It was cold, with wind gusts were upwards of 28-35 MPH. The day started before the sun came up. The lake was angry with white caps rolling across the waters.
Jordan’s plans would lead him to the north side of the lake that was fed by a river. In this area, you could hunt for spawning bass on the banks of the shores. Searching cove after cove, he could not see through the water. The rough waters made it nearly impossible to locate a bed to fish.
But then he found it, a cove that offered a little protection from the winds. He was the first boat there. It was the only cove that provided such shelter. He still dealt with the constant cold wind but the reduction in the wind was just enough to see into the waters. He looked out over the lake at the other anglers that were grinding their way through the high winds in open waters. He felt somewhat guilty for landing this prize location on the non-forgiving lake.
His plan was to fish the bass that made this specific cove their home. After scouting the area, he found two beds. The first had a very large female bass as well as a male bass that protect the bed at all costs. The other bed had a slightly smaller male on it, but the female was nowhere in sight.
Since the larger female bass was on the point, Jordan figured he would start there with the bed nearest to the point. Doing so would protect his sacred cove from the other anglers. It was a small cove and when positioning his 97 Champion 181 into the perfect spot it prevented other boats from moving in.
The Lowrance Ghost was turned up to one of the highest settings he had run. The high winds required such power when spot-locking. The boat held and he started fishing the bed. 10 minutes went by, then 20, and then 30 minutes. Jordan started with aggressive light-colored baits hoping to irritate the male and get him to react. This big fish was not moving and the baits seem to not bother him a bit. He dedicated another 20 minutes and moved his baits to more aggressive creature baits, eventually moving into craws. After an hour, the male started reacting. Jordan worked the male bass another hour, It was at this time the Female moved onto the bed to protect her mighty mate. Just as Jordan flipped the bait and dropped it down on the male, the female rushed it and crushed it.
Jordan pulled back on the reel and after over two hours of working the bed, landed the mother load. It was a 7.07 lbs Female Bass. This bass would be the largest caught in the tournament and landed Jordan his first American Bass Association “Big Fish” Award. Jordan did not stop there, after securing the female in the Livewell he turned his attention to the male. With a continued determination to not separate these fish, he worked that bed another hour and landed the male.
After weigh-ins, he returned to the same cove and worked the second bed for another 4 hours until he landed another 4.7 lbs male bass.
The sun soon came out, the wind died down just as the tournament came to an end.
Jordan landed a total of three bass. The total weight was over 14.8 lbs. This was Jordan’s first ABA tournament landing him 2nd Place and the respect from the other anglers as they watched him hang in there and grind through some terrible weather. They knew at that moment, that this young angler was different, he was one of them and he was there to stay.
