FISHING: Cullman’s Jordan Lee wins inaugural Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour title

Published 7:30 am Monday, February 4, 2019

Jordan Lee is once again up to his usual tricks.

The Cullman High graduate took home the inaugural Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour title following a superb performance at Lake Garcia in Kissimmee, Florida on Sunday.

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Lee, who has also won back-to-back Bassmaster Classic titles, finished with 55 pounds and 1 ounce to beat runner-up Edwin Evers (44-3) with relative ease. The 27-year-old hauled in a total of 26 fish.

His reward? A shiny trophy and a check for $100,000.

“To win any tournament, it’s awesome,” Lee told The Times in a phone interview. “It’s pretty much what I fish for — to have a chance to win.”

The six-day competition consisted of two shotgun rounds, two elimination rounds, a knockout round and a championship round.

The field was trimmed from 80 anglers to 40 after the shotgun and elimination rounds – Lee barely made the cut in Group A – and from 40 anglers to 10 following the knockout round.

Those still standing started the final day, which was divided into periods, from scratch.

“This is new to everybody, the format is different,” Lee said. “But I love the format. I felt like I learned more every day during the week as far as what the fish were doing and how I could get bites. It was a one-day shootout (on Sunday) basically, and I was fortunate enough to be in the right area. I got to catch a lot of fish, and that’s how you want to win.”