Friday, April 24, 2009
First-day lead goes to Texas' Jordan
JEANNA DUERSCHERL The Roanoke Times
Matthew Sphar of Pavilion, N.Y., finished third on the first day of the Blue Ridge Brawl.
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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Mark Taylor
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Kelly Jordan surged to the first-day lead of the Bassmaster Elite Series Blue Ridge Brawl at Smith Mountain Lake.
Jordan, of Mineola, Texas, had a five-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces, to take a lead of 2 pounds, 2 ounces, over Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Jordan said he had most of his success sight-fishing for spawning bass in the shallows, a pattern being exploited by most of the anglers in the 99-man field.
Matthew Sphar of Pavilion, N.Y., was third with 17 pounds, 13 ounces, just two ounces ahead of Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala. Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala., was fifth with 16 pounds, 15 ounces.
John Crews of Salem, one of two Virginians in the field, had 11 pounds, 15 ounces and is 58th place.
Ninety anglers weighed in five-bass limits. The day's biggest bass was a 6-pound, 8-ounce largemouth caught by Wade Grooms of Bonneau, S.C.
After today's action, the field will be cut to the top 50 for Saturday, with 12 anglers advancing to the final day on Sunday.
--Mark Taylor
