Jersey Boy Leads the Pack
Adrian Avena catches 16-12, tops day one on Potomac River
It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do, apparently.
Hailing from Vineland, N.J. – roughly three and a half hours from the Potomac River – Adrian Avena gushed about getting to sleep in his own bed Saturday night before practice began for the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River. He had plenty of reason to gush, too, after sacking up 16 pounds, 12 ounces to grab the lead on day one.
“I had a good day, but I’d even like the bag I culled,” Avena says. “I probably culled another 12-pound bag. I had 15 keepers today, and there were a few places where I left them biting.”
That has been pretty much par for the course for Avena since practice started. He figures he averaged 12 to 14 pounds a day during practice doing some pretty “off-the-wall stuff.”
Aside from the extra rest, Avena’s key to his success thus far has been his ability to run the tides. The tides affect the southern section of the river first [it’s closest to the ocean], so that’s where he started Thursday during the outgoing tide, gradually working his way north as the tide worked it’s way up river. Once he “ran out of tide” at around 10 a.m. Avena turned back south to hit a few more spots, but by then most of his damage was done. He hit roughly 25 spots Thursday.
In terms of a pattern, Avena says he’s keeping 20 rods on his deck and hitting everything from grass to current to rock. However, he’s pretty optimistic about how his pattern could hold up, which will be key with a traffic jam of a leaderboard.
While Avena holds what amounts to a substantial 1-pound, 6-ounce lead over second-place pro Troy Morrow, a total of 41 pros weighed in at least 12 pounds on the opening day. One quality kicker could quickly close the gap.
“I don’t have a great history here, but I put in a little extra time to try and change that,” Avena adds.
Top 10 Pros
1. Adrian Avena – Vineland, N.J. – 16-12 (5)
2. Troy Morrow – Eastanollee, Ga. – 15-06 (5)
3. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 15-05 (5)
4. Travis Fox – Rogers, Ark. – 15-02 (5)
5. Shinichi Fukae – Palestine, Texas – 15-01 (5
6. Clark Wendlandt – Leander, Texas – 14-13 (5)
7. Andrew Upshaw – Sapulpa, Okla. – 14-08 (5)
8. John Voyles – Petersburg, Ind. – 14-07 (5)
9. Randy Haynes – Counce, Tenn. – 14-06 (5)
10. Jay Yelas – Corvallis, Ore. – 14-03 (5)
Self in Front in Co-angler Division
North Carolina co-angler Eric Self weighed in 15 pounds, 14 ounces to take the day-one lead in the non-boater division. He leads by more than 3 pounds over second-place co-angler Shane Melton. Self is hunting for his fourth win with FLW and his 11th top-10 finish.
Top 10 Co-anglers
1. Eric Self – Lawndale, N.C. – 15-14 (5)
2. Shane Melton – Kokomo, Ind. – 12-13 (5)
3. Kyle Prskalo – Hobart, Ind. – 12-03 (5)
4. Warren Shores – Bulls Gap, Tenn. – 12-00 (5)
5. McCoy Borja – Johnson City, Tenn. – 11-15 (5)
5. Jim Jones – Big Bend, Wis. – 11-15 (5)
7. Tee Watkins – East Point, Ky. – 11-11 (5)
8. Jim Short – Ocean Pines, Md. – 11-10 (5)
9. Mark Holman – Cornelius, N.C. – 11-02 (5)
10. Joey Cifuentes – Clinton, Ark. – 11-01 (5)
10. Jim Hippensteel – Rochester, Ind. – 11-01 (5)