PATTERN INSIDE THE PATTERN: Avena’s Cayuga win developed in deeper water

Adrian Avena left Cayuga Lake in New York and Favorite Fishing Stage Five Presented ATG by Wrangler of the Bass Pro Tour with his first national level victory in professional bass fishing. His hardcore work ethic, along with his ability to shift on the fly and take advantage of fishing conditions, made all the difference in the world to him. 

Oh, and using a flogger to peer down into deeper water to spot monster smallmouth bass helped a bit, too.

“In practice, I committed to sight-fishing smallmouth bass,” Avena said. “On the first day of practice, I found a decent amount of fish. The wind was really blowing, and there was that smoke cloud from the wildfires in Canada. Those conditions were not conducive to sight-fishing. 

“A lot of the bedding bass I found were shallow and pretty obvious to anyone fishing. But, it’s what I had to start the tournament with.”

When the tournament started, Avena didn’t have any deep-water fish located. However, with his ability to get a solid limit each day, especially early on during the second day of competition, Avena was able to follow his gut and check out deeper water for bigger bass.

“On the first day, I caught 21 pounds super shallow,” Avena said. “It’s all I could find with the conditions.

“On the second day, I went to the shallows and fished for the biggest five I knew about. I caught them and figured I solidified a spot in the Knockout Round.”

Thanks to his ability to catch a solid limit quickly on the second day, Avena was then poised to explore the depths. And what did he find? Winning fish, thanks to using his flogger and putting in the effort to fish for large, deep-water finicky bass.

“After getting a good limit, I knew I had time to follow my instincts and look for bass offshore with a flogger,” Avena said. “That day, I located six or seven big bass, and no reason to fish for them. I just marked them and knew where I was starting during the Knockout Round.

“I did something I normally don’t do, I told friends I had the opportunity to win this. I found 6- and 7-pounders.”

Avena’s Knockout Round couldn’t have started much better than it did. He secured a sizable limit in the first period, then went searching for more big smallmouth through his flogger.

“I caught over 27 pounds in the first period of the Knockout Round,” Avena said. “For the rest of the day, I went looking for more. Found another 6-pounder and a 5-plus, all thanks to putting in the effort with the flogger. I knew most of the guys weren’t fishing with one, at least not in the deeper water. It made all the difference to me.”

On Championship Day, Avena got to work, though he didn’t jump to the lead right away. Even though the bass were aggressive, the big fish are more savvy than the 3- or 4-pounders. But, Avena took his time and only targeted big bass.

“On Championship Day, I went to the biggest bass I knew about and caught what I caught,” Avena said. “It’s a lot trickier catching a big smallmouth on a deep bed. They are smarter than smaller bass.

“A big thing about sight-fishing is it’s a lot like deer hunting. For me, being stealthy was a big deal. Taking my time, setting up on a fish, and being patient, just like deer hunting.”

Along with his flogger, stealthiness, and his hunting skills, Avena kept an eye on SCORETRACKER® to gauge his chances for success.

“I wasn’t worried too much about the Top 10 because I knew how they were fishing,” Avena said. “I knew a couple guys had 7-pounders spotted, and Jacob Wheeler had a 7-pound 5-ounce bass located, it could’ve been a game-changer.

“But when I saw guys posting 3- and 4-pounders on SCORETRACKER®, I knew they were wasting their time. I was fishing deeper than everyone else and got away from everyone. That, along with catching a good limit early on Day 2 and being able to go deep using the flogger to locate big bass, was the key to the win.

“I’d say Cayuga Lake is my favorite lake right now.”