Four solid largemouth limits landed Texas pro Alton Jones in second place in the BASS Elite
Series Southern Challenge at Lake Guntersville April 20-23. Jones, who led after the first and second days of the competition, missed winning the event by only 2 ounces.
Lake Guntersville bass were in all three stages of the spawn throughout the event, so anglers targeted the fish many different ways. Jones concentrated primarily on post-spawn bass, using a BOOYAH Boo Jig and a 3/4-ounce BOOYAH Blade spinnerbait to draw strikes in 7 to 15 feet of water and concentrating heavily on a single area that is a major travel route for bass that have spawned. The spinnerbait was equipped with a single willowleaf blade.
During Day 3, which turned out to be the most difficult day of the tournament for Jones, he changed strategies late in the day, switching to blind casting a YUM Dinger in bedding areas to produce most of his catch.
Jones weighed in more than 20 pounds on each of the first two days of the tournament. On Day 3, he brought 13 pounds, 3 ounces to the scales. On Day 4, he caught17-1, which was the second biggest catch of the day.
The Southern Shootout was the fourth stop on the BASS Elite Series schedule. In each, 100 of the nation’s finest anglers compete for a total purse of more than $650,000 and a first place payout of $100,000.
(Photo courtesy of BASS.)