Alton Jones
Who is Alton Jones; I hear the question being asked. To
those who regularly follow the Bassmaster® Tour on ESPN
during weekends or read the Bassmaster® magazine the
name might sound familiar but for those who have no clue;
let me introduce you to Alton.
Alton Jones is a professional bass angler from Waco, Texas,
who fishes the Bassmaster® and the FLW® Tournament circuit
in the United States. He has been fishing professionally
for fourteen years, is currently ranked fourth in the world
and has earned US$950,000 from tournament winnings. Alton
rates his primary fishing strength as pitching and flipping
soft plastics and jigs to visible shallow cover and secondary
strength as sight-fishing during spawn. Alton also does
well when fishing lipless crankbaits over submerged vegetation
and when the going gets tough has produced well with ultra-light
finesse fishing. His favourite technique however he calls
‘junk’ fishing, a term used to describe the method of casting
lures at shallow, visible targets.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning that even very successful
professional anglers have heroes. Alton’s high regard starts
with his grandfather of whom he says “Papa taught me to
fish and to love the sport”, his father who recognised
his passion and gave him the opportunity to fish, Danny
Brauer (another very well-known pro bass angler) and most
importantly Christ, with whom Alton has a strong relationship.
Alton believes God has given him his success so that he
(Alton) has a platform to witness for Him.
The Invitation
Alton was invited to South Africa by Xavier Tiberghien,
Mad Dawg Outdoor Adventures, to enjoy a family vacation,
to experience Southern Africa as a serious bassing, golfing
and hunting destination and to present a seminar to launch
new products, talk about the latest products and techniques
being used on the pro circuit in the States and life
as a professional bass angler in general.
The Seminar
I think deep in every competitive bass angler’s heart there
is a secret desire to move to the US and become a full-time
professional bass angler. To most of us this is a dream
and will most likely always stay a dream but there are
some anglers in our country who definitely have the talent
and ability to become professional bass anglers in the
United States; all they need is the desire and the means
to do so. For the rest of us left behind in South Africa
we have our own mountains to conquer and our own tournaments
to win so here is some advice from a real pro:
Alton’s steps to becoming a professional fisherman
1. Gain a good education. Not everybody is made out to
be a pro-angler and you might need to have something
to fall back on if you find you are not making it. It
is easier to qualify for a trade when you are 18 than
when you are 45.
2. You have to be patient and not expect instant results.
It took Alton 5 years of pro-fishing before he started
being successful at his job. It had always been his life
dream to become a pro bass angler but his first 3 years
of fishing were tough and he was earning no money. Only
after his third year did he start earning more than just
his expenses.
3. If you do not have enough money to carry you through
at least five years of non-profit fishing you should try
to recruit an investor. When Alton started fishing he found
someone to invest in him. This person paid his entry fees
and tournament expenses with the agreement that Alton would
split his winnings with him. This person had enough faith
in Alton to stand by him through the difficult first years
and after five years when Alton started turning a profit
his investor’s outlay started paying off.
4. You cannot just go out and get sponsorship, you have
to earn sponsorship. It is only once you are an established
angler with quite a few successes under your belt that
sponsors will start looking at you. Once you are fortunate
enough to start attracting the attention of sponsors it
is EXTREMELY important to believe in the product you are
going to endorse. You cannot sell something if you have
no faith in it and that is basically what a sponsorship
entails.
Tournament fishing - It is important to become a versatile
angler but more important to develop your own personal
strengths.
Versatility vs. strength – a versatile angler becomes a
consistent angler and this helps when you are fishing qualifying
tournaments e.g. Divisionals, but a jack of all trades
is usually master of none and such an angler generally
does not win many tournaments. It is important to master
a couple of strengths in which you have extreme confidence
to put good fish in the boat.
Power fishing - is usually the essence that wins tournaments.
Power fishing can basically be described as any technique
that covers a lot of water quickly and efficiently such
as spinnerbaiting, crankbaiting, jig fishing, etc. Power
fishing more often than not produces bigger fish. Finesse
fishing is good for consistent angling but a ‘power’ angler
will usually catch quality bass.
Revolutionize your fishing!
