Jordan Lee, member of the Mossy Oak Fishing Team won his second consecutive. Bassmaster Classic at the March 16-18, 2018 event on Lake Hartwell in Greenville, South Carolina.
Winning the title and becoming one of three people to ever win back-to-back Bassmaster Classic World Champion titles was Jordan Lee. Lee joins the likes of Rick Clunn and Mossy Fishing Team Leader, Kevin VanDam to have won back-to-back Classic titles in the entire history of the event.
After winning the 2017 Bassmaster Classic, and from his past fishing experiences, Jordan Lee realized the best way to give himself the opportunity to win was to fish the way he’d always fished – do the things he knew how to do well and locate the bass where he’d found them before. To reach the final day of competition at the 2018 Bassmaster Classic, Jordan Lee was in 6th place in the standings. This deficit was smaller than where Lee found himself the year before, starting the final day in 15th place, and coming back for the win.
Lee said, “I really thought I’d lost the 2018 Classic on my last cast on Sunday. There was one bass that weighed about 4-5 pounds under a dock I was pitching my worm to, and that bass swirled and ate the worm. I set the hook. But the worm popped out of the bass’ mouth. If that one bass had cost me a win, I’d have had a hard time sleeping.”
On the last day, Lee brought his tournament total to 47 pounds, 1 ounce, winning by one pound and collecting a $300,000 cash prize for his Classic win. He increased his total tournament winnings to $1,067,429 - not bad for a young man only four years out of college.
Lee was one of five Mossy Oak Fishing Team members to compete in the tournament. Watch Jordan's story on Mossy Oak Capture series "Elements."
The remaining Mossy Oak Fishing Team members made for an exciting Classic. Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, finished in 6th place, bringing his weekly total to 42 pounds, 13 ounces, to take home $22,000. Gerald Swindle of Guntersville, Alabama, caught a total of 42 pounds, 2 ounces, and pocketed $20,000 for 10th place. Brandon Palaniuk of Hayden, Idaho, finished 22nd with 35 pounds, 4 ounces to take home $13,000. Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, finished in 29th place and took home $10,000, bringing his all-time winnings to more than $6 million.
“Mossy Oak is incredibly proud of our Fishing Team and the way they performed and conducted themselves this weekend,” said Ben Maki, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Mossy Oak. “We’re pleased to have the top bass fishing pros wearing our Elements Agua pattern and representing their sport with such expertise and class.”
Mossy Oak CAPTURE Digital Products has recently produced videos featuring several members of the Mossy Oak Fishing Team, including the most recently launched episodes featuring Jordan Lee, Gerald Swindle and Ott DeFoe.
For full results, visit www.bassmaster.com.
