If you look at this year’s Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, it might appear that Alton Jones is coaching his son, Alton Jr., cast-by-cast through his rookie season. After five tournaments, they’re tied with 286 AOY points. The only reason Alton Sr. is ranked 52nd and Jr. 53rd is due to the tiebreaker, which is the total weight caught on the first two (full field) days of each tournament. Jones Sr., 53, has exactly three pounds more than his 25-year-old son, 128-10 to 125-10.
But if you dig deeper, you’ll see they took remarkably different paths to their AOY point totals. Here’s a look at how each has finished in the first five Elite Series tournaments this season:
| Alton Sr. | Alton Jr. | |
| Cherokee | 19th | 25th |
| Okeechobee | 75th | 33rd |
| Toledo Bend | 7th | 103rd |
| Ross Barnett | 82nd | 100th |
| Rayburn | 86th | 8th |
“We do work together,” Alton Sr. said. “We usually talk at least once during a practice day. We talk about how the fish are setting up. We don’t talk spots. He finds his fish; I find my fish.
“Knowing the same thing at the same tournament does not equal similar finishes in these events. What that shows you is the importance of those on-the-water decisions. I made some good ones at Toledo Bend that propelled me up the standings. He made some great adjustments at Rayburn.”
As for who is making the best decisions today on Lake Dardanelle, BASSTrakk currently shows Alton Sr. in 44th place with a limit weighing 9-12 and Alton Jr. in 58th place with a limit weighing 8-12.