As for his key areas, Jordon concentrated on a couple of subtle areas in 3 to 6 feet of water – places that quality fish could stage slightly off the beaten track.
“It’s a secondary point that has rock on it, that’s outside of sand,” he said of his best spot. “You wouldn’t know there’s a rock point. I looked for it, a lot of Google Earth – I found several deals like that.”
As for catching the fish this week, Jordon kept it pretty simple. A Lucky Craft Fat CB BDS 2 did damage, as well as a 1/2-ounce vibrating jig with a Lake Fork Live Magic Shad.
Jordon started the final round in fourth place, but he knew that he wasn’t out of contention. With the caliber of fish biting, he knew that a comeback was definitely possible.
“I had a pretty good practice, I had a lot of stuff everywhere,” Jordon said. “The first day, I used it to see what I had. I ran all my stuff, I like to do that, I like to mark my trees.
“I thought I could catch them pretty good in Longtown Creek and I ended up catching a 7-pound limit. I ran some other stuff; finally caught a 3-pounder, and tried to expand. But my end goal was to fish my special stuff, and I waited until other people left and caught five fish there, and they culled all my other fish.”
As soon as he caught five for 16-11 off his juice, Jordon got the heck out of Dodge so others wouldn’t see him on it.
“(Leaving early) was not real smart – going into today, I had a 6-pound deficit,” he said. “I made a really bad mental mistake.”
It ended up not costing him, and he rode his pattern to victory.
“Today I just started there,” Jordon said. “I knew there were big fish there, that I could catch 20 pounds. The wind was ripping and there were giant waves rolling in. I’m almost surprised I caught what I did. I only caught five down there and I only caught three on my juice.”
Though he may have had the event sealed before the final fish, Jordon made a last-minute stop on two more little rock patches and caught one more upgrade to put the exclamation mark on the day.
“I had an opportunity to get in this tournament, I figured it would be fabulous fishing, and dadgum it was. Today was so good, it just rolled my way all day. To win this event, I don’t even know what to say, it was just a blessed day.”
After three events down in the six-event Qualifying Circuit, Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., leads the AOY race with 581 points. Junction City, Wisc. pro Matthew Stefan sits in second place with 544, while Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Ill., and Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va. are tied for third with 541. Michael Harlin of Sunrise Beach, Mo., rounds out the Top 5 with 540.
Final Standings
1. Kelly Jordon -- 16-11 (5) -- 17-15 (5) -- 22-09 (5) -- 57-03 (15) -- $83,500
2. Drew Gill -- 19-12 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 19-13 (5) -- 54-05 (15) -- $50,000
3. Ron Nelson -- 20-04 (5) -- 20-02 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 52-04 (15) -- $20,000
4. Scotty Villines -- 17-07 (5) -- 16-11 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 50-05 (15) -- $18,200
5. Cody Spetz -- 21-10 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 49-03 (15) -- $17,000
6. Braxton Setzer -- 18-14 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 48-06 (15) -- $16,300
7. Tai Au -- 15-07 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 47-00 (15) -- $15,000
8. Jeff Reynolds -- 19-01 (5) -- 16-04 (5) -- 10-05 (5) -- 45-10 (15) -- $14,000
9. Shonn Goodwin -- 15-07 (5) -- 17-04 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 45-06 (15) -- $13,000
10. Michael Neal -- 17-00 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 13-01 (5) -- 44-00 (15) -- $12,000
11. Jaden Parrish -- 10-09 (5) -- 18-12 (5) -- 14-01 (4) -- 43-06 (14) -- $10,000
12. Phillip Dutra -- 13-11 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 43-05 (15) -- $10,000
