Justin Atkins Wins Logan Martin Bassmaster Central Open
In the last year, Atkins has developed a penchant for turning some of the most difficult fishing conditions - August and early September in the south - into very profitable outings. He won the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray in the dead of August, then a few weeks later won a two-day BFL at Ross Barnett Reservoir in his native Mississippi. Last month, he nearly won a second straight Cup, overcoming stingy conditions to finish 3rd at Lake Ouachita. "In August and September, it gets hot and if I can get on a deal offshore, I feel confident," he said. "I just went to fish offshore and that's what I did." The end result was a current-reliant pattern that he refined each day and rode to a three-day total of 38-03, enough to edge reigning FLW Tour Angler of the Year Mark Rose by less than a pound for the victory.
"I literally am never at a loss for words, but I had nothing to say to [tournament director] Chris (Bowes)," Atkins said. "I was literally shocked. That was as clueless as I've ever been that I was about to win a tournament. I was just proud to be there fishing Saturday." The victory means Atkins will be among the field for the Open Championship, set for Oct. 18-20 at Table Rock Lake, where the winner will clinch a berth in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic while others vie for six additional Classic berths as well as invitations to the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series. Here's a recap of how Atkins solved the Logan Martin puzzle.
Practice:
Even through practice, Atkins admitted he wasn't totally invested mentally in the tournament. "By the last day, I was going through the motions," he said. "I found some schools out deep on day 1, but they were little." On the second day, he checked some brush, but came up empty. That left docks as an option and that's not among his preferred ways to fish.
"I'm not a dock flipper," Atkins said. "But I pulled into a spot and put my poles down and tried to skip a buzzbait that Scott Canterbury gave me for 30 minutes. I was trying to get my confidence going, but I got so pissed." On his final day of practice, he ran up the Coosa River toward the Neely Henry Dam and found a few fish up ultra shallow with a frog. "They were so shallow they'd stir up mud, but I found just enough to rig up a frog and a toad," he said.
Competition:
To start the tournament, Atkins started out deep, but he wanted to check a theory he had based on an experience he had in a tournament at Logan Martin a couple years ago. "I fished an Alabama Bass Trail tournament there a couple years ago and I had shallow schools found, but in the tournament the fish were bigger than what I'd found the day before," he said. "On the first morning of the Open, I had a feeling that maybe it was a morning deal and then the big ones pull off and the little ones just stay there." His theory wasn't a hairbrained one as he caught a 3-pounder early before moving into the river to fish pockets.
"That was a good start," he said. "Those 7-pound holes turned into 10-pound holes and I was feeling much better about the whole thing." On his way into the first pocket up river, he noticed the current was moving around some stumps and as he came out, he noticed a rock row on his electronics. It set up just like Pickwick Lake, his current home lake. "When the water moves like that at home, there typically are several similar spot where we catch 'em," he said. "I saw them loaded there and caught them darn near every cast. He culled his way up to 11-11, but had a clue of how he could attack the next day or two.
"If I could find four or five more places to catch two off of, I could have a good day," he said. That night, he studied his Lakemaster chip and identified 10 more places that had the potential to set up in a similar fashion when the current was moving. He started the second day with a limit for roughly 12 pounds on the lower end, dragging a shaky head around shallow bars. "The better fish were out on those shallow bars early, then they shrink," he said. "I still don't know why."
He headed up the river and started graphing the places he'd found the night before. The spots were loaded with 2 1/2-pounders, but sensing that he could save those places for the final day, he opted to sample a few places, but didn't lean on much. His key presentation on those areas was a smallish ribbed paddletail swimbait on a 3/8-oz. head. "The key was keeping a tight line," he said. "It wasn't about reeling, but just keeping a tight line and keeping it just off the rocks. When it got to the same spot every time, it was like, 'thunk!' I paid attention to where I casted every time, too. If I threw to a certain tree and counted down to 10 I got bit so I did the same cast. If I threw too far right or left or let it sink too much, I wouldn't get a bite." Having dialed in two patterns entering the final day, Atkins still didn't think he was on winning quality. "I had refined the pattern each day and by Saturday, I felt like I'd catch 'em and there was a chance (day-2 leader) Rose has a mediocre day, but there were so many guys who are so good on that lake fishing current up the river," he said. "The best dock fisherman on the lake was in the top 12. The best brush guy on the lake was in the top 12 and Canterbury was in there and he's good at everything. I was in there, too, and felt like I'd catch them, but the stars had to line up just right." Did they ever.
He knew where to be and what to look for right away to capitalize on the morning bite, but each day he had to graph around to find the group of fish he wanted to target. He also knew the current was going to start flowing around 10 a.m., so he had to make the most of the first few hours. On the final day, he assembled another double-digit limit on the shaky head and then headed up river. "I made several passes, but there was one key pass where I went back to where I started," he said. "I caught a 3 and two 2 3/4s on three straight casts. That left me with one left to cull. "I made my rotation again and got set up and caught a 2 1/2 to cull a 2. Every spot had a good one or two on it. I just needed to rotate through them."
He said the scenario was downright identical to what he sees at Pickwick. "I'd graph off the rocks and they'd be knotted up right where the current break was," he said. "You had to cast right or you wouldn't get a bite. That's a fun style of fishing. It comes from current fishing at Pickwick. There are rock rows or rock piles and when you get it right, they're not hard to catch. You just have to get your bait down to them. Those fish in current don't have run 15 feet to the right or left to get your bait because those shad are coming to them." He said he didn't allow himself to even consider the possibility that he'd rally from 8th to win until he was running back to the ramp Saturday afternoon. "Even when I caught that last big one, I culled and went back to catching them," he said. "Running in, I had a feeling I might've won. I'd fished clean and had the bites and caught the weight I was looking for. I had a good feeling about it, but until they called Rose's weight it wasn't over. Until then you don't want to get jacked up and then shot down. It was a cool win."
Winning Pattern:
His go-to presentation in the morning was a black 6.25-inch Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper rigged on a 1/4-oz. shaky head jig. "I'd throw it out there and you could feel the rock," he said "That's an area of the lake that has 10 schools of fish at any given time, but they get on 30 places. They're always somewhere different. When I'd find them, I'd drag that shaky head over the gravel or rock on bottom. It was always different. I'd let it sit there and eventually they'd come get it. Sometimes it would sit for 10 seconds. I caught a bunch doing that."
Of the 15 bass he weighed in, just one was a largemouth, which was caught the morning of day 3. "Each morning, my biggest fish would be a spot until the last day," he said.
Winning Gear:
Shaky-head gear: 7' medium-action Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier spinning rod, Abu Garcia Revo Premier 30 spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Fireline Ultra 8 superline (crystal), 10-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line (leader), 1/4-oz. Buckeye Lures Spot Remover jighead, 6.25" Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper (black).
Swimbait gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier casting rod, Abu Garcia Revo MGXtreme casting reel (8:1 ratio), 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, unnamed 3/8-oz. swimbait head, 3.8" Berkley PowerBait Power Swimmer (electric shad, pro blue red pearl).
Main factor in his success - "Being open-minded and getting a good start on day 1. I rode around and paid attention to the current and went looking for them. It was just a familiarity to how the conditions were setting up. I knew smallmouth and largemouth at Pickwick love to get out there so why wouldn't spots. It was only 15 feet deep so I got out in the middle and looked on those rocks."
Performance edge - "My Lakemaster chip. Being a hydrographic surveyor helps me understand contour lines and knowing that's a disturbed bottom with rock out there."
BASSMASTER Central Open Logan Martin Winning Pattern BassFan 9/12/18 (Todd Ceisner)
