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5th: Early Morning Key for Jones Mississippi River Elite Series event
> Day 2: 5, 15-12 (10, 30-07) Photo Gary Tramontina - Jones has spent the first two days taking a conservative approach on what he considered his back-up spot after his preferred area from practice was unfishable on Thursday and again today.
“When I went to my A spot from practice yesterday, it was blown out,” he said. “When I realized that, I panicked. I had one other spot that had some merit and when I went there, I had my weight within 12 casts. Today, it took me about 20 casts. It’s better now than in practice.”
After his early flurry, he rode out part of the storm tucked away under a bridge alongside fellow Texan Kelly Jordon.
“That was a stormy day,” he said. “It’s been a while since I fishied through a day like that. Lightning and I don’t get along.”
Having not leaned on his spot for an extended period of time so far, Jones is curious to see what it’ll produce on the weekend.
“With today’s rain, it could be blown out and muddy tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve caught 15 fish there in 2 days, so maybe there were just 15 there and they were real aggressive, but it feels like a spot that’s reloading. My first five today were bigger than my first five yesterday.
“I’m in a vast area, but there’s one little sweet spot and I think the conditions have pushed the fish to that sweet spot.” Read more
Park Cities People Bassmaster Still Reeling Them In
As a kid, Alton Jones used to ride his 10-speed bicycle around the Park Cities, holding a fishing pole in one hand and a tackle box in the other.
Forty years later, he might have ditched the bike, but he’s still holding the tackle box and the fishing rod. And Jones hasn’t lost any of his lifelong passion for a sport in which he’s been a professional for more than a quarter century.
Jones has been one of the top anglers in the world for the past several years, and he reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2008, when he won the Bassmaster Classic in South Carolina (and was subsequently invited to the White House to meet fellow Texan and outdoor enthusiast George W. Bush). He doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon.
“If you’re 10 years into a career in a physical sport, you’re done,” Jones said. “But fishing gives you some longevity.”
Jones credits his maternal grandfather, who taught him to fish at age two. In the years that followed, they fished at lakes in East Texas almost every weekend. Jones began reading Bassmaster magazine when he was 7.
Growing up in the Park Cities, he used to throw bread in the water at Caruth Park to attract carp. And he caught some bass in Turtle Creek. Later, Jones became the president of the field and stream club at Highland Park High School, where he graduated in 1981. Read Full Story
Alton Jones returns to Cayuga Lake
Inside Elite Boats: Alton Jones
6th: Jones Running Short
Photo by: Seigo Saito
> Day 2: 4, 11-12 (9, 29-09) Jones said his primary area may be running low on fish.
"They're still biting in my area, but there's just not as many," he said. "I've been sharing it with James Watson and Bernie Schultz and we've picked over all the easy stuff. It'd take something like the wind pulling another school up to replenish it, and that could happen.
"Where I'm fishing has better-than-average quality. I'll try it for 2 or 3 hours tomorrow and if I've caught three, I'll probably stay the rest of the day. If not, I'll go to plan B or plan C."
He's fishing extremely shallow and has done the majority of his work with a 3/8-ounce Booyah Bankroll jig with a YUM Craw Pappy trailer. He's plying both docks and isolated wood.
He had a shot at another strong bag, but lost a fish that he estimated weighed at least 5 pounds.
"I can't cry too much because everybody loses fish, and I know that one and some others will be out there tomorrow." Read more
