Alton Jones' Wins Being Sold Short

Alton Jones with his wife, Jimmye Sue, just after his fish were weighed and he was named champion of the 2012 B.A.S.S. Elite Series opener. B.A.S.S. photo

Virtually every story I've read about Alton Jones winning this weekend's B.A.S.S. Elite Series opener has included mention of Jones' "first Elite Series win," and most have had it in the opening sentence. Technically, that description is accurate, but to state it without qualifiers sells short Jones' B.A.S.S. accomplishments.

To me that description suggests that he's broken a new barrier, finally winning at the Elite Series level -- as if his previous wins had all be opens. However, if you take a closer look at Jones' resume', all of Jones six B.A.S.S. wins have been at the highest level of B.A.S.S. competition. They just weren't called the same thing.

Other than this weekend's Elite Series win and of course the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, Jones victories have included an Elite 50 (exclusive field of only 50 angler and part of a string of structural changes that led to the establishment of the Elites), a Bassmaster Tour and Bassmaster Top 100 (each the top B.A.S.S. tour level of the time) and a Megabucks, another specialized top-tier type of event that no longer exists.

However someone wants to dub the win, Jones got this year's Elite Series off to a great start by targeting big bedding bass on Lake George with a 6-inch YUM Dinger. Congratulations Alton!