Jordan Lee wins second consecutive Classic title
As far as weights go, Cliff Pace of Petal was about as consistent as possible over the three-day Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell this weekend. Unfortunately, his consistency didn’t put him at the top of the standings.
Pace’s day three weight of 12-pounds, 1-ounce was slightly less than his day two weight of 13-3, which was slightly less than his day one weight of 13-13. His three day total of 39-13 gives Pace a 16th place finish in the 2018 Super Bowl of bass fishing.
“This lake is changing so fast right now. I’d been catching all my fish in 40 to 50 foot of water, and I could tell yesterday those fish were leaving, so I just scrapped it all and ran 35 miles up the river, to the end of it, and just put the trolling motor down and started fishing, and didn’t have one there by 11 o’clock, so I pulled the trolling motor up and went all the way to the dam,” said Pace, who won the 2013 Bassmaster Classic in 2013.
“I went down to some docks where I’d seen some sunning during practice and managed to catch all my fish there in the last couple of hours. I’m disappointed that I didn’t do a little better, but it’s been an awesome week, and I want to thank my family and friends and all my sponsors. I hope to see you all at the next Bassmaster Classic,” said Pace.
Jordan Lee of Grant, Alabama took this year’s Classic title, his second consecutive Bassmaster Classic championship, weighing in 15 fish over the three-day event that weighed 47-1 after bringing 16-5 to the scales on the final day.
Brent Ehrler of Newport Beach, California took the runner-up spot, finishing with a total weight of 46-1. Jason Christie finished third with a three-day total of 45-15 after two strong days of fishing, followed by a tough third day, bringing in only four fish weighing 8-11.
Matt Lee, Jordan’s brother, finished fourth after a strong outing on the final day, weighing in 17-6, the biggest bag of the day, pushing his three-day total to 43-15. North Prince George, Virginia’s Jacob Powroznik took fifth place with a three-day total weight of 43-4.
With the Classic now over, the Bassmaster Elite Series travels next to the Sabine River in Orange, Texas April 6-9.
