ORANGE — Pearland angler Clark Jordan admitted it. With $75,000 in first-prize money on the line, he’s going to feel some pressure today in the final round of the Elite Redfish Series Classic Kickoff.

“Definitely a lot of pressure,” he said. “I would like to repeat. I won this same tournament last year. I’m hoping to do the same this year, but there’s a lot out there. The weather’s going to get tougher tomorrow. It’s anybody’s game right now.”

Actually, the weather got a little tough as the second of the three-day tournament wound down. Clouds started to cover the Orange sky as the wind kicked in, but not before Jordan moved into the lead.

Jordan led a field of 31 anglers through two days with 47.6 total pounds of fish. Kevin Broussard is second at 47.25, followed by Dwayne Eschete at 46.122, Steve Smith at 45.04 and Jimmy Lloyd at 40.43.

“I caught a little break in the weather this morning,” Jordan said. “It was a little calm and I was able to see a lot of fish this morning. Soon as the wind picked up, it got tough on me.”

The flood that battered Orange County last month has had an effect on the weekend’s action, Jordan said, changing up the usual hot spots for some anglers along the Sabine River. But it didn’t affect the fishing opportunities as bad as they initially thought, he added.

“It’s kind of made some areas better than normal and it’s made some other areas tougher than normal,” Jordan said. “It’s pushed some clean water where typically there’s not. Typically we’re looking for clean water. That’s normally where we can see them.”

Tournament director John Gothia said the anglers have caught a lot of fish despite the factors, although some did not count because they were too long.

“There’s a slot limit. You can’t catch anything above 28 inches, so a lot of guys are catching above, and the trick is finding those that fit in that 20- to 28-inch slot,” Gothia said. “A lot of fish are being caught, but not the right ones. But the ones that found the right ones caught some good weights yesterday.”

Many of the anglers drive atop towers mounted on their boats for sight fishing purposes.

For Southeast Texas fishing aficionados, the Kickoff also gives them a preview of what to expect when the Elite Redfish Series resumes in almost three weeks with the Challenge on the Coast at Pleasure Island. Jordan said he often fishes in Port Arthur as well as Orange.

Ida Schossow of the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce lauded the friendliness of the series and added that Port Arthur can look forward to a successful tournament, scheduled for April 28-30.

“One of the fishermen’s wives come over there to talk about how welcome they’ve been made [to] feel, the way everything was organized, so the atmosphere was great,” Schossow said. “People come out. It’s a family atmosphere.”

“The fishermen are nice. They bring their families.”