A career centered on family

Alton Jones’ family has long accompanied him on the road, both when his wife homeschooled his two kids and once his son, Alton Jones Jr., joined him on tour. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Across his long career, Jones has put together one of the most impressive résumés in tournament bass fishing history. He won the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, one of his seven tour-level victories, and has surpassed the $3 million mark in earnings. The Texan also won the 2021 Heavy Hitters event in Raleigh, North Carolina, and finished third in the Angler of the Year standings on the Bass Pro Tour in 2022. While his skillset is versatile, he’s widely considered one of the best sight-fishermen of all time.

But looking back across more than three decades of touring competition, Jones said those on-water accolades are “probably the least important thing to me.” The thing he’s treasured most, he said, are the relationships he’s formed with people he’s met along the way.

The most important of those relationships have been with his family, which has long been an inextricable part of his pro career. Jones’ wife, Jimmye Sue, and his two children traveled with him on tour for years, with Jimmye Sue homeschooling their kids. Of everything he’s done in the past 36 years, Jones said he’s most proud that they were able to make that work so he didn’t have to leave his family for weeks at a time.

“It was a lot of extra work, but an investment that was well worth it as far as our family relationships and preparing them for their futures,” he said. “For us, home became wherever we were together, which was all over the country. It wasn’t anything about a house in Waco, Texas.” 

That family dynamic has continued in recent years as Jones’ son, Alton Jones Jr., has traveled alongside his father while the two compete on the Bass Pro Tour together. They even teamed up for two Fishing Clash Team Series events, including a win at the Summit Cup on the St. Clair River last August.

“I’ve really treasured the time he and I have gotten to spend together competing against each other on the Bass Pro Tour,” Jones said of his son. “Following each other up and down the roads across America, staying with each other at the venues, strategizing about plans, I’ve enjoyed the relationship-building aspect of that.”

Excited to be grandpa

Jones still plans to spend plenty of time on the water during retirement, just not as far away from his Texas home. Photo by Phoenix Moore

Several factors weighed into Jones’ decision to make 2026 his final year. For one, he said that, while he still loves to fish as much as he ever has, “I’m less mad at the fish than I used to be.” He pointed to that as one reason his results have slipped a bit the past couple years, when he failed to qualify for REDCREST after doing so each of the four previous seasons

“For most of my career, if I needed to make a 20-mile run through rough water to get one extra bite, I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this,’” he said. “At 62, I’m like, ‘You know what, I think I’ll just stay where I am and hope one bites.’”

Still, Jones plans to spend plenty of time on the water during retirement. Through the years, he’s gained access to “some really fabulous, highly-managed private fisheries.” He’s excited to get more time to fish them, especially during the spring, when he’s usually on the road.

“I get to take friends out there, and they’re a great way to develop relationships,” Jones said. “Some of (the fisheries) are so good, it does make it a little bit harder to say, hey, I want to go fish on Lake Waco today when I could go fish over here and I know I’m going to catch 40 fish over 5 pounds. So, I’m going to do a lot of that.” 

He’s also excited about getting some time back to play pickleball, pursue some additional ministry opportunities and spend time with Jimmye Sue.

“While we’re still in good enough health to go do some fun things and spend a lot of quality time together, we want to go do that,” he said.

But more than any of those reasons, Jones doesn’t want to be away from home as often because he’s found a role he loves even more than being a professional angler – being grandpa.

“We now have four grandchildren under the age of 3, and they all live within 10 minutes of my house,” he said. “And so that makes it harder and harder to leave for weeks at a time to go to tournaments, because you’ve always got that pull of those grandkids there.

“I just want to spend a lot of time being grandpa.”

Sprinting to the finish line

Jones’ last solo win came at Heavy Hitters in 2021. He’s hoping to add one more trophy before he retires. Photo by Garrick Dixon

Just because Jones has made the decision that this season will be his last, don’t expect him to go through the motions in 2026. He emphasized that his drive to win is as strong as ever, and he still hopes to qualify for two Team Series events next fall as well REDCREST and Heavy Hitters in 2027

“I’m approaching this final season not as ‘hey, let’s coast to the finish line,’” he said. “I want to sprint. My preparation, I think, is good. My drive is high. In some ways, I think it maybe even has ratcheted up my work ethic a little bit.”

Adding to Jones’ motivation is the fact that this season’s schedule includes several events that excite him – most notably, the first tournament in his long career on fisheries that are local to him, Stage 3 on Lakes Waco and Whitney. He’ll also revisit the site of his Classic win at Stage 2 on Lake Hartwell.

“This is sort of a God wink, I guess you could say,” Jones said. “I’ve fished my whole career, I’ve never had a professional tournament that I got to spend the night in my own bed at home and fish that tournament. And this year, we’ve got one. So, that’s really cool.”

Jones will try to add one more trophy to his collection and treasure one last season traveling with his son in 2026. Just as much as the hardware he’s won and the relationships he formed, he expressed gratitude that he was able to make such a long career out of something he loves, and that he gets to end it on his terms.

“I’m thankful that I’ve been able to have a successful career in bass fishing,” Jones said. “To be able to have this as a job, I really don’t feel like I’ve ever had a job. I’ve worked really hard at it, but it hasn’t been laborious. It’s been hard, it’s been all those type of things, but when you’re working hard at things you love and you’re passionate about, it’s not a job. So, I just feel very blessed and very thankful to have that as part of my story.”