July 21, 2026 • Alton Jones • Angler Columns It feels strange to say that I’ll be retiring after the Bass Pro Tour visits Lake Erie for Stage 7. To be clear, it’s not weird that this is my final tour-level event. I made the decision before the 2026 season that this year would be my last as a touring pro, and with just one event left, I feel confident that’s the right decision.
But it doesn’t quite feel right to say I’m retiring when I’ve never worked a real job.
Don’t get me wrong – a lot of hard work has gone into my 36 years as a pro angler. But I’m so passionate about fishing that it’s never felt laborious. I still pinch myself probably twice a week – like, did I really do this? Did I really never have a real job for my whole life and make it work?
I have so much to be thankful for as my competitive career draws to a close. While I am still approaching Stage 7 like every other tournament (you bet I still want to win), I’ll be doing a lot of reflecting about those blessings.
One last rodeo in rough water
I made the decision to retire for several reasons – namely, after 36 years of traveling, I’m ready to spend more time at home with my wife and my grandkids. But this season has also underscored that it’s time for me to step away from the top level.
At age 63, I can’t quite match the efficiency of my younger days. Most days, I still feel good physically, and after practice of just about every event this year, I’ve felt like I was on ‘em. But in the Bass Pro Tour’s every-fish-counts format (which is still my favorite competition format I’ve ever experienced), the line between success and failure is so slim. You have to start fast and keep your foot on the gas at all times, or these guys will leave you in the dust. It’s gotten harder both physically and mentally for me to sustain that pace.
The physical aspect is going to be the challenge at Stage 7. I have a good amount of experience on Erie and several nearby fisheries, and I love chasing Northern smallmouth. But the thing about Erie is, in order to get to those smallmouth, you’re going to have to run a long way, and there’s an excellent chance you’re going to encounter some big waves along the way.
I wholeheartedly believe this tournament is going to be won by someone who finds a big school of smallmouth. The problem is, those big schools have all but vanished on the U.S. side of the lake, and even if we’re allowed to trailer to a ramp of our choosing, getting to the Canadian shoreline is going to take a huge run.
In my younger days, I wouldn’t have thought twice about beating myself up for an hour and a half if it meant I had a chance to catch a few more fish. Now, I’m going to have to figure out largemouth and smallmouth game plans during practice and let Mother Nature dictate where I end up. If the weather cooperates, I’m making the trek. If it’s windy, I’ll take my chances fishing for largemouth closer to Sandusky.
That said, I’m still taking this tournament as seriously as I always have. I’m studying maps and weather patterns and making sure all my tackle is in tip-top condition. I’d love nothing more than to make the Championship Round, extend my last event all the way to the final day and give myself a shot at one last win.
The people made my career special
No relationship has meant more to Jones than being able to travel with and occasionally compete alongside his son, Alton Jones Jr. Photo by Phoenis Moore
So far, I haven’t been very emotional about retirement. But whenever my boat official starts counting down the last few minutes of my last day on Erie and I think back through all the memories I’ve made and friendships I’ve formed over 36 years, I’m sure there will be some tears.
It’s the people I’ll think about most. Of course, I’m grateful for the wins. I probably wouldn’t have been able to do this for so long if it wasn’t for winning the Bassmaster Classic and some of my other tournament successes. But those trophies don’t mean nearly as much to me now as the relationships I’ve made through the years, be they with other anglers or tournament staff or sponsors.
I’d like to give a huge thank you to all the companies that have backed me through the years, especially Mercury, Ranger, Garmin, Kistler Rods, Pro Guide Batteries and Willmeng Construction. I’d also like to thank all the fans who have followed my career. Whether we met in person or just interacted online, your encouragement after bad tournaments and congratulations after good ones meant the world to me. I’ve formed many lifetime friendships on tour, and getting to travel with and compete alongside my son these past few years has been a dream come true.
There’s a lot I’ll miss about being a pro. But the best news is I don’t have to give up all of it.
I can promise you I’ll still be fishing. That passion is still burning bright. Even now, I probably spend as much time on the water outside of tournament competition as anyone on tour. I’ll just get to do it without the pressure of SCORETRACKER®. I also plan to maintain my social media presence – my tips just might be geared a little more toward fun fishing than tournament competition. Throw in my newest passion, pickleball, and volunteer opportunities with my church, and I’ll be as busy as ever, just not on the road as much.
