OXFORD, Ala. (Major League Fishing) — Alabama’s Weiss Lake served up another day of shallow-water fireworks Sunday as Team Knighten Industries – Alton Jones Jr. and Jake Lawrence – dominated from start to finish to win Knockout Match 2 and advance to the Championship Round at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
Fishing a classic fall pattern on the 30,000-acre Coosa River impoundment, Jones and Lawrence relied on steady, power-fishing instincts and a simple approach – crank the rocks, wind the docks, and never stop moving. The duo stacked up 20 scorable bass for 37 pounds, 2 ounces throughout the day by targeting the riprap causeways surrounding Weiss’ bridges, then capped their victory with a late-day flurry on docks in the backs of creeks.
More dramatic was the fight for the final spot in Monday’s Championship Round. Bradley Roy and Greg Vinson of Team Fishing Clash held off a late rally from Edwin Evers and Jesse Wiggins of Team 7Brew Coffee to finish second and stay alive, their 17-3 total edging Evers and Wiggins by 2-5.
While the fishery remains a mystery, the field of four teams is now set for the winner-take-all Championship Round. Watch all the action on the RFD-TV Now Livestream!
Jones and Lawrence prove they can catch ’em shallow, too.
Whereas Lawrence and Jones showed off their prowess with forward-facing sonar during the Elimination Round on Lake Wedowee by targeting roaming offshore bass, they pulled a 180 on Sunday by sticking to visible shallow cover. The pair’s plan to “pick the low-hanging fruit” – the obvious causeways that many anglers passed by – paid off in a big way. The move produced multiple scorable bass early and allowed them to fish comfortably from the top of SCORETRACKER® all afternoon.
“I think the big thing today was getting in the right zone,” Jones said. “We fished a lot of stuff that looked the same, but most of it wasn’t any good. Once we got into the right stretch, we made quick decisions and didn’t hunker down. We just kept winding.”
Jones caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day, a 4-5 largemouth. He emphasized that a key was fishing fast.
“We caught them several different ways, but the one thing all our fish had in common was winding,” he said. “We covered a lot of water. Most of our fish came on a small, shad-pattern Rapala DT-4 or DT-6 squarebill, but we also picked up a few late on a white Z-Man ChatterBait with a Geecrack Bellows Shad around docks. If it had rock, we were cranking it. If it had a dock, we were skipping it.”
Lawrence agreed, adding that adaptability was vital.
“Covering water was our absolute key to success today,” he explained. “We kept an open mind, didn’t get stuck in a rut, and when the bite slowed down, we adjusted. We made good decisions, got back on track, and stayed ahead of the cut line.”
The win gives Jones a shot at his second Fishing Clash Team Series trophy of the year after previously claiming victory at the Challenge Cup alongside his father, Alton Jones Sr., in Michigan earlier this fall.
“It’s been a lot of fun this week,” Lawrence said. “Obviously, we have no idea where we’re going tomorrow for the Championship Round, but I feel really good about our chances. Alton and I fish so well together, and we complement each other’s styles perfectly.”