1. Learn to become efficient with your mind, your tools
and your strengths.
2. Do research on past results where you have done well.
Which were the common denominators? Alton went back to
research his top finishes and checked which presentations
did well for him. He discovered a couple of techniques
that always gave him top results so he started to concentrate
on these techniques during practice and developed them
into his fishing strengths.
o Sight fishing during spawn
o Flipping/pitching soft plastics, jigs, tubes
o Fishing lipless crankbaits over submerged vegetation
o Small lure (finesse) fishing with ultra-light tackle.
3. To find bass all the time there are a couple of principles
to follow – Alton was part of a team who helped catch and
secure tracking devices to trophy bass to study their movements.
Alton personally helped to track one particular trophy
bass for a period of 18 months and made an exciting discovery
whilst doing this - bass follow pathways just like any
other animal!!
• Try to figure out major ‘pathways’ and migration routes
and find the intersections on these routes.
• Learn to fish where the fish are, where do they swim
by every day?
• You will find 90% of the bass in only 10% of a dam.
• These routes/areas will change throughout the year though
so you must always search for the productive water.
o What are pathways for bass? – River channels, weed lines,
ledges, submerged roadbeds, etc. Any place where you can
find two pathways that cross (intersection) you will find
bass e.g. a bridge that crosses a river (roadbed/river
channel), if it is not too deep underwater, will be a good
bass zone.
o Find an area that holds fish most of the time; bass will
always return to this area. Try to determine the key factors
that are attracting bass to the spot.
o Bass are creatures of habit (like all of us) and will
generally feed in the same area most of the time. Where
do we always go to eat? The kitchen. We need to find the
bass kitchen. Two routes that intersect can be a potential
kitchen. This is how you can get into one spot and catch
50 fish from it.
JIG FISHING
Alton basically has 2 ways he fishes a jig;
1. The traditional way to fish a jig is to pitch it to
the target, allow it to drop to the bottom, wiggle and
shake it a couple of times before presenting it to the
next target. 90% of the time the take will come on the
drop or the first time you wiggle/shake the bait thus for
90% of your retrieve back to the boat you are wasting time.
You need to sell the bait to the fish when fishing this
way, e.g. if the bait has not been taken during the drop
and it is now on the bottom right by the target zone you
should tighten up (pick up the slack) and start working
the bait slowly, much the same as a plastic worm/lizard/tube.
If anything ‘feels’ different during the retrieve, STRIKE!
Shake the jig around a bit while you are still in the strike
zone, you need to keep the bait in the 10% productive strike
zone as long as possible before quickly bringing it through
the 90% un-productive area. It is no use to keep up the
slow retrieve all the way back to the boat. The more times
you present the bait to the right spot (20/30 presentations
to 1 stump/brush) usually turns out the winner who catches
the fish eventually.
Generally jigs are ‘dressed’ up to imitate crustaceans
with large trailers (pork/plastic) and because crabs don’t
normally swim across the surface of the water at high speeds
these jigs are fished slowly and erratically on the bottom,
close to crab habitat, and are presented generally by pitching
or flipping to the target.
2. Action Attraction – Mostly Alton will
use a jig as an action lure by swimming it. He has had
several top 5 finishes by using a ‘swimming’ jig. The bass
he targets with this method are suspended bass that are
normally very hard to catch. By using the ‘normal’ way
to fish a jig you will end up presenting the lure underneath
the bass and the bass won’t even see it, or if he does,
couldn’t be bothered to swim all the way down to eat the
jig. By adding a grub to the jig instead of a chunk you
are creating a bait with action that can be swum 6 inches
under the surface (or as deep as you prefer). Booyah jigs
have a nice barb which helps to keep the grub securely
in place, even after catching several bass.
When bass get big they start suspending more and a swimming
jig is good for catching suspended bass which means a swimming
jig is also good at catching bigger bass.
All jigs are
not created equal – for a better hook-up ratio on jigs
you need to pay attention to a few very important factors
when looking at a jig to purchase.
o Weed-guard position – needs to flare out from the head,
not be in line with the hook.
o Bigger hook means better hook-set.
o Angle of line eye to the hook – the position of the line
eye determines the swimming/moving action of a jig and
influences the way it comes through brush/structure. A
well-positioned eye in relation to the hook generally means
fewer hook-ups and snags when retrieving the jig.
