Alton Jones admits there was a time when, despite the wind, he would have made the long boat ride south on Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga. But that time has long passed.
“When I was 35, I might have made the run today,” said Jones. “But at 54? No. It would have taken over two hours to get there, and you might not have felt like fishing when you did get there.”
That run wasn’t in Jones’ plans today, even if the tournament had gone as scheduled and the wind was more favorable.
“I was not going to make the long run south,” he said. “At Champlain, you’ve got to practice for all the wind contingencies. There comes a point where you don’t get to fish your best fish because of the conditions. Sometimes you have to learn when to punt and realize the conditions are going to change, and on a different day you’ll get to go to those fish.”