Alton Jones Jr's Pattern, Baits and Gear
Beginning his fourth season as a tour-level pro, Alton Jones Jr. recorded his best-ever finish with a third-period rally in the championship round that moved him up five places from 9th. He caught nine fish for 26-12 in the finals. Throwing a jerkbait on bridge pilings allowed him to advance out of his qualifying group. "There was one bridge in particular that, when the water fell really hard, created a good constriction point in the back of a creek," he said. "A lot of bass funneled to it."
"I caught seven off that bridge (in qualifying) and five more right off the bat (in the Knockout Round). It died after that, but without those five I wouldn't have made the Championship Round." He moved to a shallow locale late in the Knockout Round where he'd gotten some bites in practice, but which had muddied up too badly in qualifying. With it having cleared up considerably, he caught fish on a spinnerbait from the back ends of docks and from around stands of water willows. "The key to the whole week was fishing with an open mind. I had to do something a little different every day, and in different areas, because the conditions had changed drastically."
Gear:
Jerkbait gear: 6'9" medium-heavy Kistler Magnesium 2 rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (7:1 ratio), 15-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, unnamed 110-size jerkbait (pearl).
"Fifteen-pound line is a little heavier than I'd ordinarily use with a jerkbait, but the water was so dirty that I could get away with it," he said.
Spinnerbait gear: 7'1" medium-heavy Kistler Helium 3 rod, same reel, 17-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon, 3/8- or 1/2-ounce Booyah Covert Series spinnerbait (blue chartreuse), 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse trailer (phantom shad).
He primarily threw a bait with double Indiana blades, but used one with a single Colorado blade in water that was especially dirty.
MLF BPT Tour Lake Eufaula 2-5 Pattern - BassFan 2/18/20 (John Johnson)
