Bass Tournament News

B.A.S.S. News

B.A.S.S. Reporter’s Notebook: Jones pulls ahead in Elite points race; DeFoe leads Elite rookies with JVD 3rd now; The stories of 10-plus-pounders; On to Lake Norman; and … Quotables

Bass pro Alton Jones leads the 2011 Elite Series point race after the 1st two Florida events.   Photo Credit: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Jones pulls ahead in Elite points race: Alton Jones is one step closer to winning the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title — and so are Terry Scroggins, Kevin VanDam, Edwin Evers and several other Bassmaster Elite Series pros.

All had strong finishes in both of the Elite Series season’s first two events.

But it’s Jones who is leading the pack. The AOY title, worth $100,000 and considered a top career achievement, will be awarded to the pro who accumulates the highest number of points by the end of the eight-event regular season. The points race also counts toward qualification for the 2011 postseason, the 2012 Elite Series season and the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.

Jones finished third in the March 17-20 Power-Pole Citrus Slam. That good showing came on top of his eighth-place finish the week before in the Sunshine Showdown. He now has 573 points, 18 more than Scroggins.

“I wanted to win this tournament, but more importantly, I wanted points toward the Classic and points toward the Angler of the Year race. I feel really good about my position on those,” Jones said.

For taking the lead, Jones of Waco, Texas, won a $1,000 bonus from B.A.S.S. He said that winning the AOY race is his primary goal this season.

“For all of us out here, it’s winning the Classic and AOY,” Jones said. “I’ve achieved one — I’d like to do that again, too — but AOY has eluded me. It’s something I want to accomplish very badly.”

The 2008 Classic champ, Jones was third in the 2009 AOY race, and fifth in 2008.

Scroggins, with 555 points, would be a lot closer to Jones if Jones has not raked in 15 bonus points, five each for leading three days at the St. Johns event. But like Jones, Scroggins had two very strong tournaments: second place in the Power-Pole Citrus Slam preceded by 10th place in the Sunshine Showdown.

Kevin VanDam, the reigning Angler of the Year, moved up in AOY standings from 10th to third with 542 points, 31 ticks behind Jones. An AOY title in 2011 would be VanDam’s fourth consecutive AOY achievement and seventh overall.

Evers collected 305 AOY points for his come-from-behind win last Sunday. Much like his climb up the leaderboard from 20th place to win that event, Evers jumped in AOY standings from 22nd to fourth.

Knoxville Tennessee angler Ott Defoe leads the 2011 Elite rookies race after the 1st two Florida events.   Photo Credit: B.A.S.S./Sam Root

DeFoe leads Elite rookies: Ott DeFoe, 25, of Knoxville, Tenn., is the top rookie after the first two events of the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series.

Last Sunday, DeFoe advanced from third place to lead the season’s 15 rookies with 454 points. His 28th-place finish at the Power-Pole Citrus Slam, combined with his 20th-place finish the week before, put him in the lead.

Second among the rookies is Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas, with 415 points. Jonathon VanDam, 22, the rookie leader after the first event of the season, now is third with 409 points.

Within the full field of 99 Elite Series pros, DeFoe is 19th; Combs is 25th; and VanDam is 29th. At the moment, their positions make them the most likely rookies to earn a 2012 Bassmaster Classic berth and a spot in the postseason. After eight regular-season events, the Top 8 pros of the entire field will advance to the postseason; the Top 28 in points will earn Classic berths.

The stories of 10-plus-pounders: Florida fisheries produced two fine examples of 10-pound-class bass during the first two Bassmaster Elite Series events of the season.

Elite angler Jason Williamson with two big Florida largemouth bass from the 2011 St. Johns River Power-Pole Citrus Slam event.   Photo Credit: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Jason Williamson boated a 10-pound, 3-ounce St. Johns River bass on the first day of the March 17-20 Power-Pole Citrus Slam. The Aiken, S.C., pro gives all the details in the latest edition of Lunker Lessons at Bassmaster.com. He won the event’s $500 Berkley Big Bass of the Tournament bonus for bringing in the behemoth.

On the water, before he knew the bass’ weight, Williamson was overheard telling another angler, “I’ve got one over 10 pounds. If it ain’t, it’s close. Biggest one I’ve ever caught here.”

He found the big girl on a spawning bed carved out of eelgrass in about 2 feet of water. He got the bass to react to his presentation of a Texas rigged Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw in junebug red.

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