Tennessee’s Abram Extends Lead at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Martin
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ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (March 20, 2020) – It was more of the same Friday on Day Three of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Martin in Alexander City, Alabama – everyone caught a limit of bass and tournament leader pro Jason Abram of Piney Flats, Tennessee, continued to hold on to his top spot. Abram weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces to maintain his lead heading into Championship Saturday in the tournament which features 150 bass-fishing professionals from around the world competing for a top prize of up to $135,000.
The field is now trimmed to the final 10 pros for Saturday, and Abram (15 bass, 41-6) will start with a 2½-pound advantage over second-place pro Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan, (15 bass, 38-14) the 2019 FLW Rookie of the Year and current Angler of the Year leader. Also in contention for the win in third place is Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pennsylvania, (15 bass, 38-2). All three are seeking their first career FLW pro-level victory.
“This is a dream come true,” said Abram about leading the event heading into the final day of competition. “I set out however many years ago with the goal to win one of these, and I’ve finally got a really good shot at this one. I feel a little nervous – almost like pre-game jitters. Tomorrow is going to be a really fun day.”
Abram brought a five-bass limit to the scale consisting of two spotted bass and three largemouth bass Friday.
“I’m starting off every morning throwing a Skinny Dipper and just covering water, trying to catch five spotted bass,” Abram said. “Yesterday I got lucky and caught a big one, and today I had another one hooked up but it pulled off on me.
“I’m just waiting on the sun and heat to come up, then I’m chasing largemouth in the very backs of creeks with a Flirt Worm,” Abram continued. “I’m catching tons of spots but only getting around 5 or 6 largemouth bites each day.”
Abram said that he is 100-percent committed to his pattern and plans to roll with it all the way through the final day of competition.
“I’m not around big-enough spotted bass to win this thing, so my game plan is not going to change tomorrow,” Abram went on to say. “I’m going to throw the Skinny Dipper early, then once it warms up I’ll switch to the Flirt Worm and try to put some big ones in the boat. I think 12½ to 14 pounds is the mark – if I can catch that, I think I can put this one away.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Saturday on Lake Martin are:
1st: Jason Abram of Piney Flats, Tenn., 15 bass, 41-6
2nd: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 38-14
3rd: Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 38-2
4th: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 37-10
5th: Derrick Snavely of Piney Flats, Tenn., 15 bass, 37-2
6th: Jordan Osborne of Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 37-2
7th: Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., 15 bass, 36-15
8th: Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., 15 bass, 36-13
9th: Laramy Strickland of Bushnell, Fla., 15 bass, 36-9
10th: Kerry Milner of Bono, Ark., 15 bass, 36-5
Finishing in 11th through 30th are:
11th: Casey Scanlon of Lake Ozark, Mo., 15 bass, 36-4, $11,000
12th: Kyle Hall of Granbury, Texas, 15 bass, 36-1, $11,000
13th: Barron Adams of Mineral Bluff, Ga., 15 bass, 35-14, $11,500
14th: Jacob Wall of New Hope, Ala., 15 bass, 35-13, $11,000
15th: Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Ark., 15 bass, 35-1, $11,000
16th: Brandon Mosley of Choctaw, Okla., 15 bass, 34-15, $11,000
17th: Tom Redington of Royse City, Texas, 15 bass, 34-14, $11,000
18th: Kevin Martin of Crown City, Ohio, 15 bass, 34-12, $11,500
19th: Randy Allen of Gilliam, La., 15 bass, 34-11, $11,000
20th: Andy Young of Isle, Minn., 15 bass, 34-9, $11,000
21st: Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., 15 bass, 34-7, $10,500
22nd: Jim Moynagh of Shakopee, Minn., 15 bass, 34-3, $10,500
23rd: Cole Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, 15 bass, 34-2, $10,500
24th: Clayton Batts of Butler, Ga., 15 bass, 33-11, $10,500
25th: Wade Strelic of Alpine, Calif., 15 bass, 33-8, $10,500
26th: Jared McMillan of Belle Glade, Fla., 15 bass, 33-3, $10,500
27th: Jason Vance of Battle Ground, Ind., 15 bass, 32-11, $10,500
28th: Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pa., 15 bass, 32-7, $10,500
29th: Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Wis., 15 bass, 32-6, $10,500
30th: Scott Ashmore of Broken Arrow, Okla., 15 bass, 31-11, $10,500
Full results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 150 bass weighing 314 pounds, 11 ounces, caught by pros Friday. Of the final 30 pros, all 30 of them were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Martin is hosted by the Alexander City Chamber.
The final 10 anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CST Saturday from Wind Creek State Park, located at 4325 Alabama Highway 128, in Alexander City. Saturday’s championship weigh-in will be held at the State Park beginning at 3 p.m.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 150 anglers competed in the two-day opening round Wednesday and Thursday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Friday. Now, only the top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 FLW TITLE, the Pro Circuit Championship. The 2020 FLW TITLE will be on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, Aug. 8-13 and is hosted by the Town of Massena.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Martin will premiere in 2020. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will have 156 two-hour airings on network television, including 26 consecutive weeks of Friday night primetime airing on Outdoor Channel and 130 airings on Sportsman Channel for a total of 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit programming.
The FLW Live on-the-water broadcast will air Saturday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran is joined by Toyota Series pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.