LAKE FORK, Texas (April 22, 2008) – The second annual Toyota Texas Bass Classic was held on Lake Fork this weekend as 26 four-man teams competed for bragging rights, a trophy and cash. Lucky Craft’s Kelly Jordon led his team, consisting of David Walker, David Smith and Lance Vick, to victory with a three-day total of 228 pounds.

The four-man teams are split into pairs, with two anglers fishing together during the morning session, and coming back in for a strategy session before sending out the two remaining team members for the last leg of the day. Vick and Walker fished the morning session on days one and two, while Jordon and Smith hit the water in the afternoons. It didn’t come easy for the Texas resident and his team, as they sat in nearly last place after the first period of fishing on day one.

“Lance [Vick] and David [Walker] caught 14 pounds the morning of day one,” Jordon said. “The leading stringer that morning was 59 pounds, so we were 45 pounds out of first place. We knew we couldn’t give up and we just had to keep working hard. David [Smith] and I went out afternoon and caught a pretty good bag. That put us around 11th as we got ready for day two [Saturday].”

As day two rolled around, Vick and Walker were able to bring in a decent bag despite the heavy winds they had to contend with in the morning. According to Jordon, the wind was “horrendous” for the duo, and they weren’t able to fish the areas they had planned as well as they would have liked. However, the morning session of Vick and Walker, combined with the afternoon session of Jordon and Smith, put the team in first place going into day three.

“The top-five teams fished on Sunday, and all four of us were on the water at the same time,” Jordon explained. “We kept our pairs, but we were all able to fish the lake at the same time. We still had our afternoon strategy session, and we knew we’d have to still catch big bags if we wanted to win this thing.”

Jordon and his team were able to do just that as they reeled in more than 200 combined pounds in three days, with the heaviest three-day total coming from Jordon with 85 pounds, 8 ounces. The success of the weekend was due to the pattern found in practice with the Lucky Craft Flat CB D-20 in Pearl Ayu and Splatterback.


“We were deep-cranking all three days,” Jordon said. “Personally, I would make really long casts and pull that bait down deep in 20 feet of water. We were catching them on structure out deep for the most part, but did bring in a few off beds, too. That bite was difficult though, because of the winds and off-color water.”

With the Lucky Craft deep-diving crankbait, Jordon was using a 7-foot, medium action rod, a Revo STX reel with a 6.3:1 retrieve ratio and 12-pound fluorocarbon.

Jordon, who has lived in the area for 13 years and has fished Lake Fork for 20 years, knew the lake well. His seven years of guide experience on the lake also helped him put together ideas and patterns to run during the tournament. Even with the years of experience, the Texas resident was surprised at some of what he saw.

“It’s a really late spring here, so that kind of threw us for a bit,” Jordon admitted. “Most of the fish are just getting ready to spawn, but there were a lot more fish out deep than I thought. I was surprised. There were some spawning fish too, but they really weren’t biting that well. They’ve been trying to spawn for a while now, but when they do, a front will hit and knock them back and cool the water off again. The main lake was 55 degrees on our second day of practice. It’s crazy to think the water is still in the 50s, and it’s the third week of April in Texas.”

Jordon had much to say about the event and the people involved, including all the anglers, the Professional Anglers Association (PAA), and the Texas Parks and Wildlife.

“It’s really exciting to have this many people come together for a common interest,” Jordon said. “Not only are we all looking out for the resources, water and lakes, but we all also have the goal of bringing more youth into the sport of bass fishing. We were able to show everyone what the great outdoors has to offer.”