Alabama pro Jordan Lee has gotten accustomed to winning in his still-young career. He's won two Bassmaster Classics, twice also on the Bass Pro Tour, while also claiming a BPT Angler of the Year title. It's been a fantastic start to a career and REDCREST is the next thing he hasn't won yet.
He'll try his best at North Carolina's Lake Norman to win, with a plan to focus on largemouth on a lake dominated by spotted bass in recent years.
Just like home
Many anglers have made the comparison of Lake Norman to Lee's home lake, Smith Lake, in Alabama. They have plenty of similarities, with populations of both largemouth and spotted bass and plenty of docks to fish.
The bigger largemouth typically win in lakes where the two species mix because they weigh more on average. This is Lee's thinking and how he plans to attack practice and the tournament on Lake Norman.
"To me, that means spending more time in the stained water, if there is any, when we get there," said Lee. "I'm hoping the warmer weather the area has been having will make a big wave of them move shallow and then they will be a little easier to catch. Docks will play and if you can find them in stained water, that's even better."
Lee does have some experience on Lake Norman, but it's been a while. 2014 has the last time he fished there. One of his previous trips led to a Top 20 finish and he caught a largemouth that won big bass for one of the days. That reassures his thinking that largemouth will be critical.
"I'm kind of going into it with an open mind and knowing a little bit about the lake; I think the winner will have some of those big largemouth bites," he said. "It's also probably going to be one of those events where you are fishing new water every day; there won't be guys camping on 'honey holes' and fishing them each day.
Part of what makes Lee so good and successful is his ability to adapt to the conditions and rely on instinct. That is part of his thinking as he prepares for REDCREST.
"I'll be flying by the seat of my pants and trying to adjust to the conditions," he said. "The other key will be staying consistent through the event. I wouldn't be surprised to see someone start the event with decent weights and get better as the week goes on as they figure it out and start to dial it in."
Winning lure predictions
During the prespawn period, a gamut of lures will produce, and Lee will have a boat and truck full of them ready to fish. But, he believes a handful of lure types will definitely play: jigs, crankbaits, soft plastic swimbaits and stick worms like The General from Berkley.
"The lake is known for great jig fishing around docks, and I'll be using a ½-ounce Berkley Powerbait Skippin' jig, probably with a 4" Berkley PowerBait Boss Grub on the back," said Lee. "It's a great-looking jig trailer that matches those jigs perfectly. Getting your jig way back under those docks will be a key to catching those bigger largemouths, especially if we get some sunny days."
For crankbaits, Lee believes baits like the Berkley Frittside and the Squarebull. "I gave a Squarebill to Alton Jr. last year at Lake Fork and he won the event on it, so I'll probably keep them to myself for this event," he said with a laugh. "It dives down to about 5.5 feet of water, deeper than many squarebills and has great action. I'll be cranking both of those baits around and will really lean on them in any stained water that I can find."
The final pick from Lee is soft plastic baits like The General or a single swimbait. "There's going to be some kind of bite on the docks and it's hard to beat The General for fishing around docks," he said. "That will play for largemouth and spotted bass in this event. The same goes for a little swimbait. They work great for spotted bass, but largemouth will bite it, too."
Jordan Lee has accomplished many things in his young career, but one thing he still wants to do is win REDCREST. It's only a matter of time before he does and this might be the year that he takes another championship in the Carolinas, just like he did with his Bassmaster Classic win on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina in 2018.
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