BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Pro Frank Jordan Jr. of Bainbridge, Ga., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the FLW American Fishing Series Southeast Division tournament on Lake Seminole with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 56 pounds, 3 ounces. For his victory, Jordan earned $19,119.
“What a blessing this is to win in front of my mama and on my home waters,” said Jordan. “My daddy is actually fishing a tournament at Eufaula, but what an awesome feeling to be in front of my mamma.
“I was fishing the main lake mostly along the grass lines; I just tried to stay in areas where I caught my big fish. I knew that if there was one there would be others. All the fish I caught were post spawn.
Earning his first victory at the AFS level, Jordan indicated that the key to his victory was the shad spawn. Using primarily shad colored War Eagle spinnerbait and buzz bait he caught two big lunkers including a six and a half pounder in 14 to 18 feet of water under bright sunny skies. During the cloudy windy conditions he stayed in 4 to 8 feet of water; keeping to places he knew the shad were.
Rounding out the top five pros:
2nd: Mason Brock, Marianna, Fla., 15 bass, 49-5, $6,500
3rd: Donny Bass, Fort Myers, Fla., 15 bass, 49, $4,589
4th: Chad Prough, Chipley, Fla., 15 bass, 48-4, $3,824
5th: Ty Solis, Albany, Ga., 15 bass, 47-12, $3,441
6th: Keith Pace, Monticello, Ark., 15 bass, 44-14, $3,059
7th: Chris Weber, Fort Myers Beach, Fla., 15 bass, 44-4, $2,677
8th: David Mock, Tallahassee, Fla., 12 bass, 41-3, $2,294
9th: Kevin Snider, Elizabethtown, Ky., 13 bass, 39-12, $1,912
10th: John Bitter, Maitland, Fla., 15 bass, 39-3, $1,530
Ty Solis caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – an 8-pound, 3-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $198.
Allen Carter of Bainbridge, Ga., won the Co-angler Division and $7,752 cash with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds.
Carter said that he caught every single one of his fish using watermelon-seed-colored wacky worms.
Allen Carter caught five bass weighing 13-9 Thursday while fishing with pro Paul Tyre of Tallahassee, Fla., to open the tournament in fourth place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 14-15 to make the top-10 cut as the number one seed while fishing with pro Clarence Bush of Bainbridge, Ga. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with five bass weighing 8-8 while fishing with Chad Prough.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers:
2nd: Carrie Bronson, Polk City, Fla., 13 bass, 34-8, $3,101
3rd: Jamie Bladow, Houston, Ala., 14 bass, 31-10, $1,550
4th: Ernie Hillebrandt, Natchez, Miss., 14 bass, 30-6, $1,357
5th: Mark Svendsen, Doraville, Ga., 11 bass, 28-13, $1,163
6th: Lee Nunnally, Monroe, Ga., 10 bass, 28-3, $969
7th: Mitch Reynolds, Petal, Miss., 13 bass, 28-2, $775
8th: Howard Poitevint, Bainbridge, Ga., 12 bass, 28-1, $698
9th: Steve Harwood, Weaverville, N.C., 13 bass, 26-12, $620
10th: George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., 9 bass, 25-8, $543
Danny Shelton of Davie, Fla., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $132.
The top pro and co-angler based on point standings from each of the FLW American Fishing Series divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast and Texas – will qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division also qualify for the American Fishing Series Invitational on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., Nov. 4-6, with the winning pro and co-angler also advancing to the Forrest Wood Cup.
About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.