By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Jason Abram didn't believe that the recent MLF Pro Circuit event at Lake Eufaula would be won from shallow water – May tournaments at that Alabama venue rarely are. But he was determined to stay in skinny water because he'd been struggling offshore as of late and figured it'd be a way to pick up some points and a paycheck.

Also, with 14 pounds in his livewell on the final day, the veteran from Tennessee didn't think he'd caught enough to close out the win. He was happily mistaken in that department as well.

Abram gained his second career Pro Circuit triumph by compiling a 66-04 total over four days on a lake that surrendered some heavy bags, but where success was difficult to repeat from one day to the next. His numbers were up and down just like everybody else's – 20-03 on day 1, 13-05 on day 2, 18-11 on day 3 and 14-01 in the final round – but in the end he had enough to vanquish runner-up David Walker by just over 3 pounds.

"I really didn't think you could pull off a victory at Eufaula fishing shallow in May, said Abram, who caught all of his fish on a swim jig in the Chattahoochee River. "I thought the deep bite would be better than it was, but I'm glad it wasn't."

Much-Needed Turnaround

Abram, who finished a career-best 25th in the points race last year, was unable to carry his momentum over into the 2021 campaign. Prior to Eufaula, the best he'd done in three derbies was a 74th-place finish in the opener at Lake Okeechobee that netted him $5,000. His other two placements were 157th (Lewis Smith Lake) and 130th (Lake Murray).

He spent his first practice day on the lower end of the lake and managed just one keeper bite. He went up the Chattahoochee the next day and got a good bite from the first tree he fished, but didn't set the hook.

After two more similar encounters, he decided he'd try to get a look at the next fish he enticed, and it was a little over 6 pounds. "I thought, 'Okay, this is the right deal,''' he said.

He tied his "practice jig" (one without a hook) back on and got perhaps another half-dozen quality bites. He could discern that several were the right size, as he saw them come out of the trees to get the bait.

He was in 2nd place after day 1 of competition as he and leader Bobby Lane produced the only 20-pound bags. His haul was highlighted by a 6-06 hawg that took big-bass honors for the day.

He came in much lighter on day 2, but bounced back with another strong effort on the third day to remain in contention. His day-4 stringer was exceeded by only one Top-10 competitor – 6th-place finisher Mitch Crane.

"Everything just worked out for me," he said. "I went out thinking I needed 16 pounds to have a chance and if I caught 18, I thought I would win.

"My mindset that day was the same as it'd been all week – I wanted to catch three before 10 o'clock and I needed one or two of those to be good ones. The first tree I pulled up to, I caught one between 5 and 6 pounds in the first 15 minutes and I backed it up with another solid keeper. I had five before 10, so that was really good. I only made one more cull, a 2 1/2-pounder for a 14-incher, and I knew I had roughly 13 1/2 to 14 pounds. I thought I was going to be about 2 pounds short."

Pattern Notes

Abram focused on eddys along channel-swing banks in the Chattahoochee. His fish came from woody cover, which provided shade over the eddys or in some cases served as a flotsam retaining wall, giving the eddy a canopy.

He pitched his jig into the shade and gave it one or two firm pops, then allowed it to flutter a couple of feet down before restarting the popping process. The fish were sitting in 4 to 6 feet of water, usually out on the edge of the cover in position to ambush passing shad.

He had close to 20 places spread over an 18-mile stretch of river that he visited each day – some of them multiple times per day. He had high praise for his Caymas boat and Mercury motor. "I was making roughly 60 to 70 stops a day and that combo worked flawlessly all week," he said.

Winning Gear Notes

> Jig gear: 7'6" heavy-action Daiwa Tatula flipping stick, Shimano SLX casting rod (8.2:1 ratio), 20-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon line, 5/8-ounce custom-made swim jig (blue glimmer), Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver trailer (white trash).

> The jigs were made by a friend of his named Craig France.