Finding productive vegetation is one of the easiest ways to locate bass quickly. The green stuff is almost always a magnet for bass, no matter what type of vegetation it is. However, each species of aquatic vegetation is a little different in terms of how it holds bass and the best way to fish it.

Mercury Pro Team angler Alton Jones has caught bass in various vegetation for years throughout the country, and the way he approaches a fishery varies based on each species of grass.

For matted vegetation, it’s pretty simple: Jones will either punch through it or fish something on top of it. For everything else, though, the 2021 Heavy Hitters winner has a specific approach to determine where the fish are positioned.

Reeds, Tules, Cattails, Kissimmee Grass, etc.

There are several types of standing grass across the country that attract populations of bass. Anglers can fish these grasses several different ways, but Jones likes to first gauge where the fish are positioned.

“The first thing I want to do is find out how the fish are relating to the grass,” he said. “I want to see if the fish are buried in the thickest sections or on the outside line, attacking and chasing while they look for food. The only way to do that is by fishing both inside and out until you find them.”

Jones’ first option is to fish moving baits on the outside edge before testing the waters in the thickest areas.

“If they’re on the edge, maybe it’s the wind pulling them out,” he said. “One of the best ways to cover water and search is with a moving bait like a ChatterBait, spinnerbait, or buzzbait. Those baits are not weedless, but they are somewhat resistant to hangups and that’s important.”

If he finds that fish are sitting further into the grass, Jones will switch to soft plastics or jigs.

“One of my best tools for reeds and cattails is a jig, followed by soft plastics,” he confirmed. “That will let you penetrate the cover, and I fish with heavy braided line to rip them out when I catch one.”

Submersed Aquatic Vegetation

For grasses that are rooted on the bottom and don’t quite reach the surface – species like eelgrass, milfoil and hydrilla – Jones looks for any differences in the vegetation he can find.

“I’m looking for the right situation where either there are big holes in the grass or a well-defined edge,” he said. “For these underwater grasses, a ChatterBait, swim jig, or swimbait are always a good option. I also like fishing topwaters over the grass, and you can’t overlook a buzzbait in these situations.”

Aside from moving baits, Jones also mixes in soft plastics and jigs, flipping and pitching to the edges in the grass or into bare areas and holes within the grass.

Lily Pads

Another typical bass-holding vegetation is lily pads. They have a wide range and can be found in many different climates across the country. Lily pads also hold plenty of bass.

Jones likes to target pads primarily with plastics and jigs, but that’s not all.

“I fish pads a lot early in the year because the root systems give bass a place to fan out a bed and spawn,” he said. “I like to pitch jigs or a light 1/8-ounce weight with a Zoom finesse worm. They love that slower fall and the straight tail worm gets bit. And, don’t overlook a frog, especially if the water is less than 3 feet deep.”

Lorena, TX - Major League Bio - Bassmaster Bio

Texas native Alton Jones will shortly enter the rarified air of the $3 million club for career winnings. The winner of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, Jones has accumulated more than 50 career Top 10s since his first professional competition in 1990. Jones won the 2021 General Tire Heavy Hitters on Shearon Harris Reservoir.

Winnings  -  Over $3,000,000

Sponsors - BassForce App, Garmin, Kistler Rods, Ranger Boats, Mercury, Lithium Pros Batteries, Legacy Outfitters

Family Wife -  Jimmye Sue; Children: Alton Jr., Kristen and Jamie

Did you know? - Alton loves cooking, sharing the teachings of the Bible, and is a full-time day trader.

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It was a sight-fishing clinic on Shearon Harris Reservoir in Raleigh on Wednesday, and pro Alton Jones of Woodway, Texas, was the professor. The Texas angler boated 12 bass weighing 45 pounds, 9 ounces to dominate the final-day Championship Round and win the top prize of $100,000 at the Major League Fishing (MLF) General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops in North Carolina. Jones won by a 15-pound, 5-ounce margin over pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas, who caught eight bass totaling 30-4. Sprague, however, was not disappointed in his finish as he earned the top Big Bass Bonus of $100,000 with a 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth.

Just 23 minutes into Period 2, Jones caught a 3-pound, 3-ounce bass to move into the top position on the leaderboard and he never relinquished it. The tall Texan showed MLF NOW! viewers why he has long been considered one of the top sight-fishing anglers in the game.

“This feels so, so good. It’s been a while since I’ve won a Tour-level event like this, and it was a very special day,” said an emotional Jones when he came off of the water. “After my practice time, I knew that I had found several key areas that had the potential to be really special for this event, if I could just make the final rounds.

“When we did our morning ride-through this morning and I got on the trolling motor, I found about 10 3-pounders in my first pass through the cove, and I thought to myself, ‘you know what, this could actually happen.’ I didn’t know if they were going to bite, but if they did I was going to have a chance. And sure enough, here I am. I still can’t believe that I’m the Heavy Hitters Champion.”

Jones saw the majority of the fish that he caught on Wednesday on beds, and managed to boat a dozen keepers flipping an “old-school” Texas-rigged Canyon Plastics Gitzit tube (green-pumpkin with purple and black metal flake).

“I really like throwing a tube during the spawn – it’s a bait that will catch a 2-pounder, a 3-pounder, but it will also catch a 10-pounder,” Jones said. “So, it’s good bait to fish for numbers and size. My Kistler rods were also very important – I used a Kistler Z Bone. That rod is super-light, super-sensitive, and super-strong and helped me out a lot today.”

Jones also shared some of his sight-fishing prowess with the crowd gathered at the takeout ramp.

“Every fish that I caught today was an individual,” Jones said. “I had to figure out what each fish was doing, and how to work that particular fish. That’s one of the things that I love about sight fishing – you treat every fish as an individual. What makes one fish hot, the other fish will ignore. So, it’s kind of a thinking man’s game. It’s a stealthy game, because you can see them, but they can also see you. I try to hide from the fish, and I’ve got a few other little tricks that I like to pull and today, it all worked out for me.”