13. Grae Buck -- 17-11 (5) -- 12-01 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 43-04 (15) -- $10,000
14. Clayton Batts -- 15-03 (5) -- 18-07 (5) -- 9-04 (5) -- 42-14 (15) -- $10,000
15. Martin Villa -- 14-13 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 42-14 (15) -- $10,000
16. Hunter Mills -- 13-09 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 42-11 (15) -- $10,000
17. Travis Harriman -- 15-03 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 13-03 (5) -- 41-14 (15) -- $10,000
18. Terry Olinger -- 13-06 (4) -- 17-12 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 41-13 (14) -- $10,000
19. Chris M. Jones -- 15-12 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 41-09 (15) -- $10,000
20. Chad Mrazek -- 13-04 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 41-07 (15) -- $10,000
21. Matthew Stefan -- 14-05 (5) -- 15-00 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 41-03 (15) -- $10,000
22. Michael Harlin -- 19-07 (5) -- 10-04 (5) -- 11-01 (5) -- 40-12 (15) -- $10,000
23. Brock Reinkemeyer -- 19-03 (5) -- 8-15 (4) -- 12-10 (5) -- 40-12 (14) -- $10,000
24. Blake Hall -- 22-02 (5) -- 12-01 (5) -- 6-06 (3) -- 40-09 (13) -- $10,000
25. Brandon Mosley -- 16-02 (5) -- 13-15 (5) -- 10-05 (5) -- 40-06 (15) -- $10,000
26. Lance Crawford -- 14-12 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 39-12 (15) -- $10,000
27. Robby Frashier -- 14-11 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 10-05 (5) -- 39-10 (15) -- $10,000
28. Colby Schrumpf -- 12-02 (5) -- 15-11 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 39-09 (15) -- $10,000
29. Randy Despino -- 12-06 (5) -- 17-03 (5) -- 9-12 (4) -- 39-05 (14) -- $10,000
30. Connor Cunningham -- 18-03 (5) -- 9-14 (4) -- 11-04 (4) -- 39-05 (13) -- $10,000
31. Andrew Behnke -- 13-05 (4) -- 18-10 (5) -- 7-05 (2) -- 39-04 (11) -- $8,000
32. Blake Martin -- 11-09 (5) -- 18-05 (5) -- 9-06 (4) -- 39-04 (14) -- $9,000
33. Keith Carson -- 14-10 (5) -- 17-09 (5) -- 5-11 (3) -- 37-14 (13) -- $8,000
34. Kyle Schutta -- 16-15 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 9-10 (3) -- 37-06 (13) -- $8,000
35. Kyle Cortiana -- 16-14 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 7-08 (5) -- 37-02 (15) -- $8,000
36. John Cox -- 14-04 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 5-11 (2) -- 36-11 (12) -- $8,000
37. Wyatt Frankens -- 15-04 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 6-09 (3) -- 36-07 (13) -- $8,000
38. Mark Fisher -- 14-10 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 6-02 (3) -- 36-06 (13) -- $8,000
39. Laker Howell -- 13-10 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 7-08 (4) -- 36-05 (14) -- $8,000
40. Hunter Eubanks -- 13-12 (5) -- 15-05 (4) -- 7-03 (3) -- 36-04 (12) -- $8,000
41. Blake Felix -- 19-05 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 4-02 (2) -- 35-05 (12) -- $8,000
42. Andrew Nordbye -- 16-02 (5) -- 13-00 (5) -- 5-14 (3) -- 35-00 (13) -- $9,000
43. Jimmy Reese -- 15-08 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 7-00 (4) -- 34-05 (14) -- $8,000
44. Jordan Hirt -- 14-00 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 3-03 (1) -- 34-01 (11) -- $8,000
45. Danny L. Shanz -- 18-03 (5) -- 11-07 (5) -- 4-02 (2) -- 33-12 (12) -- $8,000
46. Cody Pike -- 18-13 (5) -- 9-04 (4) -- 5-06 (2) -- 33-07 (11) -- $8,000
47. Drew Boggs -- 12-02 (5) -- 19-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 32-00 (10) -- $8,000
48. Jim Moynagh -- 11-04 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 3-13 (2) -- 30-15 (12) -- $8,000
49. Kyle Palmer -- 17-02 (5) -- 11-04 (5) -- 1-13 (1) -- 30-03 (11) -- $8,000
50. JD Chandler -- 12-02 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 2-11 (2) -- 29-15 (12) -- $8,000
The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on Day 3.
