Photo: ESPN Outdoors

Alton Jones has carried the title of reigning Bassmaster Classic champion around with him for 8 months now. He said there haven't been very many bad days during that span.

He's been to the White House for a visit with President Bush. He's made appearances on just about all of the morning ESPN TV and Radio programs. He's piloted a Porsche at 150 mph in a performance driving school. His picture has been placed on a wall at Baylor University along with other distinguished former students of that institution, such as Hall-of-Fame linebacker and new San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary and Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane.

The Waco, Texas resident also found time to do a little fishing on the 2008 Bassmaster Elite Series, and that went well, too. He logged five Top-12 finishes, made nine of 11 Top-50 cuts and ended up 5th in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race.

BassFan caught up with him earlier this week and asked him a few questions about the aftermath of his life-changing victory at South Carolina's Lake Hartwell last February. Read More

{rokzoom}images/stories/photos/26.jpg{/rokzoom} Bass Communications Jones couldn't find much fault in his performance here. "I feel really good," he said. "I fished well all week and my execution was good – I only had one pull off that would have helped me. "I was hoping that having 12-03 would move me up, but I stayed in the exact same position. Some of the other guys caught them good, too." He was forced to abandon the area where he caught his 15-11 bag on day 3. "I started there and caught some small keepers, but it was pretty obvious it had been maximized, so I had to punt. I went about 30 miles farther and found a similar place, and ended up with a nice sack of fish." He caught about a dozen keepers – the most of any day – and his bag was topped by a 4-pounder. "They were biting good early until about 10:00, then there was a lull until about 12:00. But the afternoon was good after that little front moved through." Read More

ESPN Outdoors

The 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion is making a run at the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, too. He's one of eight Elite Series pros that have made the top 50 cut in all five tournaments this season. "I've got a couple of things going here," Jones said. "On schooling fish, there are brief windows of opportunity. Six or seven times a day, there will be a four- to five-minute flurry. I've used YUM's new Money Minnow swimbait, and if I can get that bait into them while they're on top or as they go down, half the time I can get a bite. And that's when the bigger fish are coming. That's when I've got my 3- or 4-pounders. Between flurries, I'll throw the dropshot. I caught a 4-pounder with a little YUM Houdini worm. I haven't found one color in particular, but watermelon red and green pumpkin — I'm kind of playing with colors." Read More | Standings | Photos | Notes | Archive

10:11 A.M. EDT March 26, 2008
Oval Office

THE PRESIDENT: I've got the fishing champs of this year. And, Judy, thanks for coming. She is from Many, Louisiana. She won the Women's Bassmaster. And Alton Jones from Waco, Texas, won the Bassmaster Classic.

And I thought it was important to welcome these champs here to the White House so that -- you know, to encourage people to fish. There's nothing better than fishing. I had a fantastic experience with Alton and our friend, Charlie Pack. He was a famous local fisherman. And he said, do you want to go fishing with a fellow named Jones? I said, I've never heard of him, there's a lot people named Jones. (Laughter.) It turns out the man I was fishing with is the -- wins the Bassmaster Classic. READ MORE