I know friends who have retired from 9-to-5 careers, and they’re often kind of lost. But one of the many things I’m grateful for about being a professional fisherman is I’ve had six months off every year, and I’ve learned to love the offseason. As I prepare to enter my perpetual offseason, I’m so thankful that I never had to work a real job.
POINT HURON, Mich. (Major League Fishing) — Late in Friday’s Championship Round at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®, the father-son duo representing Team 7Brew Coffee once again found themselves in second place. This time, though, they rallied by boating four scorable smallmouth in the final 30 minutes to edge Adrian Avena and Dustin Connell of Team YETI and take the trophies in a thriller.
With the entire St. Clair River open to the four Championship Round contenders, the Joneses landed 26 scorable smallmouth totaling 62 pounds, 1 ounce. That topped Avena and Connell by just 2-12. Team O’Reilly Auto Parts – comprised of Ron Nelson and Martin Villa – caught a mixed bag of both largemouth and smallmouth and led early before fading to third with 23 bass for 40-8, while Gary Klein and Mark Davis of Team B&W Trailer Hitches capped off a strong week with a fourth-place showing, ending the day with a total of 14 bass for 26-13.
A Long-Awaited Victory for the Father-and-Son Fishing Duo
“Neither of us has ever won a Cup before,” the elder Jones said. “To finally do it here, under these circumstances, is big. This week goes to my dad, Junior’s granddad, and our whole family. It’s been emotional, but it’s also been a blessing. At my age, after 36 years in this sport, this one means everything.”
The father-son duo’s victory delivered a long-awaited first Team Series trophy for both anglers and marked a career-defining moment for the Texas natives.
A year ago, when Major League Fishing revamped the Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, Alton Jones Jr. teamed up with his father, Alton Jones, and the pair finished second at the Heritage Cup, falling just a few pounds short of Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery. That was one of two runner-up finishes for the younger Jones in Team Series competition in 2024 and one of three career second-place finishes in MLF Cup events.
NEENAH, Wis. – Photo by PMoore - It was another fight to the finish Thursday on Lake Butte des Morts at the General Tire Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley, with only 2 pounds separating teams across the elimination line on SCORETRACKER® going into the third and final period.
But, the second match of the Knockout Round ended with a tale of ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’, with the Team Builders FirstSource father-son duo of Alton Jones Jr. and Alton Jones Sr. finishing atop the leaderboard with 21 bass weighing 38-7 to pace the field and advance to Friday’s Championship Round. Also advancing is Team Star Tron – comprised of Grae Buck and Martin Villa – who ended the day with 11 bass totaling 23 pounds even to finish in second.
Team Star Tron started off with a bang at the top of the leaderboard, holding that lead throughout the first period and finding themselves neck and neck with Builders FirstSource midday. However, the Jones duo pulled ahead at the start of the second period and widened their gap throughout the remainder of the competition day.
Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches, made up of Casey Ashley and Terry Scroggins, fought back from a huge deficit period after only catching one scorable bass in Period 1. The tandem rallied and went on an afternoon flurry in Period 2 that brought them above the elimination line. That bite was short-lived, however, and the pair just weren’t around enough quality fish to survive the Knockout Round.
Team Builders FirstSource and Team Star Tron now join Team REDCON1 and Team Knighten Industries to advance to Friday’s Championship Round. Eliminated from competition was Team Smokey Mountain, who caught 10 scorable bass weighing 21-3.
Team Builders FirstSource began the day targeting boat docks, boating one keeper out of a drainage pipe while catching everything else around retaining walls and boat docks the remainder of the day.
“What a great day,” Jones Sr. said. “The conditions today really made a difference for us. The bass chased the bait a little bit today, whereas they wouldn’t chase anything in our Elimination Match on Sunday.”
The father-son duo took over the top spot from Team Star Tron at the beginning of the second period and ended the period with an 8-pound lead.
“We finished out the end of the day fishing some main-lake boat docks with wind blowing on them to see if any smallmouth were patternable,” Jones Jr. said. “We were just trying to figure out some new patterns and new possibilities. We assume we might be going to Lake Winnebago for the Championship Round, so we decided to come to the other side of the lake, because that was the closest we could get to Winnebago.
“Honestly, I hope they send us to Green Lake and it’s a crystal clear, smallmouth smash fest,” Jones Jr. said. “But we had a good cushion toward the end of the day, so we started thinking through possible game plans for tomorrow.”
