GREENVILLE, S.C. | Blocked from a spot that served him well the day before, Alton Jones found enough new places on Lake Hartwell on Saturday to post the day's second-best bag of bass and move into first place in the 38th annual Bassmaster Classic.

Jones, from Waco, Texas, weighed in at 18 pounds, 11 ounces for a two-day total of 36 pounds even. He holds a 19-ounce lead over Charlie Hartley of Grove City, Ohio, going into Sunday's final with the top angler taking home $500,000 from a purse of $1.2 million.

Jones stands with within striking distance of the Classic's record catch of 56 pounds, 2 ounces set in 2006.

"It's exciting just to be able to go out and be in contention for the Classic," said Jones, who jumped from 10th place. "It'll be the first time in my career, my eleventh Classic, and you know what they say, that the eleventh time is the charm."

Jones' success Saturday started when he found a fellow competitor in a spot where Jones had done well Friday.

"It was probably a blessing that he was on it because it forced me to fish elsewhere for larger fish that don't come as quickly," Jones said. "I've got three or four more places for tomorrow that I haven't been to yet, so I'm hoping there are still a few fish left."

Hartley held the Friday lead at 21-1 but managed only 13-12 Saturday. Part of the drop might be blamed on a boatful of young women from a local Hooters restaurant.

"It's pretty unbelievable to have 20 boats watch you fish and one of them full of Hooters girls," said Hartley, who is competing in his first Classic. "I don't think anyone could not be distracted by that, but I lost focus. I never looked back at them and I understand they were cute, but I could hear them - about every 10 casts it was "Go Charlie" or 'We love you, Charlie.' "

The day's best bag came from Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., at 18 pounds, 12 ounces, which vaulted him to 5th place from 23rd.

"I caught them deep, and I didn't even fish that way" Friday, said Kriet, a five-time participant. "I should have run that way yesterday. It's my best stuff. But these fish are the most finicky I've ever seen - you just can't tell what's going to happen. They bite one kind of bait one minute and something else the next, real mixed up."

Rounding out the top five are Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., in third and two-time Classic champion Kevin VanDam from Kalamazoo, Mich., in fourth. Like most of the field's 50 anglers, both men dropped from their Friday weights, Pace going from 18-10 to 14-11 and VanDam from 20-3 to 11-14.