Jordan Lee Claims Second MLF Heavy Hitters Title

It’s been a long and brutally hot week in the Florida Swamp. Fortunately for Jordan Lee, who’s no stranger to using a top-water frog, the fish bass were biting and they were feeding on frogs! Lee was fishing the Kissimmee Chain with a Berkley Swamp Lord for the majority of the event to win his second Major League Fishing Heavy Hitters title held in Florida. The win earned Lee $100,000. 

“When I won my first Heavy Hitters event on the Kissimmee Chain, it was a completely different lake but I was excited to fish this event because I have a great track record there,” said Lee. “This time, being able to do it on a frog was awesome; it’s a bait that is hard to solely win on but the Berkley Swamp Lord gave me an edge that helped me win $100,000. The lake has always been good to me and winning on one of my favorite techniques to fish made it even cooler.”

Lee concentrated on fishing grass mats and said he found fish in both numbers and size making bomb casts with a Berkley Swamp Lord fished on his signature Abu Garcia Jordan Lee casting rod and paired with an Abu Garcia Revo STX with 50-pound Berkley X5 braided line.

Lee said it’s this combo that helped him win the event. He also boasted about the Berkley Swamp Lord Frog. 

“There are a lot of frogs on the market but in this case, the Swamp Lord was the deal,” said Lee. “It’s fatter and a little heavier than most frogs and that made a big difference in allowing those fish to better pinpoint the bait above them coming over the mat. It’s the perfect topwater frog to throw in, and wrench bass out of the nasty stuff.”

Not only did Lee secure his second MLF Heavy Hitters victory with the lure but it also dominated for fellow Berkley anglers Brandon Coulter and Keith Poche, who found many bass and explosive bites on the Berkley topwater frog. After being introduced to the anglers in 2023, the Swamp Lord has contributed to a lot of anglers’ success and will continue to put fish in the boat for years to come. 

“I’m really just blown away by how good it was to me this week, catching them one of my favorite ways, fishing this heavy hydrilla,” Lee said. “I grew up fishing like this. I was really comfortable when I found this bite. And it was just a special bite. It got tougher as the week went on, but I stayed patient, and man, it was just awesome.”

Final Standings

1. Jordan Lee — 27-14 (7) — 4-13

2. Keith Poche — 23-10 (5) — 6-15

3. Matt Becker — 19-04 (5) — 4-08

4. Kevin VanDam — 18-14 (4) — 7-12

5. Brandon Coulter — 12-05 (3) — 5-01

6. Bryan Thrift — 8-07 (2) — 4-12

7. Todd Faircloth — 8-01 (2) — 5-01

8. Brent Ehrler — 7-00 (1) — 7-00

9. Dakota Ebare — 6-12 (2) — 3-09

10. Alton Jones Jr. — 0-00 (0) — 0-00

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award winning outdoor journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outdoor column for the Slidell Independent Newspaper. He also writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Commission’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He is the former host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Show and is on the board of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association. Keith contributes to numerous publications both online and in print and prides himself on promoting South Louisiana’s unique fishery. To contact Keith email: [email protected]