Alton Jones spotted a bed that was only a few feet from where our camera boat was anchored. He asked us to slowly back away, which, of course, we were glad to do. Jones hooked the male first. It came off before he got it to the boat, but Jones was going to release it anyway.
A few minutes later, Jones landed the female – a 3 1/2 to 4-pounder – again on a Yum Dinger.
That fish allowed Jones to cull a 1 3/4-pounder, and should put him somewhere north of 17 pounds.
We've got a half-mile troll to get out of the eel grass, so James Overstreet and I are leaving Alton Jones, on our way back to the ramp.
Jones is clearly maximizing his time today. He's covering water, but only with a trolling motor. His last catch was particularly interesting because Overstreet and I had been watching the bed with the fish on it before Jones got there. We didn't hint of it in any way. It just proved that a sight-fisherman as good as Jones isn't going to miss much.
With at least another 90 minutes to comb this bedding flat, there's no predicting what he might add to his bag today. I wouldn't bet against him.