APRIL 14, 2021 • MASON PRINCE • BASS PRO TOUR
Photo - Garrick Dixon RALEIGH, N.C. – Alton Jones is the winner of General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops after a dominating performance on Shearon Harris Reservoir to end a memorable week outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. The win was Jones’ first win on the Bass Pro Tour and the seventh tour-level win of his career.
Jones wasn’t the only Texas pro to take home $100,000 during the Championship Round. Fellow Texan Jeff Sprague finished second to Jones on SCORETRACKER®, but also caught a 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth that earned him $100,000 for the biggest bass caught in the Championship Round. Sprague was able to edge out Jones by just 3 ounces for Berkley Big Bass honors.
Jones Was In the Championship Zone
Alton Jones’ son, Alton Jones Jr., tweeted earlier Wednesday morning that if the Championship Round of Heavy Hitters turned into a sight-fishing derby, his money was on his old man. Junior’s faith in his father’s sight-fishing ability proved to be prophetic as Senior separated himself from the other nine anglers decisively.
Jones beat out Sprague by 15-5 and was the only angler in the Championship Round to register more than 10 bass to SCORETRACKER®. That even more impressive considering the scorable bass weight threshold was raised to 3 pounds for the final round.
The Bass Force pro knew he had the win locked up for much of the final hour. When his MLF official gave him the good news, Jones was overcome with emotion.
“This feels so good and I’m so grateful,” Jones said through tears moments after being named the winner. “It’s been a long time since I’ve won an event. I’ve always said the three most important things in bass fishing are: location, location and location. That was absolutely the key for me today. You can be doing the right thing in the wrong place and not catch them.”
The Garmin pro’s location was one that he found during his lone practice day on Shearon Harris. It was an area that he knew he was going to have to sight fish with a Texas-rigged tube.
“I knew in practice I found several areas that were going to be productive,” Jones said. “The place that I did my damage in today was where I started Tuesday morning and I didn’t even catch a fish there. I pulled in there today and there was a fish spawning every 20 feet. I was blessed with some really good fish.”
