The third episode of Zona LIVE presented by Mercury is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon ET Wednesday. Zona’s guest will be Classic champion Jordan Lee and they’ll fish Lake St. Clair, where the Elites competed last week.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona covered the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite on St. Clair that was won by Jason Christie, and you can bet he was scouting spots to fish and thinking about what tackle to use.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona preps his tackle behind his hotel in between rain showers that hit the entire Detroit metro area on Monday.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona respools his Diawa rods and reels.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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A Strike King 5XD is loaded on one combo. He says his favorite color, by far, is chartreuse perch.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona ties on another crankbait, which he enjoys throwing on St. Clair. He also uses a 3XD in case they get a little finicky.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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The big bag of BASS Mafia and Trokar hooks comes out. Basically this bags holds everything that Z plans on using throughout this show.
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In short order, another weapon is ready.
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Z shows his arsenal of crankbaits.
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A tube like Jason Christie used to win last week is always an option on St. Clair. Zona says it used to be the only thing that people threw on this lake and is highly underused these days here for smallmouth.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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The arsenal he will use on Wednesday is taking shape.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Sadly, Zona says, there won’t be a need for a frog, something he desperately wanted to use with Jordan Lee on the original lake they planned to fish.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Here’s a drop shot rig he tied on next, a Strike King Half Shell, which he had a hand in designing.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona talks about the plan of attack. He had a lake outside of Pontiac picked but with the big catches in the tournament, many people pleaded with him to move the show to St. Clair. And he obliged, even asking fans to come out and fish alongside him and Lee.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Here are Zona's his weapons of choice.
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On Tuesday morning, Zona waits in his boat for Lee to arrive. Lee had fished early each morning for a week straight and finally got one late morning of rest.
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This is what Zona wrote on Lee’s boat during their visit to a Carhartt factory before the St. Clair event.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona is happy finally to have the Classic champ out on the water.
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Zona is the first to set the hook.
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It’s a nice walleye.
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Smallmouth followed it to the boat and Lee dropped at them and hooked up.
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Lee reaches to grab it.
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The first smallmouth of the scouting mission is in the boat.
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Lee and Z show off their fish.
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The two genuinely have fun fishing together.
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That’s certainly apparent. Jordan is usually almost all business on the water fishing Elite tournaments.
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After a couple short fish, Lee hooks up again.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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He patiently plays it out and brings the tired smallie to the boat.
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The brown bass always seem to have some a little more fight in them once they see the boat.
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Lee puts this one in the livewell as he and Zona are having a three-fish mini-derby against the Zona LIVE crew.
Photo: Mike Suchan
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Zona would have won if it was a walleye derby.
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Almost as if on cue after Zona’s walleye, Lee hooks into another smallmouth.
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Zona grabs it for him.
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It’s the smallest but completes their three-fish limit.
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After a short move, it’s Zona’s turn. They fished many of the same places Lee did in placing fourth in the Elite event, as well as some of Zona’s favorite haunts.
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Lee approves of this one’s size ...
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... And gets ready to grab it.
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The fish has one last surge ...
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... Before Lee secures it with two hands.
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It might have been the largest of the day, but bigger ones were caught after the cameraman Sooch went in for his fantasy football draft … Yeah, he did.
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Cameramen Wes Miller and Ben Oliver had a decent day with Zona’s former team partner, Neil VandeBiezan, who will drive the camera boat during Wednesday’s live.
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Lee and Zona did pretty good, too. The teams decided to call it a draw.
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