Yamaha-Skeeter pro angler Kelly Jordon, Minneola, Texas, is the newest member of the BASS Millionaire’s Club, an honor signifying a pro angler has earned  $1 million in angling competition.  An $11,500 check earned Friday in the Bassmaster Legends tournament on Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas put him over the top and into this elite group of 30. His career earnings of $1,003,862 rank him No. 22 on the BASS list.
 
Jordon is the ninth Yamaha pro to earn this honor. He joins Jay Yelas, Tyler, Texas; Mike Iaconelli, Runnemede, N.J.; Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.; Takahiro Omori, Emory, Texas; Zell Rowland, Montgomery, Texas; Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark.; Alton Jones, Waco, Texas and Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu, Ariz. on the list, formally known as the All Money List.
 
Jordon actually passed the career million dollar mark in pro fishing last year when earnings from the FLW tournament circuit are included, putting the total to $1.4 million.
 
How long does it take to earn this level of money in pro angling? Jordon said, “It can come in a flash, as it did for Scott Suggs, a Yamaha pro from Bryant, Ark., who won the largest pro fishing prize ever, a  $1 million cash prize in this year’s FLW Tour championship, or it can take years as it did for me. I have fished more than 150 tournaments since turning pro.”
            
In  BASS competition, Jordon qualified five times to fish the Bassmaster Classic, won four BASS tournaments and has been in the money 71 times. His record includes five major tournament wins, including an FLW tournament win, four second places, one third place and 21 top 10 finishes.
 
So, is it enough to be in the rarified air of the pro angling millionaire’s club? Not for Jordon, who said, “Reaching $1 million in BASS earnings is a really big deal. And I’m really happy to be on this list. But I still have career goals I’m working on. One of those is earning Angler of the Year honors and another is to win the Bassmaster Classic.”
 
Mike Walker
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