Week 23 – Kelly Jordon

Jordon Hangs 10 6/7/2005

Photo: Cox Marketing Group

Jordon plans to hit the surf, then collect bait for an offshore fishing trip.

Many pro anglers spend their downtime with family, friends or their gear. Texas pro Kelly Jordon does that too, but he also spends time in the Gulf of Mexico with a surfboard and a deep-sea rod. No, he doesn't use the board as a fishing platform. He uses it to catch a wave and hang 10.

After he's done with the surfboard, he comes in to catch bait and prepare for a day of deep-sea trophy hunting. Instead of bass, he's after cobia, ling, red snapper and a variety of other salty specimens. But he still has time to yank the lips of a few bass, too.

Big Kahuna

The Texas surf is better known for its redfish and oil rigs than its rides. Still, when the weather's too bad to head out after finny creatures, Jordon dons the surf duds and catches a wave.

"Oh yeah, I love to surf when I can't get out after the fish," he said. "Today, Terry Scroggins and I were going to head out after some big fish in the Gulf out of Galveston, Texas, but the weather turned bad. The wind's got the surf going pretty good. There are some nice 5-footers out there.

"These conditions are perfect for a little surfing," he said. "I'm gonna go and hang 10 for a while. I'll get in around 5 p.m. and catch bait for tomorrow."

Sushi or mahi mahi might be on the menu.

"We were going out to catch tuna on topwater, but the weather was too rough," he said. "Instead, we'll head out tomorrow and chase ling or cobia, or maybe some tuna or dolphin fish. The dolphin fish and tuna are really good to eat."

Fork Is On

Jordon said the Lake Fork big-fish bite is on.

"I went out on Sunday with Terry Scroggins and we caught about 18 fish in 3 hours," he said. "We caught one just over 8 pounds and lost another fish over 10 pounds. Almost all of the fish were 4 or 5 pounds.

"We went out the next day and caught 10 more quality fish," he added. "We caught another over 8 pounds and lost another about 10 pounds. All of these were caught on a swimbait. This was the same lure I used when I filmed the Classic Patterns show a couple of weeks ago."

Hot Water Cranking

Pick up your Lucky Craft crankbaits and hit the water for some summer action right now, Jordon said.

"Summer's a great time to throw the deep-diving Lucky Craft crankbaits. My favorite is the Flat CB D-20. This deep-diver will get the job done throughout the summer months.

"Use this lure along deep ledges, creek channels, deep humps – pretty much any deep-water cover that you feel will hold fish," he said. "The D-20 is a great deep-diver to catch big summer bass."

Notable

> For a little fun, Jordon recommended a spin with topwaters. "I like the Sammy for a variety of topwater situations. But my favorite is probably the Gunfish. You can really work this bait fast. It's really easy to walk the dog with this lure. Plus, it's tail-weighted so you can cast it a mile. If you see schooling fish, you can launch it to them."