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| 2 | Kelly Jordon | |
| 8 | Takahiro Omori | |
| 11 | Gerald Swindle | |
| 19 | Casey Ashley | |
| 29 | Skeet Reese |
FORT MADISON, Iowa (June 17, 2009) - With just two events left at the start of this past weekend's River Rumble, the Elite Series anglers went in with no-holds barred. No one knew exactly what to expect from the Mighty Mississippi, except for the sure fact that it was going to be tough. And they were right. Five-fish limits seemed scarce at times, but all six Lucky Craft pro staff members fished their way into the top 30; an impressive feat in such a difficult tournament.
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"I practiced my butt off," Jordon began. "This river system isn't about patterns, it's about finding the fish. I covered five pools very thoroughly."
After covering a lot of water in practice, Jordon began his tournament flipping a craw tube on 50-pound braid near anything with current. His main area was definitely affected by current, as was his secondary spot on the main river.
Jordon brought in 12 pounds, 1 ounce on day one and 11 pounds, 1 ounce on day two to make the top 50. He knew he was in good shape going into day three, as he was one of only a handful of anglers who were able to bring in five-fish limits both days.
However, day three proved somewhat troublesome for the Texas native, as he was only able to bring in four fish weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces. His bag was still decent compared to those of the other anglers, but little did he know at the time that the one missing fish would cost him the win.
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On day four, Jordon caught three keepers early and headed to his primary area. He thought it was fished out, and there was no current, but he decided to give it a shot anyway.
"I caught a few fish right away, but no keepers, but then I started fishing a little deeper," Jordon explained. "I saw the water was clearer than it had been. I could see 6-or 8-inches deep, when before I could only see about an inch or so. I caught a few more nice ones before realizing that I just might be able to catch them cranking in this area.
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"I had no crankbaits in the boat, because I had taken them all out," Jordon continued. "I was just so sure it wasn't going to work on this body of water. Finally, I found a Lucky Craft Flat CB DR [in a chartreuse and blue back color]. The water was extremely clear for a river, so I sat down and put hooks on it, and on my second cast, I caught a 3-pounder. My partner said I looked like a genius doing that."
Jordon was able to catch five or six more keepers with the Lucky Craft crankbait in the last hour of the day. The pattern proved fruitful for Jordon, as he brought in his biggest weight of the tournament - 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
As he watched the fish come across the scales, he realized he had found a special area on day four, but he just didn't find it soon enough.
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"If I would have had time to let the area rest and come back, I think I could have caught enough to win," Jordon said. "I ended up ounces out of the top position, and any keeper yesterday [Saturday] or another good cull today [Sunday] would have done it."
With a total of 42 pounds, 9 ounces, just 10 ounces out of first place, Jordon finished second. He can still picture the one fish he lost on day three, and he'll long remember the one that got away.
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"It almost worked out for me, and not having that one fish on Saturday cost me," Jordon said referring to the four-fish limit he caught on Saturday. "I did make the adjustment on day four, but I do wish I could have adjusted earlier. I was really close, and I didn't even expect that, so I'm happy. I did the best I could."
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"I knew this tournament would be more of my kind of deal," Omori said. "I could look for shallow stumps, bushes, lay-down trees and rip rap. I thought if I could find the right area, I would have a chance to do well."
During practice, Omori was throwing the RC 1.5 in a customized version of Sexy Chartreuse Shad. Most of his fish, however, came flipping, but he was able to use the Lucky Craft crankbait to cover a lot of water and find productive areas.
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On day one, Omori's big bag of 14 pounds, 10 ounces, came in a backwater area with 25 other boats present. He admitted he was fortunate to find a key stretch to get the bite he needed. That one day made his whole week in a tournament this difficult.
After finishing eighth, Omori's chances for making the cut and fishing in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic are much better than earlier in the year. He came here in 36th and this finish helped move him up in the points. He now sits comfortably in 25th. With one event left, on Lake Oneida in New York, Omori is going to rely on his experience and an open mind to do well and make his seventh Classic.
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"Practice was exactly what I thought … tough," Swindle said. "I knew catching five every day would be an accomplishment. I didn't know what weights I'd be able to catch, but my goal was to bring in five a day and not worry about size."
Swindle fished a soft plastic worm most of the time, flipping it around shallow cover on 20-pound line with a 1/4-ounce weight and a 7 foot, 2 inch rod. It worked on days one and two, and he could get bites fishing behind other anglers because of its streamlined, smaller profile. Swindle brought in 11 pounds, 5 ounce on day one and 9 pounds, 11 ounces on day two.
