That’s right, you can get a free Ardent XS1000 casting reel signed by me (see photo) via Facebook. How? It’s simple. Follow this link: www.facebook.com/AltonJonesFishing and click “Like.”
That way you’re automatically entered. I’ll give it away Wednesday, February 16. I’m also going to be giving away other cool stuff on there.
This reel is one that I actually used during the 2010 Elite Series season. I’m getting a good response to this page and am having lots of fun with it. It’s a good way to keep up with my friends and fans.
In other news, I just took my boat to get wrapped. It should be done sometime next week, so look for pictures then. I’m getting it done here in Waco, Texas, for a couple of reasons. The most important is that the wrap on a boat is subjected to a pounding that a truck wrap isn’t. There are stumps, sticks and a whole bunch of other things that will gouge and scrape it, which means it’ll need to be repaired. So, rather than having to dive 200 miles, getting it done here will save me a lot of headaches and time later.
Little Alton and his partner David Ridley fished another Bass Champs this past weekend at Falcon Lake. They finished 12th with 24-8. That’s a pretty good weight at a lot of places, but at Falcon it won’t get you close. There were several bags heavier that 40 pounds weighed in. It took 43 to win, and that’s with a bad cold front! But I’m happy for Little Alton and David because they’re still leading the Angler of the Year Race.
For Valentine’s Day, Jimmye Sue got just what she asked for: seats at the Baylor Lady Bears game. It’s going to be great to watch the No. 1-ranked lady Bears against the No. 5-ranked Aggies of Texas A&M.
Well, since it’s Classic week, I’ll be leaving Thursday to head to New Orleans. It feels really weird to be sitting at home and reading about how the practice is going without being there. I don’t like it at all. I’m happy to be working the boat show, but I’m also ready to be fishing the Classic again. I would encourage anyone who is coming to stop by the Skeeter, Yum and Ardent booths. I’ll be splitting my time among these great vendors. I’d love to meet as many of you as possible, and I’d be happy to talk fishing!
Shifting back to the tournament, I’ll give you my picks.
Given the cold-weather practice that they’ve had, the bites should materialize during the event. I think that this plays into the hands of guys who have a vast working knowledge of the Delta area. These are guys like Cliff Pace, Greg Hackney and Gary Klein. Gary has a great knowledge of the place and has probably spent more time prefishing there over the years than your average Elite Series guy.
It’ll also be advantageous to the guys who can fish fast and find fish quickly. These are guys like Skeet Reese and Kevin VanDam. Finally, it’s hard to call my dark horse a dark horse.
If Shaw Grigsby won this thing, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. He’s really familiar with those Florida bass and how they act when cold weather comes in. They are affected more than bass in reservoirs. The Delta should fish a lot like some of those natural Florida lakes. The other thing that may happen if this warm up happens fast enough is the bass may spawn. If that happens, you’ve got to put Shaw in the mix.