Bass Edge News

Alton Jones, Ardent take Classic win

Bass Edge sponsor Ardent came home from the 2008 Bassmaster Classic with smiles on their faces and a new set of bragging rights.

Alton Jones, a B.A.S.S. Elite Series pro angler from Waco, Texas, used Ardent's XS1000 baitcasting reel to win bass fishing’s biggest tournament at Lake Hartwell, near Greenville, S.C.

Ardent, a new American-owned company located in Macon, Mo., produces the only brand of casting and spinning reels made in the U.S.A. and sold in the U.S.A.

"Alton could have had his pick of any brand of reel in the world, but he chose Ardent," said Michael J. Brooks, President and C.E.O. of Ardent. "Alton Jones is one of the many professional and amateur tournament anglers who have switched to Ardent, after once using foreign reels, because of Ardent's unparalleled high performance and industry best warranty," Brooks noted.

Jones says he has been using the XS1000 exclusively for two years because it casts farther than any other reel on the market.
"I used that extra casting distance to win the Classic,” Jones said. “I have used every brand of reel available, and the performance of Ardent is simply the best."

Alton Jones relied on Ardent's XS1000 to turn his three-day Lake Hartwell performance into a stunning victory with a total of 49-pounds, 7-ounces of bass, more than five pounds over the runner-up's total.

When Alton Jones won the 2008 Bassmaster Classic with an Ardent reel, it proved that a U.S. manufacturer can go toe-to-toe with foreign manufacturers and win. The stage doesn't get any bigger, nor does the spotlight get any brighter than that of the Classic.

Jones’ Classic win is an important victory for U.S. manufacturing as it is for professional sports. "Purchase an Ardent reel and you'll not only improve your own fishing performance, you'll also be supporting the U.S. economy by creating manufacturing jobs right here in the U.S.A.," said Michael J. Brooks.

The Ardent XS1000 reel and Ardent's No. 1 rated synthetic lubricants, Ardent Reel Butter Oil and Grease, are available through a rapidly growing network of authorized dealers in the United States and Canada.