THIS JONES STILL HAS A THING GOIN' ON

This Waco,Texas angler is breathing rarified air having recently joined the $3 million club for anglers who have accumulated at least that in career winnings. For 31 years, Alton Jones Sr., winner of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, has fished professionally, accumulating 60 Top 10 finishes, of which 7 were tour level wins, including the Classic. Most recently, Senior won the 2021 Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour Heavy Hitters on Shearon Harris Reservoir in NC. He has qualified for the Classic 19 times and fished in 5 FLW Cup

championship events. As far as we can tell, the 58 year-old is far from hanging it up.

Jones has come a long way from his days operating a computer store. His first win as a pro came on Clear Lake in 2003, which he followed in 2004 with an Elite 50 win on the Tennessee River. It was a long four years until his Classic win on Hartwell. He had a slim lead going into the final- a day that saw him extend a 1 pound lead to a 5 pound win over Cliff Pace. He weighed a total of 49-7 for the Classic crown and top prize of $500,000.

Even that win was not his happiest fishing moment. That came when his son Alton Jr. joined him to fish the 47th Classic on Lake Conroe in Houston, making them the 4th father/son duo to ever do so. Today both he and Junior currently fish full time on the MLF Bass Pro Tour. Not surprisingly, with all his winnings, Senior is also a full-time day trader..

Jones has a habit of letting a lot of time pass between wins. That certainly was the case when he won the Heavy Hitters. During that final round, he would go up against anglers used to winning and winning often- Jacob Wheeler, Bryan Thrift and Brent Ehrler just to name a few. But Jones' win was dominating, with a final margin of victory of over 15 lbs. over fellow Texan Jeff Sprague. Based on that win, it seems evident that the final chapters of this future Hall of Famer's career are yet to be written.

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