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BOSSIER CITY/SHREVEPORT, La. — Alton Jones Jr. came to the Red River this week feeling down. He left riding a high he couldn’t put into words.

The 24-year-old son of Bassmaster Elite Series veteran Alton Jones won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open by catching the biggest bag of the three-day event during the 12-man finale Saturday.

With a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces on Saturday, Jones finished with 35-14. Todd Murray of Prairieville, La., finished second with 32-2.

“It’s kind of like I don’t know how I got here,” said Jones. “There’s nothing to say other than, wow.”

Jones was hoping to join his father on the Elite Series next year by finishing in the Top 5 of the point standings through the Northern Opens. But, he fell one point short on the final day at New York’s Lake Champlain last Friday, then made the 27-hour drive to the Red River.

“Last week was definitely gut-wrenching,” said Jones, who admitted shedding some tears after the last angler to weigh in bumped him out of the final Elite Series qualifying spot.

With a 15th-place finish in the first Central Open this season to go with his win Saturday, Jones will have a good chance to make the Elite Series through the Central Opens when the three-tournament series concludes later this month on the Atchafalaya Basin in Morgan City, La.

Even better, Jones earned a berth in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro on Lake Conroe near Houston, Texas. The berth is contingent on him fishing the final Central Open.

His father, Alton Sr., has already qualified for the Classic through the Elite Series. Alton Sr. had to wait 26 years to fish a Classic in his home state of Texas.

“This is incredible to be going to my first Classic in my home state,” said Alton Jr., who, like his father, lives in Lorena, Texas. “Conroe is only about three hours from the house.”

Alton Sr. and his wife, Jimmy Sue, drove from Lorena to attend Saturday’s weigh-in.

“You always tend to think of your children as children,” said Alton Sr. “What I saw today was a mature young man I’m very proud of.”

Jones was in sixth place after the first day with 10-11. He caught only four keepers on Friday, but one of them was a 5-pound, 15-ounce largemouth that vaulted him into a first-place lead of 2 ounces going into the final day.

“Yesterday when I caught that big one, I felt it was just my time,” Jones said. “It just felt right. A fish like that doesn’t happen by chance after so many people had fished that area.”

Jones said the big fish came from a community hole that had a boat on it every other time he’d tried to fish it. He caught it on a Missile Baits D-Bomb in the California love color pattern with a 1/4-ounce weight.

“California love has a lot of red in it,” Jones said. “It’s just a real different color. I’m convinced that light weight was key too, because so many other people had fished there.”

Jones caught only five keepers on the first day, four the second, and then landed an estimated 20 keepers Saturday in culling up to 13-8. He used a 3/8th-ounce drop shot with a Robo Worm in the margarita mutilator color pattern to catch most of those fish Saturday.

Jones took the grand prize of a $45,000 Skeeter ZX200/Yamaha VF200LA rig and $7,595 in cash.

On Friday, Tommy Murray of Bedford, Texas, caught what would be the second-biggest bag of the tournament of 13-0, which included the Phoenix Boats Big Bass weighing 6 pounds, 2 ounces. It came on a Lucky Craft Rick Clunn 1.5 squarebill crankbait. Murray managed only 1-12 on the final day and dropped to 11th place.

Todd Murray moved up from fifth place to second on Saturday with a limit weighing 11-2. He said he caught 90 percent of his fish on a 3/8th-ounce white tandem willowleaf War Eagle spinnerbait around submerged laydowns.

Mike Pedroza of Sibley, La., finished third with 30-15, Billy McCaghren Jr. of Mayflower, Ark., was fourth with 29-7, and Darrell Lyons of Hemphill, Texas, was fifth with 28-15.

The co-angler division had its own special story. Marvin Delong of Colfax, La., took the first place prize of a Triton 179TrX/Mercury 115ELPT rig valued at $30,000. It was his first ever Bassmaster tournament.

“I’ve been a member of B.A.S.S. for a long time,” Delong said. “I decided I was just going to give it a try. It’s been an incredible experience.”