WORM (SOFT PLASTICS) FISHING
Yum Sooie is a new soft lure which looks like a combination
of a brush hog, tube and a creature bait. There are several
ways, by simply removing a couple of legs, that you can
change the profile of this bait to suit different fishing
conditions (see photo). This bait can be fished a number
of different ways, from texas-rigged to mojo, Carolina
or even weightless, all you need to do is use your imagination.
Tungsten vs. lead - Tungsten weights have a smaller profile
than lead but offer the same weight which is good because
you can downsize the lure without having to compromise
with weight. Tungsten is also harder than lead which means
the ‘feel’ of the weight is ‘slicker’. When a bass bites
on a lead weight you often see the teeth marks on the weight
which means there was some resistance for the bass to feel
and he will drop the lure sooner and you might struggle
a bit with the hook-set. With tungsten the material is
slicker and the weight will slip through the bass’s mouth
easier which brings you straight to the hook and a better
chance of a good hook-set.
Scent – Alton considers scent extremely important when
fishing and has had personal experience where scented baits
have outperformed non-scented baits. He always uses bait
with scent because when this bait brushes up against structure
such as brush/rock/stump it leaves some traces of scent
behind which creates a scent trail. It has been proven
that bass hold onto scented baits much longer that un-scented
thus giving you more time for hook-set.
Questions/Answers
Q - Yum Sooie – At what stage do you decide to remove
the legs from the bait?
A – When I find that I do not get bites on the regular
profile. This could be caused by tough fishing conditions
such as cold fronts moving in, fishing pressure, post spawn,
etc.
Q – I think there is some adversity in South Africa regarding
jigs because they are generally marketed as a lure that
represents crawfish and we don’t have these as a main food
source here
A – No matter where a bass is, it remains a bass. It likes
certain shapes. You can change the profile of the shape
and the colour of the shape on a jig by changing the skirt
and the trailer to mimic a baitfish. Your bait does not
always have to look like bass food to appeal to bass; bass
can be extremely aggressive predators so any bright, visible,
gaudy, noisy potential ‘meal’ that they can see will make
them go for it.
Q – Do you believe bass can see colour?
A – Yes, definitely, it has been scientifically proven.
However, bass fishermen are also colour-crazy and do
buy many unnecessary colours. I have found that a few
basic colours that you personally have confidence in
will work for most situations. 90% of lures that get
bought do not even get wet. Build up 4 or 5 basic colours
that work well for you.
CRANKBAIT FISHING
• Your crankbait rod is very important. Graphite rods tend
to be too sensitive, allowing you to ‘feel’ the bite
which causes you to strike too soon - the result, lost
fish. Fibreglass rods are less sensitive so you should
only feel the fish once the bait has been absorbed and
this will result in a better hook-up ratio.
• Colour choice – when you have hooked a bass on a crankbait
look to see where it is hooked to figure out if your lure
colour is sufficient. Bass are extreme predators and do
not ‘accidentally’ miss your bait, they choose to miss
your lure if they are not entirely happy with your lure
choice. A badly hooked bass on crank means that the bass
was not entirely committed to the lure when he attacked.
This is the time to re-think your choice; start first by
changing the colour and if they still do not commit 100%
change the profile of the bait (profile determines the
action of the bait).
SPINNERBAIT FISHING
• The most important component of a spinnerbait are the
blades. Bass are attracted to the flash of the spinning
blades.
• In Alton’s opinion the best skirt colours are chartreuse/white,
plain chartreuse and plain white. The majority of the time
Alton will use a chart/white skirt combination and the
reason for this (he jokingly says) is because he has not
decided yet if bass prefer white skirts or chartreuse skirts
so he just gives them both.
• When you feel you need to change the ‘colour’ on a spinnerbait
first change the blade colours before you change the skirt
colours. Times to change colours would be when bass ‘bump’
the lure or turn on it without taking it. A simple guide
to changing blade colours would be to replace a silver
blade with gold or copper and vice versa.
• Generally gold blades will work better when fishing dirty
water. Blades which create more vibration, such as Colorado
blades, should be tried first.
