Alton Jr . grew up around bass fishing and spent his youth fishing diverse fisheries with Alton Jr .
PHOTOS COURTESY ALTON & JIMMYE SUE JONES .
“( His energy ) drives me ,” Senior admits . “ I might have retired by now if it wasn ’ t for him .”
Senior has enjoyed some of the best years of his career during Junior ’ s rapid ascent , winning the Heavy Hitters belt in 2021 – his first major win since 2012 – and finishing third in the 2022 Bally Bet Angler of the Year race while reeling off five Top 10s that season .
While he continues to rely on many of the same lures and power-fishing techniques that made him a top-level pro for three decades , Jones has supplemented his arsenal thanks to Junior ’ s youthful versatility and his exposure to baits and techniques that he might not have even tried in years past .
“ Alton Jr . has pushed me to become more versatile , and I get a shortcut ( on learning new techniques ) because Little Alton has already mastered them ,” Jones says . “ When he was a teenager , he ’ d already mastered fishing a frog before I ’ d ever fished one . There ’ s stuff in his tackle box now that I haven ’ t even heard of . It ’ s easier for me , because now I can get interested ( in a new bait or technique ) once I know something works .”
Both Joneses agree that the shortcuts now offered by Junior are a payback for early Cliff ’ s Notes provided by Senior : Principles proven through years of tournament experience were adopted by Junior without the learning curve . Give and take .
the give and take
Senior and Junior serve as sounding boards for each other in the process of developing strategy long before tournaments begin . They ’ re mindful of Bass Pro Tour rules regarding information , but the pair share unfiltered opinions and observations about fisheries before tournament week commences . For Alton Sr ., the confidence that comes from the opinions of immediate , trusted family is unparalleled .
“ In fishing , half the story can be worse than none of the story at all ,” he says . “ Naturally , we want each other to do well . Little Alton is a master strategist . He has game plans that blow my mind .” Senior admits that details have become less important as he ’ s aged , and he ’ s honest about the physical slowdown , reduced energy level and time needed to process information at the age of 60 versus his 30s and 40s . (“ It ’ s a matter of physiology ,” he says simply .) Alton Jr ., however , quickly hones in on details and is able to plug himself and Senior into information that frequently makes a difference .
Junior ’ s hard-driving attitude about practice – “ Practice hard every day ,
even during tournament hours ,” he says – allows him to stay ahead of the fish , and his competitors . But he frequently leans on his father ’ s insight to initially get off the ground whenever he starts game planning for a new Bass Pro Tour tournament location .
“ He ’ s seen it all ,” Junior says of his dad ’ s 33-year well of tournament knowledge . “ We ’ ll have a weather pattern or it will be a certain time of year , and he ’ ll key me in to look for something that I ’ d otherwise never think of . He ’ ll mention a shad spawn or something that happened years ago under the same conditions , and it will be there . “
“ Hopefully my wisdom rubs off on him ,” Jones jokes in response .
Now fishing in his fourth decade as a full-time pro , Jones Sr . finds himself in what he describes as “ the most fun part of my career .”
“ I don ’ t have to fish , I get to fish ,” Senior says . “ And let ’ s face it : At 31 years old , most kids don ’ t have time for their parents . They ’ re starting families , busy with their jobs . But our traveling together puts us together a lot . I ’ m trying to enjoy this time and not take it for granted .”
When they ’ re not on the road , the duo can often be found working on boats and equipment side-by-side ,
32 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2023