Delong said he caught all of his fish on a quarter-ounce Texas rigged plastic worm, and his bag included a solid 3-plus pound bass each day. With a three-bass co-angler limit every day, Delong finished with 20 pounds, 5 ounces. Charlie Hewitt of Prairieville, La., was second with 17-1. Quentin Cappo of Prairieville, La., was third with 15-13.

The Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award of $750 went to Tommy Murray of Bedford, Texas, with a 6-2 bass. Nathaniel “Rudy” Rudisill of Bossier City, La., weighed in a 4-13 to earn the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award on the co-angler side worth $250.

Alton Jones Jr. also received the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for finishing as the top pro on Day 2. Finishing as the Day 2 leader on the co-angler side, Marvin Delong of Colfax, La., received a Livingston Lures gift pack worth $250.

Skylar Hamilton of Dandridge, Tenn., earned the A.R.E. Top Angler Award of $500 for being the highest-finishing angler using A.R.E. products.

Alton Jones Jr. of Lorena, Texas, earned the Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $500.

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, GoPro, Huk, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Shell Rotella, Shimano, A.R.E. Truck Caps, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rapala

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.

Alton Jones Jr. of Lorena, Texas, takes the lead on Day 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open #2 held on the Red River out of  Shreveport/Bossier City, La. Jones brought 11 pounds, 5 ounces to the scales at Friday’s weigh-in for a two-day total of 22 pounds even.

                                                            Photo by Ronnie Moore/Bassmaster

SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY, La. — Alton Jones Jr. of Lorena, Texas, weighed one bass shy of a limit Friday, but his four fish included a difference-maker.

He had a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass that will make up for most shortcomings this week on the Red River, where bass fishing is extremely tough.

Jones goes into the final day of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open with a two-day total of 22 pounds. He has a 2-ounce lead over Tommy Murray of Bedford, Texas. Murray also had a difference-maker — a 6-pound, 2-ounce largemouth bass that is the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the tournament so far.

Less than 4 pounds separates the Top 12 entering Saturday.

“That’s what this tournament will come down to — someone catching a 4- or 5-pounder tomorrow,” said Billy McCaghren of Mayflower, Ark., who is in 6th place with 20-1. “When you get to fish on Saturday, you’ve got a chance to win.”

That’s especially true this week on the Red River, which has been ravaged by floods twice this year, most recently in August. Here’s how difficult it has been to catch five bass a day measuring at least 12 inches long: Only 41 of the 179 pros caught limits Friday, and only six of the Top 12 have weighed a limit both days.

But Jones, the son of Bassmaster Elite Series veteran Alton Jones, couldn’t be happier. He’s been working out some frustrations this week after missing a 2017 Elite Series invitation by one point last Friday at the final Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on Lake Champlain.

“That was an emotional, emotional deal,” Jones said of his near miss last week. “The last guy that weighed in bumped me out. I needed to finish second, and I wound up finishing third. I idled my boat into the marina and shed a few tears. It’s hard to get that close to a lifelong dream and not make it.”

Jones will have a good chance to make that dream come true no matter where he finishes Saturday. He was 15th in the first Central Open this season on the Arkansas River at Muskogee, Okla. The final Central Open is set for later this month at the Atchafalaya Basin in Morgan City, La., and Jones will be among the point leaders. The Top 5 from each of the Northern, Southern and Central Open three-tournament series receive Elite Series invitations.

Jones was originally supposed to be part of his longtime friend Chris Weatherly’s wedding tonight in Dallas, but Jones expressed his regrets when the Central Open schedule was announced.

“I talked to him on the phone last night,” Jones said. “I told him I’d catch a big one for him tomorrow. Sure enough, I caught Chris his fish today.

“It was a community hole deal. It was just my time. Probably 100 boats have fished that place over the last seven days. I hadn’t been able to get on it before. There was always a boat sitting on it.”

