Big Third Period Leaves Avena Atop Group A

By MLF Communications Staff

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. – After ending the second period in 14th place with only three fish, Adrian Avena of Vineland, N.J. went on a third-period flurry to win the Group A Qualifying Round Monday at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Douglas Lake. Avena finished the day with a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces, for a two-day total of 30-13, earning him the Qualifying Round win by a 2-05 margin over second-place angler Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala., who finished with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28-08.

Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala. ended the day in third place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27-07, while Pike Road, Ala. angler Keith Poche finished the round in fourth place with 27-02. Rounding out the Top 5 was BPT rookie Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, La., with a two-day total of 26-15.

Frigid morning temperatures in the teens and a strong afternoon warm-up also made for a lot of third-period movement around the cutline, with Fred “Roumbanis dancing back and forth across the mark throughout the day to slide into the 20th spot by the end of the third period and Dakota Ebare moving from 26th place to finish the day in 15th. Georgia's Jared Lintner made big moves in the final period as well, jumping from 30th place into the 12th spot, but Edwin Evers made the biggest jump, moving from 25th to end the day with a 5th-place finish.

Avena began the morning in second place, but had dropped to 20th by the end of Period 1 after not catching a single fish.

“When we’re talking about springtime fishing, it’s always going to warm up in the afternoons, so the first day of competition I was able to catch a few key fish late in the day and today was no different,” said Avena. “I was having a bunch of fish follow my bait throughout the morning, but they just weren’t committing to it. When the water is that cold early in the day, they’re just sluggish and not willing to bite.”

Avena said he spent both days focusing on wood – targeting laydowns, pine trees, logs in the water – pretty much anything isolated, especially on shallow flats. He said he caught the majority of his fish on a Berkley Stunna jerkbait, one on the brand-new Berkley Cull Shad and the other two on a KGB Chad Shad glidebait.

“As mid-day began, the bite started to pick up,” said Avena. “I caught a couple in the second period and seven in that third period and was able to finish out my limit and cull several times. That last hour was just magical and I caught some really nice fish.”

The Top 20 advancing anglers from Group A will now have an off day from competition Tuesday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The Top 20 anglers from each group advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round on Thursday. In the final-day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Dylan Hays earned Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a stocky largemouth weighing 6-13 that he caught in Period 2 on a jerkbait. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

Anglers will launch Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET from Dandridge Ramp, located at 100 Public Drive in Dandridge, and Wednesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET from the TVA Boat Launch on Renfro Road in Jefferson City. Each day’s takeout will be held at the respective launch locations, beginning at 5 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The event features anglers competing with a 1-06 minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable on Douglas Lake and a 1-pound, 12-ounce minimum weight for scorable bass on Cherokee Lake. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live each day from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)

1. Adrian Avena -- 14-11 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 30-13 (10) -- 4-11

2. Dustin Connell -- 11-03 (5) -- 17-05 (5) -- 28-08 (10) -- 4-12

3. Justin Lucas -- 14-05 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 27-07 (10) -- 4-02

4. Keith Poche -- 11-12 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 27-02 (10) -- 4-01

5. Nick LeBrun -- 12-02 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 26-15 (10) -- 4-01

6. Kevin VanDam -- 13-00 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 26-13 (10) -- 3-13

7. Anthony Gagliardi -- 10-01 (5) -- 16-03 (5) -- 26-04 (10) -- 4-15

8. Chris Lane -- 13-10 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 26-01 (10) -- 2-14

9. Brent Ehrler -- 11-10 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 24-15 (10) -- 3-02

10. Cliff Pace -- 12-08 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 24-10 (10) -- 3-02

11. Edwin Evers -- 13-11 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 24-07 (10) -- 2-15

12. Jared Lintner -- 8-01 (4) -- 15-12 (5) -- 23-13 (9) -- 4-06

13. Bradley Roy -- 10-09 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 23-13 (10) -- 4-06

14. Dylan Hays -- 8-04 (4) -- 15-07 (5) -- 23-11 (9) -- 6-13

15. Jacob Wall -- 12-15 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 23-09 (10) -- 3-04

16. Matt Becker -- 13-06 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 23-09 (10) -- 2-03

17. Andy Montgomery -- 10-07 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 23-05 (10) -- 3-10

18. Dakota Ebare -- 11-11 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 22-13 (10) -- 2-09

19. Jacob Wheeler -- 12-09 (5) -- 9-15 (5) -- 22-08 (10) -- 2-09

20. Fred Roumbanis -- 10-13 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 22-07 (10) -- 3-04

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

21. Randy Howell -- 15-02 (5) -- 6-08 (4) -- 21-10 (9) -- 1-12

22. Alton Jones Jr. -- 10-04 (5) -- 11-01 (5) -- 21-05 (10) -- 2-06

23. Wesley Strader -- 10-12 (5) -- 10-02 (5) -- 20-14 (10) -- 2-05

24. Brent Chapman -- 9-10 (5) -- 10-08 (5) -- 20-02 (10) -- 3-01

25. Cole Floyd -- 9-04 (4) -- 10-14 (5) -- 20-02 (9) -- 2-07

26. Takahiro Omori -- 11-14 (5) -- 7-09 (4) -- 19-07 (9) -- 2-04

27. Russ Lane -- 9-04 (5) -- 9-11 (5) -- 18-15 (10) -- 2-02

28. Brandon Coulter -- 13-14 (5) -- 3-05 (2) -- 17-03 (7) -- 1-12

29. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 7-03 (3) -- 8-08 (5) -- 15-11 (8) -- 2-01

30. Casey Ashley -- 9-08 (5) -- 6-03 (3) -- 15-11 (8) -- 2-02

31. Mark Davis -- 9-02 (5) -- 5-14 (4) -- 15-00 (9) -- 1-09

32. Roy Hawk -- 1-15 (1) -- 10-05 (5) -- 12-04 (6) -- 2-10

33. Terry Scroggins -- 4-08 (3) -- 7-06 (3) -- 11-14 (6) -- 2-15

34. Cliff Crochet -- 5-05 (2) -- 4-11 (2) -- 10-00 (4) -- 2-12

35. Timmy Horton -- 4-00 (2) -- 4-04 (2) -- 8-04 (4) -- 2-14

36. Jeff Kriet -- 5-08 (2) -- 2-06 (1) -- 7-14 (3) -- 2-06

37. Stephen Browning -- 6-00 (3) -- 1-10 (1) -- 7-10 (4) -- 1-10

38. Matt Lee -- 2-01 (1) -- 4-12 (2) -- 6-13 (3) -- 2-12

39. Tommy Biffle -- 1-06 (1) -- 4-12 (2) -- 6-02 (3) -- 3-02

40. Boyd Duckett -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-03 (2) -- 4-03 (2) -- 2-11