SR: How does it feel to be World Champ for the second time in a row?
Jones: It’s crazy, man. It’s so awesome! I really can’t describe it. It’s something that I was practicing for, ever since I won the first one. I’m just trying to take the time to let it all settle in and enjoy the experience, and just get ready for next year. I’ve already started practicing for next year’s World Goose contest. It’s really cool, though, to get all these texts and different messages from people from all over telling me congrats. That means a lot to me. It’s fun to see how many people pay attention and give support to me and to contest calling. But now it’s just a matter of keeping my head down, staying humble and getting ready to win next year.
SR: Which title was more special, ‘18 or ‘19?
Jones: That’s tough. They’re both really special to me in different ways. I think 2018 was really cool because it was my first time winning the World Open, but 2019 was like that ‘Yeah, last year wasn’t a mistake’ moment and that was awesome just to prove that. It’s really hard to choose. Part of me goes back and forth between the two just because they’re so unique, but I think if I really had to choose, I’d go with this year, just because it was something I had worked really hard for, not that I didn’t work hard for 2018, but I wanted to repeat, just to prove I could do it, and I really was world champion. So yeah, I think I’ve gotta go with 2019.
SR: Did you have a pretty good idea that you were in the lead? Or did winning come as a surprise?
Jones: Well, if I’m being completely honest, in the first round I made a big mistake. I walked off stage like ‘Dammit! I guess now I just have to start practicing for next year’s because I thought that I was screwed. I didn’t think there was any way I could come back and win. Because usually when you start off with a bad round or you make a mistake, it’s impossible to come back. Especially when you’re going up against the best callers in the world. But none of the judges caught it, or I guess they didn’t think it was that bad. Because they came out and made cuts and I made it into the second round, and then the final round. Then when they were announcing the winners and I was in the top 5 I was kinda shocked. I was really frustrated, actually. Because I made that mistake early on, and then my last round was perfect. It sounded so good! My fiance had video of each routine and I just watched each one over and over and over. It’s like watching game film, it helps me out, so I know what to do better, and where to make adjustments in my routine. In my mind, I was just like ‘if I could have just blown 3 routines like that last one I’d be in the lead’. So when all of a sudden they announce my name as the winner I was shocked. And then I saw the scorecards and saw that I had the lead all the way through the contest I was kinda like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I did that well’. So yeah it definitely came as a surprise. Not only because I made that mistake, but just because when you’re competing against guys who are that good, you never go in like ‘oh yeah, I’m definitely winning this one’. It’s anyone’s game, and anyone could win it. It’s just a matter of what the judges wanted to hear, or didn’t want to hear.
SR: What did you do to celebrate?
Jones: So there’s kind of a funny tradition out in Easton for the World Goose calling contest. After each round, we go out to Applebee’s. A lot of guys are like “What? Applebee’s? Isn’t that like the most generic chain restaurant out there?” but we go there, the owners know we’re coming, and we just shut the place down. We all have a good time and enjoy some beers, some shots, and just have a good time. That’s one of the cool things about contest calling is it’s a very close-knit community. We’re all good buddies and we want to have a good time with each other. But once we step on stage it’s ‘go time’, and we want to make sure we win, but once the contest’s done we all go out and celebrate and have a good time. It was fun to have my fiancee with me too. She’s always been really supportive of me and it was fun to have her there. She comes with me to all the contests she can and that’s really fun. But to celebrate I just had a few beers and some shots with my buddies, and had a good time with some of the guys and then went home. It was a really fun time to just be out there and enjoy it all.
SR: Which year was harder to win, ‘18 or ‘19?
Jones: Oh man, that’s a good question. It’s really hard to say. There’s so much good competition and there’s so much that you have to do to win it that it’s hard to choose. There were certain parts from this year that made it harder to win, and there were things from last year that made it harder to win. Last year was hard to win just because I hadn’t won the Open before, but this year was hard because there was more pressure to win and prove that last year wasn’t just luck. There were people that said that last year was luck and that if certain things hadn’t happened I shouldn’t have won, so it was really fun to win this year just to prove that winning wasn’t a mistake or that I didn’t just get lucky. This year there was a lot of stress because I was thinking I was having to try to come from behind, but I think that also helped me out in a lot of ways because it gave me more drive to really push even harder for a good routine. It was tough drawing #1 in the final round this year, because it was like ‘alright, this has to be perfect or I won’t win it’. There’s just a ton of different things that play into each year I guess. I think 2019 was the hardest to win, but I might change my mind, who knows.
SR: What’s the first thing you’re going to buy with the prize money?
Jones: Well last year’s money went to an engagement ring (laughs) I don’t know. Luckily my fiancee hunts and she wants to come with me on the hunts I go on, so now whenever I’m buying shells or licenses, I’m buying for two people instead of just me. So, I’ll probably just save it and use it to pay for licenses and hunting trips.
SR: What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made on stage?
Jones: Oh man, I’m not really proud of this but I was young, and I was in a contest and I walked out on stage and I didn’t get halfway through my routine. I just messed everything up. It sounded like crap. And I was like ‘I’m done with this, I won’t win anyway’, so I just walked off stage like, maybe a quarter way through my routine. And I get back to my seat and I feel this arm just grab me and Tim Grounds turns me around and says “Don’t you ever do that again, do you understand me?” and I’m just like ‘Oh shit! I’m gonna get my ass whooped by this guy with a big beard’. I was terrified, but it made me realize like, ‘Oh man, I just embarrassed myself, and everyone around me’. And it showed me just how passionate Tim was about contest calling. He went out of his way to make sure that I never did that again. So now if I ever see a kid do that or do something that isn’t right, I make a point to pull them aside and let them know not to do it again. Because that’s how contest calling goes. You’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to screw up, but the point is, is to stay up there and get better each time you get on stage.