That strategy may or may not play out for the pair. While the competition waters for the Heritage Cup have included Lakes Poygan, Winneconne and Butte des Morts thus far, anglers won’t find out the competition waters for Friday’s Championship Round until they are driven to the ramp by competition officials Friday morning.
“That’s the hard part, because we really don’t know what we’re going to do until we get there – and find out where ‘there’ is,” Jones Sr. added, laughing.
Jones Jr. spent the majority of the day throwing an unweighted wacky rig on the shallow end of boat docks, while Jones Sr. threw a weighted wacky rig on the deeper end of the docks, a tactic that worked great for the duo.
“We really just caught them junk-fishing today,” Jones Jr. said. “Whatever looked right, whatever presentation for the piece of cover in front of us. We caught a lot of fish on a wacky rig, but my biggest and best quality fish today came on a green-pumpkin-colored 3/8-ounce bladed jig with a green-pumpkin-and-white-colored prototype trailer that we’ve been working on for a while.
“It just seemed like every time I got a bite, it was one of those 2 1/2- to 3-pound class fish, and with SCORETRACKERÒ as slow as it was, it’s been tough. So, catching those 2-pound or better fish has been really key, because bites have been really hard to come by,” Jones Jr. finished.
Team Star Tron led most of the first period, starting the morning fishing the outside edge of cane grass with a ChatterBait and a wacky rig before moving to boat docks and catching a few fish there. They made another successful move, stacking up more weight targeting riprap before ending the day around willow trees in the third period.
“I was super happy with our first period,” Villa said. “The rest of the day was a grind, but any time you’re at least catching them on pace with the other teams is a good deal. The bridge move we made was a good one. We made a lot of moves today while also trying to spend our time fishing, not just running around.”
While they moved around the fishery more than any other team on Thursday, Team Star Tron strategically slowed their fishing down during Period 1, a decision that definitely played in their favor.
The duo made a move right before the start of the second period that they hoped would continue to propel them up the leaderboard, but the hard-charging Jones duo had other thoughts in mind. Team Star Tron went the final 45 minutes without a scorable bass but were able to hold off Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches by a mere 1-13.
“We had a bite right after we made that move, before the first period ended, so we were hoping that would prove to be a good spot,” Buck said. “As the sun got higher, the bite started fading, so we had to try some different things. Thankfully it was enough to move us on to the Championship Round.”
The duo credit a one-two punch to their success on the day, with Buck throwing a Z-Man ChatterBait and Villa sweeping up behind him with a wacky-rigged worm.
The top two teams now advancing to the Championship Round at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley are:
1st: Team Builders FirstSource, 21 bass, 38-7
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 13 bass, 25-14
Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, eight bass, 12-9
2nd: Team Star Tron, 11 bass, 23-0
Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa., six bass, 12-2
Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 10-14
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff and Pouches, 10 bass, 21-3
Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., five bass, 10-1
Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 11-2
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 42 bass weighing 82 pounds, 10 ounces caught by the three teams competing in Match 2 of the Knockout Round on Lake Butte des Morts. Jones Jr. caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – only one of three smallmouth caught on the day – weighing 3 pounds, 2 ounces.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley is hosted by the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in the Fox Cities in Wisconsin. The competition water for each day is top secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning.
The final day Championship Round will take place Friday featuring Team REDCON1 (Ott DeFoe/Andy Montgomery), Team Knighten Industries (Kelly Jordon/Keith Poche), Team Builders FirstSource (Alton Jones Jr./Alton Jones Sr.) and Team Star Tron (Grae Buck/Martin Villa).
Photo by PMoore
NEENAH, Wis. — Photo by PMoore - The fisheries around Neenah and Fox Cities, Wisconsin, have generally produced close contests throughout the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley. But during the second and final Knockout Round match of the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops event, no one could keep up with the Joneses.
Representing Team Builders FirstSource, the father-son duo of Alton Jones and Alton Jones Jr.put together an impressive second half of the day and finished safely atop SCORETRACKER® with 21 bass totaling 38 pounds, 7 ounces. The Joneses will advance to Friday’s Championship Round as a result, where they will be joined by Grae Buck and Martin Villa of Team Star Tron. Buck and Villa totaled 23-0 on 11 bass, narrowly holding off Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches (Casey Ashley and Terry Scroggins) by 1-13 to finish above the elimination line.
Team Builders FirstSource and Team Star Tron will be joined by Team REDCON1 (Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery) and Team Knighten Industries (Keith Poche and Kelly Jordon) during the single-day sprint to claim the Heritage Cup trophies. Watch all the action on the MLFNOW! livestream from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and Rumble.com.
