This Q&A initially published in the October-November issue of MLF Bass Fishing magazine. To subscribe to the magazine and receive six issues for just $10 a year, click here: https://majorleaguefishing.com/join/
To say that Mercury pro Alton Jones Jr. has been on a hot streak is a bit of an understatement. Arriving on the major tournament circuits in 2017 as an Elite Series rookie and joining the Bass Pro Tour in its inaugural year in 2019, Jones took to the highest level of tournament competition like a duck to water.
He earned his first BPT AOY Top 20 in 2020 (13th) and hasn’t finished outside the Top 20 since, finishing third in 2023 and fourth in the most recent AOY race after hotly pursuing Jacob Wheeler throughout the 2024 season. Along the way, Jones won his first major tour event in 2022 (Bass Pro Tour Stage Two on Lake Fork), racked up $150,000 in big-fish bonuses at Heavy Hitters just a few months later and then won Heavy Hitters by a whopping 59-pound margin in 2023.
Tournament success is in Jones’ blood – his dad, Alton Sr., is a former Bassmaster Classic champion and has racked up nearly $3.5 million in winnings in his 33-year career. But “Junior” (or “AJ” to many) can attribute his success to more than just good genes. We caught up with prior to his first of two General Tire Team Series event of the fall (he would finish on the runner-up team during both the Heritage Cup in September and Patriot Cup in October) for a quick round of Q&A. Here’s what Junior had to say.
AJ: I think there’s a handful of things, definitely. Confidence and momentum are a massive part of it and can’t be understated. This career is a roller coaster, and just being able to have confidence every time you go out to find the fish you need is a big part of it. Everyone starts out trying to survive, whether that’s financially or sponsor-wise, but then you go through that and become a check-casher. Then when you get comfortable there, you try to ramp it up to the Top 10 level and work your way into the mindset of winning and getting into the position to win.
AJ: I’m satisfied with the season – the only thing you can ask for is a chance to win a major title, and during the last event of the year I had a chance and put myself into position. I would consider the year a success, no doubt; but to say I’m not disappointed after two years in a row of being right there and not getting it done – it’s frustrating.
AJ: Funny enough, Big Chungus is a meme from I don’t know how long ago – it was a fat Bugs Bunny. One of my buddies, his wife was like, “man, that’s a Chungus!” So, she started saying it, and I adopted it and thought it was funny and rolled with it.
My biggest bass was 11 pounds even in Sugar Lake in Mexico, then I had a 160-pound yellowfin tuna in Hawaii.
AJ: This will surprise a lot of people, but since I went pro, Dad and I haven’t fished together a lot. Being in the boat and competing together, that has been at least 10 years. So, a day on the water at the competitive level with him will be really fun. I’m excited and interested to see how it will go. Before, he was the captain; but now it’s more a split role in sharing in the decision-making process, and I’m just looking forward to a day on the water with Dad and hope it’s three days.
AJ: Not really. I grew up around it with front-row seats to the sport. I’ve seen a lot of successes and failures from all the anglers. Everyone has to be their own angler, and I learned fast that you have to go through the process yourself and trust your gut. It’s not added pressure, it’s added support.
I think what benefitted me was a lot of people just go fishing on their home lakes, but I was fishing with my dad all across the country. We didn’t have a local lake that I was “the guy” on. My experience growing up was finding fish, and that’s one of the things that really helped me.
AJ: You’ve gotta find some humor in it. We’re all humans and say goofy-dumb things and let your personality come out of it. You know, we get so used to fishing with cameras or a GoPro or a live camera – and the reason “Out of Context” exists is because we get so comfortable on camera. Anything can happen when you’re out on the water, so it’s nice to have video running since that’s the ability to share it with friends and family and fans.
AJ: The way it came about, I had a good buddy share with me a Bellows and I fell in love with it. It was a Geecrack bait, and my knowledge (at that time) was a Megabass jerkbait. Then during COVID, I got on board with Geecrack, and when working with them, I fell head over heels with the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market). Back in 2019 and the spring of 2020, my guys at Geecrack told me about a mid-strolling technique with a jighead minnow – then fast forward four years, and that’s what we’re all catching them on.
It helps me think outside the box to generate more bites. I learned to never call something silly or stupid because someone will win $100,000 on it. There’s a lot of tackle innovations coming out of Japan, and in October, I’m taking my first trip over there to dive into the JDM culture and spend a week fishing.
AJ: It would have to be the innovations of the dice bait. The Cue Bomb has been a cool tactic, and when we designed it, I didn’t realize the power of it. It’s something I’m still learning and trying to perfect. I’m wanting to learn it, and I obsess over it since it’s very situational. It takes a lot of skill to master on where and when you throw it. It’s something I’m working on for next season with that technique and style of bait.
AJ: You know, in this sport you need a big safety net since you don’t know when you will have a tough year. We just broke ground on a new home, so I’ve begun spending on that – it’s where most of those winnings have gone. I’m looking forward to having my own man cave and boat storage area.
AJ: I always just wanted to compete. I would say my true love – but I’d never be good enough to do it professionally, but if I could – I’d be a backcountry skier. I’ve been going to Colorado every year since I could walk, but that’s the only thing that’s driven me like fishing does. I’m a solid skier, but being in the mountains is something that’s my favorite experience.