SR: You’re one of, if not the biggest advocates for contest calling in the game right now- why do you think it’s so important to get people involved in contest calling?
Jones: There’s a ton of different reasons. There’s such a cool history that comes with contest calling. I mean, just going to Easton, Maryland and seeing all the history of waterfowl hunting there is unbelievable and just being there and getting to know all of the people that are involved is something that’s really special to me. I was always kind of a nerd, I loved to hunt and I loved to blow duck and goose calls growing up, so when I was able to compete with it, I just became really passionate about it. It also is a great way to build friendships. You get to meet new people from all over the world. This last year there was a guy who came all the way from New Zealand and he was just standing in the corner and we were like, “Hey! Come hang out with us!” As I said, we’re all friends. We’re all buddies, we sometimes even hunt together, it’s just once we get on stage we’re focused on winning. But contest calling as a whole is a great way to make connections and get into the waterfowling world. And it really does help you become a better hunter. It’s always fun to be out in the blind with guys who know the basic cluck, honk, double-cluck, and then just light it up and everyone looks at you like ‘holy shit, that guy can blow a call!’ Not to mention that it really extends your waterfowl vocabulary. You can take the stuff you learn on stage and put it to use in the field. Maybe you’re hunting birds that have heard every single cluck and every honk from Canada to Texas, but then you start doing a note you use on stage and the birds haven’t heard it before, and that makes them want to commit. It just helps to have more sounds in your bag to pull from to be able to kill more birds. And when it comes to contest calling, it’s about enjoying it. I don’t want to sound like a dick or anything, but when you start out, you’re gonna lose, and that’s ok. We all did. We all started out losing and getting advice and pointers, and then we started to get better and finally, we started to win. So if you decide to get in to contest calling, don’t get discouraged if you lose a bunch. If you work at it and stick with it, the wins will come. Just don’t be afraid to ask for help and take advice. Because it’s really fun, and I want to see more people get into it. I mean there are contests that have $3,000 as prize money and only 5 people compete in it. We need to get more people involved. Because the more competition there is, the more fun it becomes. There are tons of fun contests all over the country to go start at, you don’t have to start at one of the big ones.
SR: Has working for Power Calls and working with Kelley Powers helped you become a better contest caller?
Jones: If it wasn’t for Kelley Powers I wouldn’t be a world champion. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. He is such an amazing mentor when it comes to contest calling. I mean all of his tips about even your warm-up. He taught me about grabbing the judge’s attention during the warm-up. Because you don’t want to get their attention halfway through the routine, you want to get it as soon as you step on stage. It’s just the small stuff that he thinks of and pays attention to that made him successful as a contest caller, and it’s made me successful. He’s just a great guy. He wants to help out and he wants to do whatever he can to make sure people are taken care of. He’s that type of way with his business, with his family, his faith. He’s just an amazing guy. He’s played a huge role in my life. I mean I hunt with him pretty much every weekend, and he always takes time to teach me things and help me out. And working at Power Calls has given me the chance to really get to know the little details of blowing a goose call. It’s really just been a huge blessing in my life to bet to know Kelley and his family and work with him and everyone at Power Calls and Higdon.
SR: Do you have any pre-contest or pre-routine habits or superstitions?
Jones: I don’t know if I’d call them superstitions. I know a lot of guys when they walk on stage you’ll see them look down at their call to make sure their reed is facing straight up or straight down. I look down at mine each time to make sure my reed is straight up. That’s just a habit that I got into. I think my only real habit is before each contest I call my dad and he tells me “Go do your thing” and people might be like ‘what does that mean?’ for me, when my dad tells me to go do my thing, it’s his way of saying ‘Go get on stage and give it everything you’ve got. Go try to blow a perfect routine, cuz I know you can’ It’s just that reassurance of talking to my dad that’s always been something I’ve needed before contests. He just really pumps me up and gets me ready to get on stage and compete.
SR: If you could compete against any contest caller, past or present, who would it be?
Jones: Either Hunter Grounds or Robbie Iverson. I mean, those two are the best to ever do it. Hunter Grounds just because of who he is and what he’s done, and Robbie because he’s the best goose caller on the planet. Me and Robbie actually have a really good relationship. I was a total nerd growing up (laughs) I would get home from school, call Robbie, and we would each take turns blowing a goose call and telling each other what we needed to work on. He’s always been a really good friend to me and he really helped me out on the goose call. I think it was at Roger’s or Presley’s or one of the big contests that we both were at and he just crushed everyone and I was like ‘man, I need to get better!’ and that was kind of a turning point for me where I really started to put more effort into winning the bigger contests. I watched Robbie win all of these contests and realized I needed to start getting better if I wanted to compete and do what he was doing. But I would love a chance to just compete against those two. They’ve won so much and they’re just so good, I would really like a chance to compete against those guys.
SR: What contest are you hoping to win next?
Jones: Next year’s World Goose. I mean, in all honesty, I started practicing for it the day after I won this year. And next year with the Champion of Champions, it’s just a year that I really am excited for. I’m putting a lot of practice and effort into winning it next year. It would be something really special for me to go 3 in a row. There’s a bunch of smaller side contests that are fun and the big ones like Roger’s and Presley’s are always fun to go to and compete in, but the one I’m really gunning for is World Goose next year. I’m putting a lot of effort into it, I’ll practice more this year and do everything I can to put myself in the best position possible to win. If I do, that would be a huge goal of mine accomplished, and if I don’t it’s like Kelley always tells me “You have to control what you can control. Do the right thing day in and out to put yourself in the best position possible, but in the end, you can only control what you can control.”
