Jones Joins His Heroes
Rides Rock-Solid Pattern To 5-Pound Classic Victory

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Alton Jones says he's humbled to see his name among those of former Bassmaster Classic champions.

Yes, several patterns worked to varying degrees each day, but there was only one that held up across all 3 days of weather changes. Two competitors of note found it – the 11-time Classic qualifier Alton Jones, and the Classic sophomore Cliff Pace.

But it was 44-year-old Jones from Waco, Texas who rode the pattern the hardest. He opened with 17-05 and followed up with 18-11. Pace opened with 18-10, but stumbled on day 2 with 14-11.

Jones clinched with his 13-07, day-3 limit. With his 3-day, 49-07 total, he won by a 5-02 margin.

He'd found the winning pattern – fishing ditches along the inside bends of tree lines – in practice with a spoon, but it wasn't until the final practice day the following week that he was able to refine it with a football-head jig.

And when others in the field watched their dreams slip away as the volatile Hartwell fish threw their baits or tangled in the trees, Jones fished carefully, quietly, and almost flawlessly en route to his first-ever Classic title.

He said yesterday that he'd waited his whole career to be on such a strong pattern in a Bassmaster Classic, and the pattern had everything he needed – a concentration of fish that could last 3 days, plus a depth where the fish would be unaffected by the massive weather changes and hordes of spectator-boat traffic.

It was an old-school display – 'Classic' in every way.

Pace made it close though – so close that Jones didn't think he had a chance to win until long after he checked in.

Pace worked the same pattern as Jones, except he did it with a dropshot instead of a jig, but day 2 (when the weather turned warm, sunny and still and he weighed 14-11) was his ultimate undoing.

Charlie Hartley, who led day 1 and trailed Jones after day 2, caught just two fish today and slipped to finish 15th.

Kevin VanDam weighed an 11-07 limit today and improved one spot to finish 3rd.

Bobby Lane's 12-10 limit moved him up four spots and he finished 4th.

Greg Hackney turned in his best Classic finish so far. He caught 10-12 today and climbed two spots to finish 3rd.

Jones Humbled

> Day 1: 5, 17-05
> Day 2: 5, 18-11
> Day 3: 5, 13-07 (15, 49-07)

Jones said he knew today "would be a grind." He only caught five fish – he never hooked up with his other bites – and he didn't fill his limit until 2:00.

He spent the final hour running all over, desperately looking for an upgrade fish. Turns out he didn't need it.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Jones didn't catch his limit until 2:00 today, then spent the final hour in a hectic, but fruitless, quest to upgrade.

"When I look at the names on the banners around the rafters, I don't feel worthy to be the owner of a trophy like those guys. They're my heroes, and I feel humbled to be there with them."

He also said that he had to constantly remind himself of several things while on the water today to combat the tugs of pressure when the bites didn't come as fast as he'd hoped. He tried to concentrate on catching the next bass, rather than the major goal of a limit. He also tried to focus on every cast, and not think about the spectator boats. Lastly, he reminded himself to concentrate on the basics of the technique he was using.

About what the title means to him, he said: "It means a lot, but there's a lot of responsibility that I think comes with this title. I'm really honored to have somewhat of a chance to be a spokesman for the industry and the sport of bass fishing, and I want to do everything in my power to help everyone out, and tell America what a great sport we have.

"Faith plays a role in every part of my life," he added. "Fishing's important, but it's not the foundation of my life. My faith in Christ is the underpinning of my life, and I hope this gives me a chance to tell more people about Jesus."

With a Classic title out of the way, he said his primary career goal now is to win an Angler of the Year title, and he hopes to carry the momentum of this victory into the season opener in a few weeks at the Harris Chain in Florida.

As noted, he fished ditches (creek channels) with steep edges along the inside turns of treelines. The best ditches, he said, were often no wider than 10 feet, and he wouldn't have been able to find them without his Humminbird 1197 Side Imaging sonar unit. Once he uncovered the pattern, he was able to maximize his practice time searching for other like structure around the massive lake.

He used a Cotton Cordell CC spoon in the mornings, but culled most or all of those fish later with two jigs.

Both jigs were prototypes and will be available soon from Booyah. One's called a Pigskin, jig, the other's called AJ's Go2 jig. He tipped both with a Yum Chunk.