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2nd: Largemouth Saved Jones
Photo BASS Gary Tramontina Like Evers, Jones has spent much of this season trying to recover from a poor showing at the Sabine River (92nd). The runner-up finish, the third of his Elite Series career, will go a long way in that effort as he’s moved into the Top 20 in AOY points.
“I’m happy with second,” he said. “When you go in with a chance to win and it doesn’t happen, it still stings a bit. It’s so hard to win out here and when you get a chance to walk through that door, you try to do everything you can.”
He felt like he’d exhausted his smallmouth areas today and targeted largemouth for a time to fill out his limit. Once he did that, he went back to drifting a dropshot and made a 2-pound upgrade with a smallmouth later in the day.
“I panicked a little around 10:30 this morning and went after largemouth,” he said. “I had to get my straight. I felt myself getting flustered, but that got me settled down.
“I needed points really bad and I’ve been clawing my back into it slowly. This helps give me momentum in my push to the Classic.” Final Day Story - Altons Final Day - Day 4 behind the scenes
Jones from 6th to 3rd at St. Lawrence
Jones caught 18-14 to move from sixth to third with 57-8. He said his day could have been much better if he could have landed the biggest fish that bit.
“I had a chance today to have the heaviest sack of the tournament, but I just lost fish,” Jones said. “One of them was on a jerkbait, and it was a giant. It was an honest-to-goodness 6-pound smallmouth. Then I jumped off another 4 1/2-pounder and a 4-pounder.” Read Story
2015 Bassmaster Schedule
| Tournament | Location | Dates - Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River | Orange, Texas | 92nd |
| Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville | Guntersville, Alabama | 16th |
| Bassmaster Elite at Sacramento River | Sacramento, California | 54th |
| Bassmaster Elite at Lake Havasu | Lake Havasu City, Arizona | 28th |
| Bassmaster BASSfest at Kentucky Lake | Paris, Tennessee | 53rd |
| Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River | Waddington, New York | 2nd |
| Bassmaster Elite at Chesapeake Bay | Cecil County, Maryland | 61st |
| Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair | Detroit, Michigan | 24th |
| Toyota Angler of the Year Championship | Door County, Wisconsin | Sept17 - Sept 20 |
Texas anglers are tops when it comes to Bassmaster Classic
Only one Bassmaster Classic has been held in Texas, but that hasn’t prevented bass fishermen from the Lone Star State from claiming more Classic titles than anglers from any other state.
Texas anglers have won eight of the 44 titles since the Classic was born in 1971. Arkansas is second with six Classic winners. Read Story
Jones' Attention Will Be Divided This Year
Alton Jones' competitive focus for 2015 will be confined to the Bassmaster Elite Series as he attempts to bounce back from a lackluster campaign that resulted in him missing this year's Classic at the venue where he won the sport's signature event 7 years ago. Nevertheless, he'll have a keen interest in all three divisions of the Bassmaster Opens.
His son, Alton Jr., plans to fish all nine Open events in a quest to qualify for the Elites. If he succeeds, the Joneses would become the second father-son duo to compete on B.A.S.S.' top circuit, joining Denny and Chad Brauer (2006).
"Little Alton," as he's been known since he started traveling the circuit with his family as a small boy, is fresh out of Baylor University with a degree in marketing. The 22-year-old has fared well in premier Texas events against stacked fields and is eager to reach the level his dad has performed at for nearly a quarter of a century.
The younger Jones will make his triple-A debut next week at Lake Toho. He departed for Florida on Monday.
"He's pumped," Jones Sr. said. "I've never seen somebody work so hard getting ready for a tournament. He wants to do it all on his own – I expected him to go into my boat and pull all my waypoints, but he didn't do it.
"He's confident he can go out and find fish." Read Full Story
