Nobody Can Keep up with (Alton) Jones on Group B’s First Day on Lake Fork
Texas pro lands 11-2 monster to anchor 80-pound day to take big lead in group competition
QUITMAN, Texas – Another day, another double-digit bass.
The big bass just seem to keep on coming early in the 2022 Bass Pro Tour season as Group B took to the waters of Lake Fork for their first qualifying day at Toro Stage Two Presented by Grundéns. Texas pro Alton Jones took the top spot with 18 bass for 80-7, highlighted by an 11-2 near the end of the second period that marks the fourth straight day of Bass Pro Tour competition with at least one bass over 10 pounds.
That streak has a good chance at continuing for the rest of the week.
DAY 2 FULL RESULTS
BALLY BET AOY STANDINGS
The weather in East Texas has been on the chilly side since the 80-angler field arrived for practice five days ago, but temperatures have warmed up enough each day to activate Lake Fork’s largemouth, and it was the same story on Sunday.
Three anglers in Group B had more weight than Saturday’s Group A leader Jacob Wheeler, who had 56-7.
In addition to Jones’ 80-pound surge, Bass Pro Tour rookie Dakota Ebare and Tennessee pro Andy Morgan each eclipsed the 60-pound mark.
Senior Smacks ‘Em
Jones enjoyed a career resurgence in 2021 with his win at Heavy Hitters in North Carolina, and has started the 2022 season year off strong: Fresh off a runner-up finish at Stage One, Jones is a threat to take the early season lead in the Bally Bet Angler of the Year race.
For now, though, Jones is happy to survive his first Qualifying Day with the lead after a fantastic day on Lake Fork.
“Whew, what a great day today was and my hats are off to the guys who got close to me,” Jones said in relief as time expired. “Today couldn’t have been better and was much better than my practice, and (the rest of the field) still kept up. I still can’t believe I caught an 11-2 today.”
Jones will take a commanding lead of nearly 15 pounds over Ebare into the second Group B Qualifying Day, but the Texas veteran knows that Ebare can erase that with a couple of hooksets (or even just one) on a big bass factory like Lake Fork.
Jones is satisfied with what he discovered Sunday and thinks his pattern will hold no matter what the weather does later in the event. The Knockout and Championship Rounds are forecasted to be substantially colder.
“I expanded my area and feel like I can still catch fish here if the weather gets bad,” Jones said. “I’m going to keep mixing it up, fishing slowly and fast, because I know how the fish are positioned and know what to look for, even if they move around in here.”
Ebare and Morgan Shine
While Day 2 was certainly the “Alton Jones show” (he caught the most fish, biggest bass, and had the highest weight total on SCORETRACKER®), Ebare and Morgan finished well above the rest of the anglers in the Top 10. They each caught 17 bass for over 60 pounds.
Ebare is a Texan but has limited experience on Lake Fork and with SCORETRACKER®, but he made it look easy as he hung around the top of the leaderboard for most of the day. He ended up with 65-8, including an 8-0. Morgan also struck early and often and was at the top all day long. He ended the day 61-5, including an 8-11 big bass.
Daily Leaders
- The Berkley Big Bass of the Day was Alton Jones with his 11-2.
- Jones also had the most weight on SCORETRACKER® with 80-7 to earn the lead
- Jones made it a clean sweep of the daily leaders with the most scorable bass with 18.
What’s Next & How to Watch
Group A returns for their second qualifying day on Lake Fork. It kicks off at 8 a.m. CST on Monday. Live coverage of the second day of Toro Stage Two Presented by Grundéns starts at 7:45 a.m. CT on the MLF NOW! live stream. Watch for free on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF app, or the MyOutdoorTV app.
Bally Bet Angler of the Year
MLF has partnered with Bally Bet for the 2022 Bally Bet Angler of the Year award. Bally’s is MLF’s exclusive sports betting, daily fantasy sports, and free-to-play partner for all MLF tournament circuits. The 2022 Bally Bet Angler of the Year will take home a $100,000 prize at the end of the 2022 Bass Pro Tour season. Follow the Bally Bet AOY standings all year long as the Bass Pro Tour season continues.