But as the boat traffic increased, the water became muddy, and the fish had a hard time finding the small worm. So on day three, Swindle had to switch it up and fish a spinnerbait. He caught nearly 30 fish and 10 keepers with the plain, white-skirted spinnerbait. He brought in a five-fish limit weighing 8 pounds, 14 ounces.
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"Today [Sunday], I just couldn't get them," Swindle said of his final day of competition. "I was using a small, finesse bait with a Colorado/Indiana blade combination. I had to throw it in the thickest cover I could find and shake it out. I would get hung up a lot and have to jump it loose. It was easy to miss fish doing that. I just couldn't get them to react today."
Swindle started flipping and pitching again with a 4-1/2-inch worm and caught some nice ones, but they were all small. He was only able to bring in one fish weighing 1 pound, 15 ounces on day four to put him in 11th overall.
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Swindle knows he has his work cut out for him as he heads to Lake Oneida, after a few weeks of rest. The Alabama resident has never made a check on this New York lake, but he plans to change that in August.
"After two top 10s in a row, I seem to be settling in," Swindle said. "I've had a few mistakes this year, but not like last year. I feel really good about my decisions this year and how I'm fishing. I went from having to fight hard to make the Classic, before Kentucky Lake, to actually having a shot at the post season if I do well on Lake Oneida."
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"I decided on day one not to go to my third area because it was in pool 18," Ashley said. "I stayed closer, and when I got to my first area on day one, there were five boats on it. I tucked myself behind them and went fishing."
Ashley was able to bring in five fish on day one flipping a beaver mostly, but swimming a jig and throwing a frog some, too.
"It was a tough, grueling bite," Ashley said. "You never knew where you were going to get bit. You could go down a stretch and see a stump in 2 feet of water and then a stump in 6 inches of water and not know which would work out. Sometimes the fish would be in 2 feet of water and sometimes they'd be all the way up on the bank. It was a very weird deal. I'm comfortable junk fishing, which is exactly what this was, so that was a good thing."
Ashley brought in his biggest bag of the tournament on day two, with 10 pounds, 15 ounces. After a good two-day run, day three proved a little more difficult for the South Carolina native.
"I don't know what happened today [Saturday]," Ashley said. "I was able to catch a limit every other day, except today, but I guess I just ran out of fish in my area. I worked it slow and hard, but it didn't work out today."
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With three fish weighing 4 pounds, 8 ounces, Ashley missed the top-12 cut and finished 19th. He admits he did better than he expected and was pleased with the finish.
Lake Oneida will make or break Ashley's chances at his third straight Bassmaster Classic, and he is hopeful it works out in his favor.
"Last year on Lake Oneida, I finished seventh, I am looking forward to going back," Ashley added. "I can swing for the fences again and see what happens."
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"I feel like I had a horrible event on one hand, because I didn't catch squat," Reese said. "In my mind, catching three or four keepers a day means I didn't do my job. I'm disappointed in that aspect, but what I did manage to catch in this event wasn't too bad."
Reese caught a total three-day weight of 21 pounds, 1 ounce. His main bait was a black and blue Chigger Craw and a Sweet Beaver in the same color. He really thought the Lucky Craft SKT MR would come into play on this river, but the fish were too shallow.
The Angler of the Year race is still neck and neck, as Kevin VanDam finished in 28th, one spot ahead of Reese.
"I would have liked to have a limit every day, but I got some good points out of this one," Reese said. "At least I didn't zero, and there are only ounces separating Kevin [VanDam] and I right now in the points. It's going to be tight. He did gain some points on me here, but not too many, and it adds to the drama of the chase. It's going to be interesting on Lake Oneida and in the post season."
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"These types of tournaments make you use every ounce of knowledge you have," Clunn said. "The fishery is recovering but there are plenty of fish. You just have to work really hard to find them and throw everything you have at them."
Clunn had several Lucky Craft crankbaits tied on, in addition to a spinnerbait. Most of Clunn's stretches weren't large, but he would work them with one bait and come back through with another. Making several passes with his key baits seemed to do the trick.
"I was fishing with a spinnerbait, the RC 3.5, RC 1.5 and RC 0.5 [Copper Perch color]," Clunn said. "You might catch two or three, including non-keepers, on one pass through, but then you could do it again with another bait and catch a few more. You had to work your water very thoroughly."
Clunn weighed in 8 pounds, 14 ounces on day one and 8 pounds, 9 ounces on day two to make the top 50. His bag on day three weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces to put him in 17th with a total three-day weight of 25 pounds, 3 ounces.
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