Avena Loads Up Early To Grab Lead In Group B

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Photo: MLF/Cobi Pellerino

Adrian Avena will teak a 13-ounce advantage into Group B's second day of the Qualifying Round at the Mississippi River.

By MLF Communications Staff

Adrian Avena brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 15-12 to grab the early lead in Group B after its initial Qualifying Round at the MLF TITLE Championship on the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis. Avena caught the bulk of his fish early in the day, then culled in the afternoon. He’ll take a 13-ounce advantage over 2nd-place angler Jared McMillan, whose sack registered 14-15.

Rounding out the Top 3 was Mitch Crane, who boxed 14-09. Four more pros topped the 13-pound mark, putting themselves in good position to make the top-10 cut in their group and move on to the Knockout Round.

The 25 anglers in Group B will now have a day off on Thursday, while the 25 anglers in Group A will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. Group B will conclude its Qualifying Round on Friday.

The six-day event showcases the Top 48 pros in the 2021 Pro Circuit standings, along with last year’s reigning TITLE champion and reigning Angler of the Year – all competing for a purse of nearly $900,000 and a grand prize of up to $235,000.

“Today was a really fun day of fishing and I was able to catch some quality fish,” said Avena. “I got in an area that had some bass in it and just caught a lot of them.”

The New Jersey pro boated 25 to 30 fish over the course of the day – even more impressive following the morning fog delay, which curtailed the start of the competition day by a little over an hour.

“I rolled into this area and had three bites at the end of practice that were all better than average – I call anything over 2 1/2 pounds better than average on this system,” said Avena. “I started in that area today and there were still a lot of bass there. Now we wait and see whether I’ll be able to fish that same area come Friday.”

Although he’s a river-savvy angler and has fished the "Mighty Miss" many times, Avena said he was far from comfortable out on the water on Wednesday.

“This river changes so much, between the current, the sand drops and the water level. I’ve never fished it when the system was this low, so it looks like a totally different river to me,” continued Avena. “I’ve always been that guy that likes to get off the map a little bit – and you can do that here – but you also don’t want to overlook the obvious.”

Avena said his goal going into Group B’s second day of fishing is to win the Qualifying Round and advance straight to the Championship Round on Sunday.

“I feel like the area I have can only get better with rest, so I think if I can go out there and catch a really good bag and possibly win the round and punch my ticket into the Championship Round, that’s what I want to do,” said Avena.

The winner of each group will advance directly to the Championship Round on Sunday, while pros who finish in 2nd to 10th place in each group will again battle it out with zeroed weights in the Knockout Round on Saturday. On the final day of the event, weights will again be zeroed and the Top 8 pros from the Knockout Round, plus the two Qualifying Round winners, will compete. The winner will be determined by the heaviest five-bass limit of the final round.

Anglers take off at 7 a.m. CT each day from Veterans Freedom Park, located at 1 Clinton Street in La Crosse. Weigh-ins are also held at the park daily at 3 p.m.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the MLF NOW! live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 1

1. Adrian Avena -- 15-12 (5)

2. Jared McMillan -- 14-15 (5)

3. Mitch Crane -- 14-09 (5)

4. Jimmy Reese -- 13-07 (5)

5. Lawson Hibdon -- 13-03 (5)

6. Bobby Lane -- 13-00 (5)

6. Matthew Stefan -- 13-00 (5)

8. Jeremy Lawyer -- 12-10 (5)

9. Skeet Reese -- 12-07 (5)

10. Kyle Hall -- 12-01 (5)

11. Justin Lucas -- 11-14 (5)