Alton Jones Jr. sight-fishes to Heavy Hitters lead, Ebare boats a 9-pounder for big bass
MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. – General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops got off to an impressive start on Monday at Caney Creek Reservoir. The Bass Pro Tour unveiled the big-fish potential at Stage One in 2022, and Caney Creek answered the call during Day 1 of MLF’s premier big-fish event. Dakota Ebare brought in a 9-pound, 5-ounce largemouth for the big fish of the day, but there were also seven fish over 5 pounds, six over 6 pounds and a 7-11 courtesy of Bryan Thrift.
The big ones are biting in the Pelican State.
Jones Jr. finds bed fish and the lead
Alton Jones Jr. might have some extra motivation to win this event after seeing what his dad did just two years ago. Senior took home the win on Shearon Harris in North Carolina to claim Heavy Hitters 2021, and Junior is off to a strong start with the Group A lead of nine bass for 33-14.
Jones began the day as the first boat out from launch, which helped him get a prime position on the lake that was highly sought after.
“There was actually about five of us starting on one spot in about 20 feet of water,” Jones said. “I was able to catch four off that spot that got me going before I decided to move on to something else.”
That something else was moving up shallow among the boat docks on Caney Creek. With the sun shining bright and not much wind to speak of, the conditions were picture-perfect for Jones to sight-fish with a Geecrack Bellows Shad. The Texas pro had one bed fish already located from practice, but he quickly discovered a few more.
“I don’t think a lot of guys are sight-fishing right now, so it was cool to get to do that today,” Jones said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to see as well as I did today on Wednesday, so I’m glad I was able to get some sight-fishing in today. The fish are hard to see, but the conditions allowed me to find some today.”
Ebare’s 9-pounder in big-bass lead
Ebare is one of the hottest anglers in the world right now with already two pro-level wins to his credit in the 2023 calendar year — the Toyota Series Southwestern Division opener on Sam Rayburn and Stop 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals on Clarks Hill. He now has put himself in position to be at least $25,000 richer if he can keep the Berkley Big Bass lead in Group A for one more day.
Ebare brought in a 9-5 during the third period to take over the top spot from Bryan Thrift’s 7-11. The Texas pro found some areas in practice he thought would have big staging fish, and that’s where he caught the massive largemouth.
“I was fishing real slow through areas that I felt fish were staging and bedding in,” Ebare said. “I found a hard-bottomed area and started fishing it really slow with a wacky-rigged weightless worm. As soon as I set the hook on it, I knew it was going to be big.”
No more than 20 minutes later, Ebare had a chance to best the mark he just set. He hooked another massive fish that MLF analyst Marty Stone said, “was bigger than the 9-pounder he just caught.” Unfortunately for Ebare, as the fish thrashed at the surface, it was able to dislodge the hook.
“I’m not sure it was bigger than 9-5, but it was still at least an 8-pounder,” Ebare admitted. “It’s alright though, I still have one more day to try and beat 9-5. I know there’s 10-pounders in here, and I’m going to try to find one on Wednesday.”
If his 9-5 holds up for one more day of fishing for his group, he will win the $25,000 big bass bonus.
Other notes from Caney Creek
- Ryan Salzman ended the day in third place with six bass for 25-12 — his best five weighing 23-8. An impressive five for the Alabama pro.
- Alton Jones looks to become first two-time champion of Heavy Hitters and caught three bass for 7-12 on his first day of competition and will enter Day 2 for Group A in 10th place.
- Kevin VanDam is the bottom man on SCORETRACKER® only catching one bass for 2-6. However, the Hall of Famer is only 5-6 outside of the Top 10.
What’s next
Heavy Hitters continues on Tuesday with Group B’s first day of competition on Caney Creek Reservoir. The group is headlined by Randy Howell, who set the MLF record for biggest bass caught in competition two times at Stage One last year. Jordan Lee also begins his Heavy Hitters on Tuesday as he tries to become the first two-time winner of the event. Lee won the event in 2020. Finally, Jacob Wheeler brings his long résumé to Monroe, looking to add a Heavy Hitters win to it – something he has yet to do in his young and illustrious career.
Coverage begins at 7:45 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.