BOSSIER CITY, La. — The list will be long of fun facts and trivia inspired by the win of Alton Jones Jr., at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open #2.
Jones’ win comes with a berth in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, should he compete at the final Central Open event of the season next month.
In doing so, Alton Jones Jr., and Alton Jones Sr., join an elite group of father-son anglers to fish the Classic.
Only four fathers and sons have competed against one another in the same Classic: Denny and Chad Brauer, Guido and Dion Hibdon, Bill and Gregory Ward and now the Joneses. Of these, only the Hibdons won a championship apiece.
“That’s a long line of fishing history,” said Alton Jones Sr. “I hope we can represent this sport in that event as well as those fishing families have done.”
Jones Jr. now seeks one more achievement to put the icing on the cake of his stellar season. That is to close the deal on qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series. Joining his father should come with a top 40 finish next at the Atchafalaya Basin. The tournament is Oct. 27-29, in Morgan City, La.
Getting this far has been an emotional rollercoaster.
Last week was painful. Jones could have closed the deal on Lake Champlain, where he finished third in the final Northern Open. He needed to be runner-up or better.
As a result, he finished a painful one point outside the Top 5 cut required to earn the invitation at the closing of the Northern Opens season.
“It was an emotional ordeal,” he said. “I knew I needed to finish second to make the cut.”
Following the weigh-in Jones went back to his boat and idled alone out into the bay. He reflected on what might have been. Nagging at his mind was a costly dead fish penalty at the James River.
“There’s no doubt in my mind I would be in the Elites without those two dead fish,” he said.
“It was a mistake that I never will make again.”
On that day he ran out of G-Juice, the livewell additive available from T-H Marine Supplies. The weather was brutally hot, making fish care a challenge.
Jones and roommate Sam George departed Lake Champlain on Friday afternoon after the emotional weigh in. They made it to Allentown, Pa., and slept in their trucks. The next morning they drove non-stop to Shreveport, a distance of 1,300 miles over 27 hours of drive time. They arrived at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.
“It was rough, I mean to have fished like that all week and [then] drive was a grind,” he said.
Jones went fishing anyway, but his practice session was cut short by fatigue.
“I got the shakes and just decided to go back in, work on tackle and get some rest,” he said.
And call his dad.
Alton Jones Sr., told his son he was proud of him. That’s where junior Jones cut the conversation short.
“I told him that was all I needed to hear,” said Jones. “I told dad I didn’t really want to talk about it anymore, otherwise I might not be able to hold it together.”
He held it together by sealing the win. His dad is already excited about continuing a family tradition with his son in the Classic.
“I hadn’t really thought about it until now,” said Jones, when asked about how the two will share information. “It will change, obviously, since he has really matured as an angler.”
“We’ll talk strategy, pro to pro,” he continued.
Above all else will be shared moments of family pride.
“He’s been to a lot of Classics before watching me,” said Jones.
“Now I’ll be at a Classic as a proud dad watching his son.”