Back to Back Classics for Lee Brothers

Matt and Jordan Lee. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

In truth, I probably can't add much that hasn't already been said about Jordan Lee once again making it all the way to the Carhartt College Series Bassmaster Classic Bracket finals and this time winning it. Still, I wanted to offer my congratulations and a few thoughts.

A year ago brothers, teammates and lifelong fishing buddies Matt and Jordan Lee stood side by side on a weigh-in stage in Arkansas, knowing that one would fulfill the dream of competing in the Bassmaster Classic and the other would not. Matt, the older of the two brothers won the Classic bid. Yesterday in Muskegon, Michigan, Jordan stepped up to the same situation, this time standing beside his longtime best friend and another Auburn teammate, Shane Powell, again as the last two standing with a Classic bid on the line. This time Jordan prevailed, and soon after brother Matt joined him on stage to congratulate him and hand over his keys to represent the Auburn University wrapped Toyota Tacoma and  Yamaha 250-powered Skeeter FX20 bass boat that Jordan will drive and fish from for the next year.

It's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind about just what an accomplishment it was for Jordan to make his way all the way back to the bracket finals and win, but a couple of things mentioned on stage yesterday add some perspective. The Auburn fishing team was one of 143 programs in the Carhartt College Series last season, and Jordan was one of more than 600 anglers on those teams.

After a full season of fishing and the series championship on Lake Chatuge, only members of the top four teams from the championship made the Classic Bracket. Those anglers fished head to head in a bracket-style competition, with eight fishing on Friday, four on Saturday and the two that remained on Sunday. For the past two years, the final two standing have been Jordan Lee and an Auburn teammate.

Mighty impressive.

Making the opportunity to fish the Bassmaster Classic even more exciting for Jordan -- if that's possible -- it will be held on Alabama's Lake Guntersville, which is where he and Matt have learned the most about bass fishing and the lake  they consider "home waters."

Jordan said that his primary bait yesterday was a BOOYAH spinnerbait. On Day 1, he brought in the tournament's biggest catch and caught most of his fish on a BOOYAH Poppin' Pad Crasher. He caught the bulk of his fish around docks.

Sorting Out All Star Week

B.A.S.S. Photo Seigo Saito

Twenty-two anglers are fishing two separate events on three largely unknown Michigan waterways this weekend, with the competition beginning this morning. Fourteen B.A.S.S. All Stars are competing for total purse of $100,000 ($50,000 for first place). Eight top collegiate anglers are competing for a spot in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville. The tournaments themselves, which are concurrent, both follow unique formats.

The All Star event begins with all 14 anglers fishing two days on Muskegon Lake. The top four from Friday's and Saturday's fishing will move onto the final round, with weights zeroed, and fish a single day on Sunday at nearby White Lake for the championship. All fourteen anglers got practice time on both lakes this week.

The All Star field includes the top eight anglers in this season's Angler of the Year Standings (Aaron Martens, Edwin Evers, Kevin VanDam, Bobby Lane, Keith Combs, Alton Jones, John Crews, Chris Zaldain); rookie of the year (Hank Cherry); 2013 Bassmaster Classic Champion (Cliff Pace) and four anglers chosen through fan voting (Brandon Palaniuk, Mike Iaconelli, Gerald Swindle, Skeet Reece).

The College Series Classic Bracket, which will take place on the Grand River, just south of Muskegon, includes the four two-man teams that finished highest in the College Championship on Lake Chatuge earlier this summer. The anglers won't competing as teams, though. Instead they'll fish as eight individuals in an elimination-style event that will finish with two anglers fishing head-to-head on Sunday for the chance to be the college representative in the Bassmaster Classic.

Learn more about how to follow both events at the unfold at www.bassmaster.com.

Auburn System Rocks College Series Championship

The Auburn University and Montgomery team of Jacob Frink and Tom Nummy took first place in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series on Lake Chatuge this weekend. B.A.S.S. Photo by Shaye Baker.

Of the fifty-four teams that qualified for this weekend's The Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship at Lake Chatuge, two represented Auburn University, and one represented Auburn University at Montgomery. Yesterday, when the field was narrowed to only the top five teams after two days of competition, all three teams from the Auburn system remained. When all the fish from all three days had been weighed, it was the AUB team of Jacob Frink and Tom Nummy who got to hold up the championship trophies.

Members of the top four teams from the championship, AUB, Young Harris College, one of the two Auburn teams and Eastern Washington University, will compete individually in late September in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Bracket Championship to qualify for a spot in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic. It's a head-to-head, bracket-style, elimination event.

Last year's bracket championship finals featured plenty of drama, with two Auburn anglers, brothers Jordan and Matt Lee, competing on the final afternoon for a Classic bid. Matt Lee won and got to represent Auburn University and college anglers in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic. This year Jordan Lee will be among the eight anglers competing for a Classic spot. Matt was part of the Auburn team that finished fifth yesterday and will not be in the bracket championship.

Going back to Auburn's recent prominence in the Carhartt College Series, last year's finalists in the Championship Bracket (Lee brothers) were both from AU, and half the eight in this year's championship will represent AU or AUB. Oh, and the 2014 Bassmaster Classic, it will be held on Lake Guntersville in Alabama.