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It was late Sunday in the concrete-walled bowels of the Bi-Lo Center. The swarm of media had mostly fled, and a 100-hour workweek seemed to be winding down for the ESPNOutdoors.com crew, which worked like government mules to crank out stories and photographs and all sorts of pretty Web pages. Complete Story

ESPNoutdoorsmedia.com

GREENVILLE, S.C. — When Alton Jones motored back into Lake Hartwell's Portman Marina, he was pretty sure he didn't have enough fish weight in his livewell to win the Bassmaster Classic.

"I thought I had an outside chance," Jones said. "I never dreamed that would be enough for a victory, based on what had been caught the first two days."

In the end, no one else's catches could keep up with Jones'.

In his 11th Classic, the Waco, Texas, pro came back from 10th place on Day One to claim the $500,000 top prize in the biggest event in bass fishing Read More

February 23, 2008
GREENVILLE, S.C. — A sweet, deep spot helped Alton Jones to a second-day catch of more than 18 pounds and the Saturday lead at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic.

The Waco, Texas, Bassmaster Elite Series pro amassed 36 pounds of Lake Hartwell bass after two days to edge first-day leader Charlie Hartley, an Elite pro from Grove City, Ohio, who had 34-13 — less than what he could have had if he hadn’t lost a bass he estimated to be in the 4- to 5-pound class.

Texas angler moves from 10th to 1st


photo by ESPNOUTDOORSMEDIA.COM

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Brent Chapman succinctly summed up the second day of the Bassmaster Classic for almost every angler in the 50-man field.

"It was a lot warmer than yesterday, but the fishing was a little colder," Chapman said.

Of the top 12 anglers going into Sunday's $500,000 first-place final, only three caught a bigger bag Saturday than they did on Friday.

Alton Jones of Waco, Texas, had the second-biggest bag of the day — 18 pounds, 11 ounces — and jumped from 10th place to first with a two-day total of 36-0. Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., had the biggest five bass limit, 18-12, and lept from 23rd place into fifth with 31-11. Read More

Bassmaster Classic Top 5 Day 1