By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
He's almost a full year shy of his 30th birthday, but Jordan Lee has already put together a résumé worthy of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.
The two-time Bassmaster Classic winner wrapped up the 2020 Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year title by finishing 3rd in the Knockout Round in the regular-season finale at Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin today. He came into the event with a 7-point lead in the AOY standings and is the only member of the top 17 on the list who'll compete in Wednesday's Championship Round.
"It was a lifetime dream for me just to fish as a pro and I've done that for several years now and I've finished in the top 10 in the points every year but once," he said. "It's an unbelievable feeling because these guys are the best in the world and they bring it every week.
"There's a lot going on the world right now and this is my job – it's my living. To win this title is just incredible."
After catching 34 scoreable fish (2 pounds or heavier) for 94 pounds in the round, he has a shot at his second straight victory on the circuit. He earned $200,000 last month for winning the Heavy Hitters event in Florida and for catching the biggest fish of the Championship Round.
It'll be his fourth final-round appearance in five outings during the pandemic-shortened campaign. Jacob Wheeler's failure to advance along with him (Wheeler finished 15th) sealed the deal in the points race. As a minor consolation, Wheeler picked up a $1,000 bonus for the day's biggest fish (5-03).
"Jacob is the best in the world right now (Wheeler has sat atop the BassFan World Rankings for well over a year) and he had a chance to beat me at this one, and so did Ott (DeFoe, who placed 9th in the Knockout Round and was first out of the final cut). Today was one of those magical days and I was able to pull it off. This is an incredible moment in my career.
Knockout Round winner Mark Daniels Jr. continued the trend of at least one angler surpassing the 100-pound threshold each day.
"Angler of the Year is the biggest (title) in our sport and I'd never done it before. I did it and it can't get much better right now for me. I'm excited to have a chance to win the tournament tomorrow, but it's all gravy from here on out."
Mark Daniels Jr. and Andy Morgan were the only competitors to amass more weight than Lee in the Knockout Round on a prolific smallmouth fishery that continues to surrender huge numbers. Daniels boated 103-05 on 32 fish – maintaining the streak of at least one angler reaching triple digits on each day of the event – and Morgan compiled 96-03 on 28 catches.
"My main goal was to move on and I got that done today and I'm really happy about it," Daniels said. "Tomorrow's going to be a new day with all new challenges, but you can't win it if you're not in it. I'll certainly be at the dance and I hope my fish decide to show up and don't go poof on me.
"I caught 103 pounds and laid off 'em, so it was a pretty stellar day. I'll go back to the room and tie some new FG knots and tie up some Ned rigs and dropshots and get ready to do it again."
Others advancing to the Championship Round were Alton Jones (78-00 on 29 fish), Bradley Roy (77-02, 28), Josh Bertrand (68-03, 21), Ish Monroe (61-11, 23) and Mike Iaconelli (61-01, 22). They'll be joined by Qualifying Round group winners Justin Lucas and Cliff Pace
Monroe and Iaconelli both got in with catches in the final minute, bumping out DeFoe and Bobby Lane. Monroe's fish was a 2-13 specimen from a wind-protected shoreline and Iaconelli pulled a 2-02 from an offshore locale while struggling to keep his balance as his boat was rocked by big waves.
The field lost about 50 minutes of fishing time due to a storm delay approximately and hour into the third period. The stoppage lasted almost 3 hours, but anglers were given an additional hour to fish (from 5 to 6 p.m.) after the front had passed.
Weather Forecast
> Weds., July 15 – Rain - 75°/62°
- Wind: From the NE at 5 to 10 mph
Knockout Round
(Figure at far right indicates angler's heaviest fish for the round)
1. Mark Daniels, Jr. -- 32, 103-05 -- 4-08
2. Andy Morgan -- 28, 96-03 -- 4-10
3. Jordan Lee -- 34, 94-00 -- 3-11
4. Alton Jones -- 29, 78-00 -- 4-02
5. Bradley Roy -- 28, 77-02 -- 3-14
6. Josh Bertrand -- 21, 68-03 -- 4-12
7. Ish Monroe -- 23, 61-11 -- 3-12
8. Mike Iaconelli -- 22, 61-01 -- 3-15
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not compete in the Knockout Round.
9. Ott DeFoe -- 21, 61-00 -- 4-09
10. Bobby Lane -- 22, 60-10 -- 3-13
11. James Elam -- 16, 55-07 -- 4-11
12. Edwin Evers -- 19, 52-10 -- 3-14
13. Mark Davis -- 20, 51-10 -- 3-03
14. Randall Tharp -- 16, 50-07 -- 4-09
15. Jacob Wheeler -- 14, 50-03 -- 5-03
16. Matt Lee -- 16, 48-12 -- 4-01
17. Takahiro Omori -- 16, 46-00 -- 3-10
18. Cody Meyer -- 15, 44-08 -- 4-06
19. Fred Roumbanis -- 17, 43-09 -- 3-10
20. Jeff Sprague -- 14, 43-09 -- 4-06
21. Mark Rose -- 13, 42-04 -- 4-13
22. Scott Suggs -- 13, 42-00 -- 4-02
23. Justin Atkins -- 12, 39-06 -- 4-13
24. David Dudley -- 15, 38-15 -- 3-15
25. Keith Poche -- 15, 38-12 -- 3-03
26. Stephen Browning -- 11, 36-14 -- 4-09
27. Jonathon VanDam -- 11, 35-15 -- 4-01
28. Alton Jones, Jr. -- 12, 32-14 -- 4-09
29. Dustin Connell -- 11, 32-02 -- 4-00
30. Todd Faircloth -- 10, 27-01 -- 3-13
31. Brent Chapman -- 8, 24-12 -- 4-08
32. Brett Hite -- 9, 22-00 -- 3-01
33. Gary Klein -- 8, 20-12 -- 3-03
34. Jared Lintner -- 8, 19-06 -- 3-09
35. Jason Christie -- 8, 18-15 -- 3-03
36. Marty Robinson -- 5, 18-05 -- 4-04
37. Gerald Spohrer -- 4, 12-09 -- 3-12
38. Skeet Reese -- 0, 0-00 -- 0-00
