Bassfan.com Day 4: 5, 17-10 (20, 71-08) Jones was surprised that he was unable to gain any ground in the standings despite catching more than 17 1/2 pounds.

"That's just a testament to how strong this river is fishing right now," he said. "I had a couple of chances to upgrade – I had a 4-pounder that I swung in that bounced off my graph and got away and another big one that I never saw that pulled off.

"Overall, I'm really pleased, though. It was a great week."

He had no company at all today as he fished below the Jones Bluff Dam.

"There was nobody else there – not even a local. It was really a peaceful day down there. It was almost surreal, like I wasn't even in a big tournament."