51. Chad Allison -- 12-05 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-02 (10)
52. Joe Wieberg -- 16-00 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-15 (10)
53. Miles Howe -- 11-03 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-15 (10)
54. Spike Stoker -- 16-00 (5) -- 10-10 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-10 (9)
55. Jacopo Gallelli -- 14-05 (5) -- 12-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-08 (10)
56. John Voyles -- 18-04 (5) -- 7-15 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-03 (8)
57. Terry Bolton -- 18-05 (5) -- 7-11 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-00 (8)
58. Jason Vance -- 12-09 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-15 (10)
59. William Fletcher -- 15-15 (4) -- 9-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-12 (9)
60. Cal Lane -- 9-12 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-09 (10)
61. Kyle Hall -- 15-14 (5) -- 9-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-04 (10)
62. Nick Hatfield -- 16-09 (5) -- 8-08 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-01 (8)
63. Dakota Ebare -- 9-04 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-01 (10)
64. Colby Miller -- 10-11 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 25-00 (10)
65. Flint Davis -- 11-12 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-14 (10)
66. Chris Groh -- 14-07 (5) -- 10-05 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-12 (9)
67. Elijah Meyers -- 11-01 (5) -- 13-08 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-09 (9)
68. J Todd Tucker -- 15-15 (5) -- 8-03 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-02 (9)
69. Mike McClelland -- 13-04 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-01 (10)
70. Rusty Salewske -- 13-01 (5) -- 11-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-01 (10)
71. Pete Ponds -- 11-03 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-01 (10)
72. Alex Davis -- 7-08 (4) -- 16-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-12 (9)
73. Cole Breeden -- 14-14 (5) -- 8-14 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-12 (9)
74. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 6-12 (3) -- 16-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-06 (8)
75. Tom Monsoor -- 10-07 (3) -- 12-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-05 (8)
76. Bryan Partak -- 12-10 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-05 (10)
77. Todd Walters -- 8-15 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-00 (10)
78. Justin Cooper -- 11-00 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-13 (10)
79. Joe Grafeman -- 18-11 (5) -- 4-00 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-11 (6)
80. Joshua Weaver -- 14-05 (4) -- 8-04 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-09 (7)
81. Steve Lopez -- 12-12 (5) -- 9-12 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-08 (9)
82. John-Dalton Miller -- 18-07 (5) -- 4-00 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-07 (7)
83. Andy Newcomb -- 9-05 (4) -- 12-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-10 (9)
84. Christian Greico -- 14-09 (5) -- 7-00 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-09 (8)
85. Derik Hudson -- 11-11 (5) -- 9-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-08 (10)
86. Cole Hewett -- 13-08 (5) -- 7-13 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-05 (9)
87. Cody Parker -- 11-10 (5) -- 9-04 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-14 (8)
88. Kyle Minke -- 16-15 (5) -- 3-14 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-13 (7)
89. Sean Anderson -- 11-11 (3) -- 9-02 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-13 (7)
90. Bobby Bakewell -- 7-13 (4) -- 12-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-11 (9)
91. Kyle Weisenburger -- 13-04 (5) -- 7-06 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-10 (8)
92. Shaw Grigsby -- 4-12 (2) -- 15-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-08 (7)
93. Matt Reed -- 6-03 (3) -- 14-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-06 (8)
94. Mario Riojas -- 9-14 (5) -- 10-01 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-15 (10)
95. Nolan Gaskin -- 13-09 (5) -- 6-05 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-14 (8)
96. Fred Roumbanis -- 13-07 (5) -- 6-01 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-08 (7)
97. Eddie Carper -- 6-01 (3) -- 13-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-04 (8)
98. Marshall Robinson -- 6-15 (3) -- 12-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-03 (8)
99. David Walker -- 7-09 (4) -- 11-08 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-01 (8)
100. Matt Greenblatt -- 14-05 (5) -- 4-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-14 (7)
