Alton Jones' Pattern, Baits & Gear

As much as Alton Jones wanted to sight-fish last week, the conditions just weren't conducive for looking at spawning bass like how he won at the St. Johns 2 years ago. After the big rainstorm on the first day of practice, he began preparing for the conditions that would be prevalent come tournament time. "I practiced for a spawning event," he said. "I wanted to catch them sight-fishing. The water was a good, clean tannic color, but the water was too deep to see the beds or the fish. They were definitely spawning in holes in the grass, though. The combination of mud and wind made it difficult to be efficient in putting baits where they needed to be." All of the fish he weighed came out of Lake George with most coming on what's grown into his signature bait - the 6-inch YUM Dinger soft stickbait. "On day 1, we were all beating around on literally one big grass flat," he said. "I felt fortunate to get 18 pounds, but I didn't see that area holding up. I went to my back-up water the rest of the week. "It's the first time I've ever seen half of the field go to one spot. We were all piled in a 25-acre area. It was an amazing sight. What was more amazing was seeing everyone catch a limit there and some catch huge limits. I've fished in crowded places before, but nothing like that." He said he could catch a small limit early in the morning swimming a worm, but culled everything later on with the Dinger.

Flipping/pitching gear: 6'10" medium-heavy Kistler Z-Bone casting rod, unnamed casting reel, 50-pound PowerPro braided line, 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader material, 1/8-oz. unnamed tungsten worm weight (pegged), 4/0 Gambler KO Hook, 6" YUM Dinger (junebug). He used a 1/4-oz. weight to reach deeper holes or when the wind picked up. He said when he'd find a place where he thought there was a bed, he'd pitch his bait out and let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute before lifting his rod tip. The tournament caused him to miss the wedding of his nephew Trevor Smith to his wife Kellen. "One of the hardest parts of the job of being a pro fisherman is all the time we spend away from home," he said. "I hope they're as happy in their marriage as I have been in my marriage to Jimmy Sue."

Main factor: "One thing about Florida fishing is you need to learn to fish slow - just put your Power-Poles down and go through an area real slow. If you go through with your trolling motor, you'll go over fish and not maximize an area's potential."

Performance edge: "It was a long run from Palatka to Lake George and my Skeeter and Yamaha are tools that help me ride in comfort. I'm very grateful to have good a quality ride under me that I can count on."

St. Johns River 2-5 Patterns Bassfan 3/26/14 (Todd Ceisner)