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Leaderboard Shifts After
Day 2 at E50
 RUSSELLVILLE,
Ark. : Texan Kelly Jordon earned his spot in the Bassmaster Elite 50 series
as the three-season points leader on the CITGO Bassmaster Tour and on
Thursday, Jordon lived up to his reputation with a 16-pound, 1-ounce
catch that boosted him to the top of the leaderboard halfway through the
four-day event.
Jordon had been a close third place after Wednesday's first round, and a
good
day of fishing gave him a two-day total of 32-5. On Friday, he and his
11
closest competitors will fish a Showdown-style format on waters that have
been
off limits during the first two days. The anglers will rotate through a
designated series of fishing areas before a cut to the Super Six anglers for
Saturday's final round.
The format is popular with fans of the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail
presented by Busch Beer, but Jordon confessed that he has gotten comfortable
with the areas he has found on the larger lake.
"Man, I wish I could keep fishing out of here again," Jordon said. "I was
ready to weigh in at two today. I culled only one time after two
today, so I
was just kind of practicing around and I went to another spot that I had and
I
thought, 'Man, this is pretty good. I'm going to spend my time here.'
I
caught them flipping a Lake Fork Tackle Magic Shad."
"Fishing has just been awesome here, though. If this were a four-dayer,
I
think I could catch 16 pounds a day. Tomorrow will be pretty neat.
I haven't
been back in the area. I may just run through the holes in there real
quick
and see what they look like, but I've never done a hole course before."
Jordon's fellow Texan Zell Rowland stayed solid in second place Thursday
with
a two-day weight of 31-6. Rowland, who has been swimming a prototype
jig, was
elated with the second place spot and is excited about getting in the
six-hole
course for Friday's top twelve.
"I haven't seen (the course), just what we've seen driving down the road,"
Rowland said. "It looks really good. I don't think anyone who's
made the
cut has seen it that I know of. I'll catch them regardless.
It'll probably
be better (in that area) because the water will be a little bit clearer.
The
only thing that will hurt us fishing this other area is if we get a big wind
because a lot of it's open, but I'm looking for the guys to really catch
them
well tomorrow."
Arizona's Brett Hite also had a great day. Although Hite failed to
make the
cut for day three, he earned two $1,000 checks. Hite earned one check
from
Purolator for the Purolator Big Bass of the day and the other from Busch for
the Busch Heavyweight of the day, awarded with the largest single-day catch.
Hite's 17-pound, 3-ounce sack was anchored by a 5-5 lunker. Hite and
the
other 37 anglers who didn't make the cut will still have an opportunity to
fish on Friday, but will be competing to improve their positions within the
bounds of the 13th-50th spots.
All of the anglers shared one significant honor on Thursday: Mayor Raye
Turner
of Russellville presented the key to the city to the CITGO Bassmasters.
Christine Godleski, vice president of ESPN Outdoors, accepted the honor on
behalf of the anglers, who were busy competing.
Day three of the Bassmaster Elite 50 series gets under way Friday.
Launch
begins at 10 a.m. with weigh-ins starting at 7 p.m. at the Lake Dardanelle
State Park Lodge.
Fans can catch the first event of the new Bassmaster Elite 50 series on
Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle, Saturday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT
on
ESPN2.
Friday and Saturday, BASS will hold the Sponsor Expo. The Expo takes
place
from 3-8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday at the Lake Dardanelle
State Park. Admission is always free.
The Bassmaster CastingKids program sponsored by CITGO will be held in
conjunction with the BASS Sponsor Expo Saturday, April 17, from 3 p.m.-6
p.m.
at the Lake Dardanelle State Park. Children between the ages of 7 and
14 can
participate in the contest with the chance to earn a scholarship.
The event and instruction to youngsters will be facilitated by the local
BASS
Federation.
Following the Lake Dardanelle event, the four-event Bassmaster Elite 50
series
travels the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in Columbus, Miss., May 19-22, to
Prattville, Ala., on the Alabama River, June 2-5, and concludes on the Ohio
and
Cumberland Rivers in Paducah, Ken. June 16-19.