101. Cody Petit -- 12-07 (5) -- 6-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-13 (7)
102. Eric Panzironi -- 6-10 (2) -- 12-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-12 (7)
103. Lane Olson -- 14-13 (5) -- 3-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-06 (7)
104. Tom Redington -- 8-02 (4) -- 10-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-02 (9)
105. Troy Stokes -- 7-03 (3) -- 10-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-01 (8)
106. Kollin Crawford -- 9-08 (5) -- 8-09 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-01 (9)
107. Rick Chenoweth -- 11-12 (5) -- 5-12 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-08 (8)
108. Jesse Millsaps -- 12-02 (4) -- 4-14 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-00 (7)
109. Tyler Stewart -- 13-03 (5) -- 3-12 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-15 (7)
110. Shannon Abbott -- 7-15 (4) -- 8-14 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-13 (8)
111. Frank Kitchens III -- 6-02 (4) -- 10-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-10 (9)
112. Austin Culbertson -- 10-05 (3) -- 6-05 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-10 (6)
113. Thomas Wooten -- 16-02 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-02 (5)
114. Paul Elias -- 12-14 (4) -- 3-01 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-15 (5)
115. Jack Daniel Williams -- 10-05 (5) -- 5-02 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-07 (8)
116. Mark Condron -- 10-13 (5) -- 4-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-06 (7)
117. Ryan Armstrong -- 10-08 (4) -- 4-12 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-04 (6)
118. Ethan Greene -- 10-12 (5) -- 4-05 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-01 (7)
119. Tristan McCormick -- 10-04 (5) -- 4-12 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-00 (7)
120. Jason Grape -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-14 (5)
121. Brian Latimer -- 10-12 (5) -- 4-01 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-13 (7)
122. Rod MacKinnon III -- 9-05 (4) -- 5-07 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-12 (7)
123. Jeremy Southerly -- 12-13 (5) -- 1-13 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-10 (6)
124. Ricky Robinson -- 14-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-06 (5)
125. Marty Robinson -- 11-03 (4) -- 3-03 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-06 (6)
126. Cole Harris -- 11-05 (4) -- 2-14 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-03 (6)
127. Mike Smola -- 10-02 (4) -- 3-12 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-14 (5)
128. Kyle Glasgow -- 10-03 (4) -- 3-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-09 (6)
129. Scott Wiley -- 6-15 (3) -- 6-07 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-06 (5)
130. Charlie Evans -- 10-02 (5) -- 2-10 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-12 (6)
131. Andrew Loberg -- 9-13 (5) -- 2-04 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-01 (6)
132. Terry Luedtke -- 8-09 (4) -- 3-04 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-13 (5)
133. Robby Lefere -- 9-11 (5) -- 1-13 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-08 (6)
134. Robert Nakatomi -- 9-11 (4) -- 1-09 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-04 (5)
135. Ramie Colson Jr -- 3-02 (2) -- 7-10 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-12 (5)
136. Brad Jelinek -- 3-01 (1) -- 6-11 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-12 (4)
137. Kevin Rogers -- 9-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-10 (5)
138. Bruce Parsons -- 9-05 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-05 (3)
139. Ron Farrow -- 8-01 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-01 (3)
140. Derek Fulps -- 7-14 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-14 (4)
141. Cameron Mattison -- 7-05 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-05 (3)
142. Mike Findley -- 5-02 (3) -- 1-10 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-12 (4)
143. Randy Deaver -- 6-00 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-00 (2)
144. Val Osinski -- 5-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-06 (2)
145. Dean Cox -- 3-08 (2) -- 1-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-06 (3)
146. Jordan Collom -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-03 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-03 (2)
147. Charles Abshire -- 2-05 (1) -- 1-10 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-15 (2)
148. Cody Greaney -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-13 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-13 (2)
Tommy Dickerson -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)
Bobby Carver -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)