DECEMBER 12, 2023 • JOE BALOG • BASS PRO TOUR The father/son relationship between 60-year-old Wendell Alton Jones and 31-year-old Wendell Alton Jones Jr. is multi-sided. It’s grounded in strong family values – respect for a parent, love for a child, etc. – but it also represents a high-level working rapport where each is both partner and competitor.
Alton and Alton Jr. have been competing with and against each other at the highest levels of tournament bass fishing since early February 2017, when “Junior” (as he’s commonly called by friends and family) fished his first Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Cherokee Lake in Tennessee. Alton Sr. finished 19th at that event; Junior finished 25th, just 2 pounds behind his dad.
In the 50-plus tour-level events they’ve fished together since, each of the Joneses has learned from the other, elevating their game to a higher level. Within the Jones family blood runs a deep understanding of the intricacies of successful tournament fishing, an understanding made even more profound by the give-and-take between a veteran teacher and a gifted student.