Day 2 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
10 |
32-05 |
| 2 |
Zell Rowland |
Montgomer, TX |
10 |
31-06 |
| 3 |
Stacey D. King |
Reeds Spring, MO |
10 |
31-03 |
| 4 |
Tim Horton |
Tuscumbia, AL |
10 |
31-02 |
| 5 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
10 |
29-00 |
| 6 |
Kenyon Hill |
Norman, OK |
10 |
28-03 |
| 7 |
Jay Yelas |
Tyler, TX |
10 |
27-08 |
| 8 |
Brent Chapman |
Shawnee, KS |
10 |
27-03 |
| 9 |
Gary Klein |
Weatherford, TX |
10 |
26-05 |
| 10 |
Randy Howell |
Springville, AL |
10 |
26-04 |
| 11 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
10 |
25-09 |
| 12 |
Kevin VanDam |
Kalamazoo, MI |
10 |
25-00 |
13. Larry Nixon
Bee Branch, Ark. 9
24-12
Day 1: 4 10-11 Day 2: 5 14-01
14. Todd Auten
Lake Wylie, S.C. 10 24-10
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 12-06
15. Brett Hite
Phoenix, Ariz. 8
24-09 $2,000.00
Day 1: 3 7-06 Day 2: 5
17-03
16. Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Gainesville, Fla.
10 23-10
Day 1: 5 10-00 Day 2: 5 13-10
17. George Cochran Hot
Springs, Ark. 9 23-06
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 4
8-04
18. Rick Clunn
Ava, Mo.
8 23-03
Day 1: 3 12-11 Day 2: 5 10-08
18. Gerald Swindle Hayden,
Ala. 10
23-03
Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 5 12-09
20. Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J.
8 22-15
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 3 10-07
21. Bud Pruitt
Spring, Texas 9
22-06
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 4 11-00
22. Ron Shuffield
Bismarck, Ark. 8
22-05
Day 1: 4 13-09 Day 2: 4
8-12
23. David Fritts
Lexington, N.C. 8
21-15
Day 1: 3 10-06 Day 2: 5 11-09
24. Alton Jones
Waco, Texas
10 21-09
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5
9-11
25. Randy Blaukat
Lamar, Mo.
9 21-07
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 4
9-07
26. Chad Brauer
Osage Beach, Mo. 8
21-03
Day 1: 3 6-14 Day 2: 5
14-05
27. David Wharton Sam
Rayburn, Texas 8 20-07
Day 1: 3 7-11 Day 2: 5
12-12
28. Brian Snowden
Springfield, Mo. 7
20-02
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 2
5-01
29. Jim Bitter
Fruitland Park, Fla. 8 20-00
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 3
6-01
30. Denny Brauer
Camdenton, Mo. 7
19-08
Day 1: 3 8-15 Day 2: 4
10-09
31. O T Fears III
Sallisaw, Okla. 7
19-03
Day 1: 4 10-02 Day 2: 3
9-01
31. Peter E Thliveros Jacksonville, Fla.
8 19-03
Day 1: 4 9-15 Day 2: 4
9-04
33. Paul L Elias
Pachuta, Miss. 7
18-07
Day 1: 3 8-11 Day 2: 4
9-12
34. Mike Wurm
Hot Springs, Ark. 7 17-13
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 2
4-01
35. Roland Martin
Naples, Fla.
7 17-07
Day 1: 3 6-07 Day 2: 4
11-00
36. John Murray
Phoenix, Ariz. 7
17-05
Day 1: 4 10-05 Day 2: 3
7-00
37. Mark Menendez
Paducah, Ky.
7 17-03
Day 1: 5 12-10 Day 2: 2
4-09
38. Edwin Evers
Mannsville, Okla. 8 16-05
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 3
5-04
39. Mark Davis
Mount Ida, Ark. 7
16-03
Day 1: 5 9-10 Day 2: 2
6-09
40. Todd Faircloth Jasper,
Texas 7
15-15
Day 1: 4 8-14 Day 2: 3
7-01
40. Kevin Wirth
Crestwood, Ky. 6
15-15
Day 1: 1 2-10 Day 2: 5
13-05
42. Tom Biffle
Wagoner, Okla. 6
14-14
Day 1: 1 1-14 Day 2: 5
13-00
43. Dustin Wilks
Rocky Mount, N.C. 6 14-09
Day 1: 1 1-09 Day 2: 5
13-00
44. Skeet Reese
Auburn, Calif. 5
14-08
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 5
14-08
45. Robert Lee
Angels Camp, Calif. 6 14-04
Day 1: 3 6-15 Day 2: 3
7-05
46. Ben Matsubu
Hemphill, Texas 6
14-03
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 1
3-03
47. Bernie Schultz
Gainesville, Fla. 6 14-01
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 1
1-14
48. Ishama Monroe
Patterson, Calif. 6 13-10
Day 1: 4 9-06 Day 2: 2
4-04
49. Jack A Gadlage Benton,
Ky.
2 5-10
Day 1: 0 0-00 Day 2: 2
5-10
50. Davy Hite
Prosperity, S.C. 1
3-11
Day 1: 1 3-11 Day 2: 0
0-00
From BASS
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