Joneses already eyeing Championship Round
Buck and Villa started the day strong, jumping out to an early lead that they held throughout the first period. Shortly after the start of Period 2, however, the Jones duo took over the top spot and never looked back, pushing their advantage to 8 pounds by the end of the frame.
In fact, by the end of the day, they had shifted their focus to preparing for the Championship Round — even though they don’t know which body of water they’ll compete on.
“We finished out the end of the day fishing some main-lake boat docks with wind blowing on them to see if any smallmouth were patternable,” Jones Jr. said. “We were just trying to figure out some new patterns and new possibilities. We assume we might be going to Lake Winnebago for the Championship Round, so we decided to come to the other side of the lake, because that was the closest we could get to Winnebago.
“Honestly, I hope they send us to Green Lake and it’s a crystal clear smallmouth smash fest. But we had a good cushion toward the end of the day, so we started thinking through possible game plans for tomorrow.”
That strategy may or may not play out for the pair. While the competition waters for the Heritage Cup have included Lakes Poygan, Winneconne and Butte des Morts thus far, anglers won’t find out the Championship Round playing field until they are driven to the ramp by competition officials Friday morning.
“That’s the hard part, because we really don’t know what we’re going to do until we get there – and find out where ‘there’ is,” Jones Sr. added, laughing.
The father-son team built their advantage by picking apart man-made cover. They began the day targeting boat docks, boating one keeper out of a drainage pipe while catching everything else around retaining walls and docks the remainder of the day.
Jones Jr. spent the majority of the day throwing a weightless wacky rig on the shallow end of the docks, while the elder Jones threw a weighted wacky rig on the deeper ends, a tactic that worked great for the duo. However, the younger Jones caught a few quality fish – including the Berkley Big Bass of the day, a 3-2 smallmouth – on a 3/8-ounce, green pumpkin bladed jig with a prototype trailer.
“We really just caught them junk-fishing today,” Jones Jr. said. “Whatever looked right, whatever presentation for the piece of cover in front of us. … It just seemed like every time I got a bite (on the bladed jig), it was one of those 2 1/2- to 3-pound class fish, and with SCORETRACKER® as slow as it was, it’s been tough. So, catching those 2-pound or better fish has been really key, because bites have been really hard to come by.”
Jones Sr. believes the slightly windier conditions prompted the Butte des Morts bass to react better to moving baits than those they caught in Poygan and Winneconne, and his son took advantage.
“What a great day,” Jones Sr. said. “The conditions today really made a difference for us. The bass chased the bait a little bit today, whereas they wouldn’t chase anything in our Elimination Match on Sunday.”
Lorena, TX - Major League Bio
Texas native Alton Jones will shortly enter the rarified air of the $3 million club for career winnings. The winner of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, Jones has accumulated more than 50 career Top 10s since his first professional competition in 1990. Jones won the 2021 General Tire Heavy Hitters on Shearon Harris Reservoir.
Winnings - Over $3,000,000
Sponsors - BassForce App, Garmin, Kistler Rods, Ranger Boats, Mercury, Lithium Pros Batteries, Legacy Outfitters
Family Wife - Jimmye Sue; Children: Alton Jr., Kristen and Jamie
Did you know? - Alton loves cooking, sharing the teachings of the Bible, and is a full-time day trader.
Subcategories
Faith
Alton Jones’ Personal Testimony
Everybody called my grandfather “Papa”. He was a very kind and generous man who loved to go fishing as often as possible. I guess that’s where I got it from. We fished together practically every weekend from the time I was 3 until I finished high school. Sure, he taught me a lot about fishing, but it’s the way he lived out his strong faith that really sticks in my mind. Even at such an early age God was placing people in my life to shape me and send me on my journey. His sovereign fingerprints are everywhere. Now, well over a decade into my career as a professional bass fisherman, I often reflect on my past. Looking back at where I’ve been is a great reminder for where I’m going.I was raised attending church every Sunday, praying before each meal, and kneeling beside my bed each night before going to sleep. As a young child I learned the “right” answers to many spiritual questions and I was even baptized at age 6. At that time, however, my true motivation for baptism had very little to do with my need of a Savior. I knew I needed to be baptized before I could partake in the Lord’s Supper. I couldn’t stand watching my friends eating a “snack” in church, so I learned the right answers and got baptized. Now I was entitled to crackers and juice in church too. Read More