In addition to catching the big bass of the tournament so far, Murray’s 13 pounds Friday is the big bag of the tournament as well. Luke Estel of Murphysboro, Ill., is third with 21-9, only 7 ounces out of the lead. Luke Palmer of Coalgate, Okla., is fourth with 21-2. Rounding out the Top 5, which is separated by exactly 1 pound, is Todd Murray of Prairieville, La., with 21-0.

On the co-angler side, Marvin Delong of Colfax, La., caught a three-bass limit weighing 6 pounds to lead with a two-day total of 12-15. Charlie Hewitt of Prairieville, La., is second with 11-5. Nathaniel “Rudy” Rudisill of Bossier City, La., is third with 10-13, closely followed by Robert Parkison of Marshall, Texas, with 10-12, and Robert Fortner of Conway, Ark., with 10-4.

Saturday’s 7 a.m. CT takeoff will take place at the Red River South Marina. The weigh-in will be held at the Bass Pro Shops, 100 Bass Pro Drive, in Bossier City beginning at 4 p.m.

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, GoPro, Huk, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano, A.R.E. Truck Caps, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.

Brent Bonadona of Port Allen, La., took the lead on Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open #2 held on the Red River out of Shreveport/Bossier City, La. Bonadona brought 11 pounds, 14 ounces to the scales at Thursday’s weigh-in.

                                                           Photo by James Overstreet/Bassmaster
SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY, La. — Brent Bonadona of Port Allen, La., has been fishing the Red River for over 25 years, but he’s never seen it like this.

“I started fishing here when I was 15 years old, and I’ve never seen so many sandbars and no grass,” Bonadona said. “All you can do is chase shad.”

Bonadona did that well enough to take the Day 1 lead Thursday in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open with a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I thought it would take a little more than that to have the lead here,” he said.

Charlie Hartley of Grove City, Ohio, is second with 11-5, followed by Luke Estel of Murphysboro, Ill., with 11-2 and Todd Murray of Prairieville, La., with 11-0.

The floodwaters that have roared down the Red River twice this year, most recently in August, have presented a brand new playing field for the 178 boats of pro and co-anglers in this tournament.

“It’s a lot different,” said Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Ark., who won Bassmaster Opens here in 2013 and 2014. “The floods have really changed the whole ecosystem. This used to be the snake capital of the world. They’re gone. The turtles, alligators, crawfish — all the crazy wildlife that you think about when you think about Louisiana — it was right here. Now it’s gone. But it will come back.”

Browning is in 59th place with a limit that weighed 6-13. With a 12-inch minimum length limit, only 51 pros brought five-bass limits to the scales. Three pros had limits weighing only 6-3.

Elite Series angler Cliff Crochet of Pierre Part, La., had the Phoenix Boats big bass on the pro side of 4 pounds. Co-angler Nathaniel “Rudy” Rudisill of Bossier City, La., caught the big bass of the day — a 4-pound, 13-ounce largemouth.

Rudisill’s pro partner was Hartley, the former Elite Series angler who qualified for the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro with a Northern Open win on the James River in August.

“It was truly a team effort,” Hartley said. “I had the spot and my co-angler had the lure. He changed lures and caught that 4-13 and a 2 3/4-pounder in three casts. Normally I wouldn’t switch lures that quick, but I did then.”

Earnest Smoak of Keatchie, La., leads the co-angler division with a three-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces. Christopher Thornton of Morgan City, La., is second with 9-0, followed by Rudisill with 8-11.

The Top 28 anglers in the pro division are separated by only 3 pounds. After Friday’s weigh-in the field will be cut to the Top 12 anglers in each division, so picking up a few clues on Day 1 will be key.

“I think I figured out a few things toward the end of the day that might help me a little bit,” Bonadona said. “But they’d moved today from where they were in practice. They might move again (Friday), so I’ll just have to make adjustments.”

Friday’s 7 a.m. takeoff and 3:15 weigh-in will be held at Red River South Marina.

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, GoPro, Huk, Humminbird, Mercury

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Power-Pole, Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano, A.R.E. Truck Caps, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.