Dontrell Sullivan Wins Big Day At Jordan Lake

Jordan Lake has quietly been attracting the attention of fisheries experts for several years now. Did it start when Major League Fishing put up big numbers there in 2019? Or when a several bass over 10 pounds in weight were caught at Jordan earlier this decade, including a pair of twelve pounders? Was it the recent stocking of Florida strain largemouth bass to amplify the fishery’s potential? All of the above?

Whatever and whenever it was, CKA has made Jordan a regular trail stop for more than one decade. As a result, Carolina kayak anglers know its waters. In recent years, however, the lake had not shown its true potential until yesterday, when it showed up in a big way.

When CKA tournament five presented by Carolina Waters was over on Saturday, June 29^th, the top of the CKA leaderboard hosted the biggest top five average since the start of the five-fish limit in 2020. It also hosted a new second-best limit in the CKA club records.

Here are a few key points:

The event champion posted an average length 20.45” per fish, making it second best all-time
The top three anglers averaged 19.75” per fish
the top five averaged above 19” per fish (19.19” to be precise)

In terms of the top five average, the only event to average 18” or more per bass for the top five was the 2023 Gate City Classic (but not all from the same lake). No other event comes close to the top five or top three limits that Jordan put up this past Saturday.

Additionally, the champion moved up in the club record books with 102.25” for a five fish limit, making his second-best all time. The champ’s best five topped the 102” that Bryan Tsiolkas posted in 2022 and the 101” that Jeremy Hicks posted that same year (Will Lambert’s 104.25” limit at Randleman set the new club record earlier this season).

Last year’s Big Bass was a 23.25”. That fish was caught in the last hour of the season’s final event. Jordan Lake matched that fish on Saturday, putting up a 23.25” hog that currently leads the Duff Digital Marketing annual Big Bass standings.

In all, it was a big day. Here is how it went down…

Sullivan sets club record and personal best

There is a new name in the CKA Hall of Champions, and it is Dontrell Sullivan’s. If you watched the hourly big bass board during the day, you could see his name moving slowly up the standings. Was it strategic? Many anglers held big fish, posting them to win hourlies. The result was that small limits populated the leaderboard through the morning as CKA anglers tried to time submissions to the hourlies (for example, 66.25” posted by yours truly was in first place as late as 9:06 am).

But then the bigs came pouring in. Hour after hour, Jordan delivered giant bites. Several 20” bass submitted to the hourlies did not even make the top 3 during certain hours.

But Dontrell Sullivan was not holding photos of his fish. He was slowly stacking bites, of which he had only a few. Hour after hour and cast after cast, Sullivan’s hard work over five-plus seasons paid off in a big way at Jordan Lake this past Saturday.

Ironically, it happened on a lake he does not fish all that often. “I never put much time in at Jordan,” he told CKA. “I went Thursday and marked off shore structure. There wasn’t much of it, but I found fish on every piece of structure. If it was in ten-to-twelve feet of water, I made targeted casts.”

“My bait was a Strike King Bull Worm, in a plum color, on a half-ounce shaky head. I got bigger bites on that Bull Worm, so I stuck with that. I didn’t get a lot of bites – I only had six bites, but all were 18” or more. 102.25” is my personal best in a tournament. It felt good to finally get one.”

Sullivan reflected on the victory. The Carolina Waters pro staffer said “It’s been a long time coming. My first tournament was with CKA in 2019, at High Rock. I’ve had a third place finish (Hickory 2023) and a second place finish (at the 2023 TOC, and 2024 Burlington Bash). Like I said, a long time coming….” Sullivan’s big day also moved him up in the CKA Angler of the Year standings.

Of note: with a third place finish, defending Rookie of the Year Ryan Hayes is also stacking points (he finished second at Randleman).

The lowest event scores will be dropped after Mackintosh on July 20^th, so with a victory in hand and three events left to finish, both Sullivan and Hayes could make a push.

Duff Digital marketing Big Bass update

Justin Faircloth has a knack for it: he finds big bass. He’s done it at CKA events and also in KBF tournaments, and yesterday he did it again. Fishing on Jordan Lake in the mid-day heat, he landed a 23.25” tank of a bass.

It’s the magic number of late. In 2022, Luke Greco landed a 23.25” (it was the season’s biggest but did not win Big Bass, because it was not entered in the 2022 FishOPS charity event). In 2023 Will Lambert had a 23.25” to win big bass.

Justin Faircloth told us how he landed the 23.25” that currently leads the Duff Digital Marketing Big Bass contest for the 2024 season.

“I caught it on a Cashion shaky head rod, using a shaky head. I hooked it about four feet deep on a laydown. I took the picture at 11:03, and I had to go to the main lake to upload it. I wasn’t going to hold the fish because I know it would win (big bass) for the day….”

Will Faircloth’s confidence hold up for the season? Lake Mackintosh is next on the CKA tournament list, and if any lake can beat that number, it is Mack…..

Up next:

Lake Mackintosh, on July 20^th. Register here: https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/rXBNSeHXWBLQyp5oVPch

Event 5 of the CKA Season was presented by Carolina Waters