• Clear water – silver willow leaf blades will visually
create more flash.
LINE/RODS/REELS
Braid
Spiderwire braid is made up from a material called spectra
which is the same material used to manufacture bulletproof
vests. Braid compared to mono (one) consists of 120 individual
strands braided together to form one line. It is very abrasion
resistant and extremely sensitive because of the virtually
0% stretch. You can ‘feel’ everything that happens at the
end of the line and with practice, can even tell bottom
composition (rock, mud, sand, gravel) when fishing braid.
o
Braid is an important fish ‘tool’, especially in heavy
cover situations. When considering the ‘tools’ you use
for fishing it is important to analyse the job at hand
so that you can appraise your ‘tools’. Because braid consists
of several strands it is a good line to use when fishing
heavy cover. If your line starts getting worn you always
have several other strands to keep it all together compared
to mono, (one single strand) if it gets worn you have to
immediately retie to prevent lost fish/snapped line situations.
o Because of the sensitivity of braid it would be a good
line to use when bass are finicky and the bite VERY subtle
and light.
o Braid does not have to be replaced as often as fluorocarbon
or monofilament because it always has several strands holding
when the line starts getting frayed. Braid can usually
be kept on one reel for a year or two compared to fluorocarbon/mono
that has to be replaced at least every 4/6 months (depending
on how often you fish).
o Alton will almost always fish braid (spiderwire) when
fishing jigs or plastics (worms); he will fish with 30lbs
braid even in ultra clear lakes such as Lake Mead. Braid
is usually more visible than mono/fluorocarbon, which can
be a disadvantage, so Alton prefers to fish with green
coloured braid which tends to blend into the water better.
However, because of the composition of braid this still
stays pretty visible, especially in clear water, so he
will attach a 4-foot fluorocarbon leader to the braid.
o A fluorocarbon leader acts as a shock-absorber, is less
visibile where the lure attaches to the line and it is
much easier to tie knots when attaching lures than to braid.
Braid knots tend to slip and usually needs knot glue for
a good secure knot.
o Braid does not break! So if you get stuck and you have
a fluorocarbon leader on your braid the chances of breaking
off are much easier.
o It is a good idea to use braid for Carolina-rig fishing
with a 14lbs f/c leader. The braid increases the sensitivity
and the f/c can be broken if you get stuck amongst the
rocks as usually tends to happen. This way you only stand
to lose your worm and hook, all the beads, weights, etc.
stay behind with the braid.
Fluorocarbon line
The advantage for using f/c is the much lower visibility
than normal monofilament. Fluorocarbon does not transmit
light beams under water as mono does, thus, no reflection.
Rods
o Alton flips/pitches with a 6.6-foot Berkley Series I
Medium-Action rod when fishing with braid. Braid allows
him to fish with a lighter rod because with zero stretch
he can still pull the fish pretty effectively out of
heavy cover. You don’t need the brute force of a heavy
action rod to turn the fish and horse it out of heavy
cover.
o Alton uses 6.6ft Medium Action rods for just about all
his lure presentations, including spinnerbait, crank, topwater
and worm fishing.
o Medium Action rods allow for easier pitching/flipping
of smaller/lighter lures because of the extra flexibility
in the rod tip. They allow presentation into spots you
cannot usually get baits into with heavy line and rods.
o Spiderwire braid and Berkley Series I Medium Action rods
go well together.
Reels
• Abu Garcia Ambassador – this is a good reel which lasts
long and can survive brutal conditions without having
to be serviced every 6 months.
• Its no. 1 best feature is its cast-ability which makes
it a good reel for entry level fishermen, not too expensive
and relatively easy for beginners to cast with.
Questions/Answers
Q – What ratio fluorocarbon leader do
you use to attach to braid?
A – On 30lbs Spiderwire I will usually attach a 20 to 25-pound
f/c leader and on 50lbs Spiderwire (which I will use when
fishing a heavily timbered lake such as Mteri) I will attach
a 25/30lbs leader.
Article reproduced with
permission from Stywe Lyne/Tight Lines Magazine.
Photos
by Christie Thomas. All right reserved.
