SANDUSKY, Ohio — Should Adrian Avena punch his ticket to the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series he can check one rookie prerequisite off the list.
Thinking of a nickname for the rookie hopeful will be unnecessary for weigh-in emcee Dave Mercer. He announces pros entering the weigh-in stage using names like “A-Mart” (Aaron Martens), “G-Man” (Gerald Swindle) and “KVD” (Kevin VanDam).
Mercer can call Avena by his current nickname, Jersey Boy.
The earned nickname is part of a grand plan to join the highest ranks of bass fishing for Avena, 25, of Vineland, N.J.
“Those guys each have something unique in how they brand themselves,” he said. “Branding is a big part of how you market yourself but also how you can tie it all in with sponsors.”
Avena already is ahead of that game, too. He’s hooked up with apparel designer and maker NuThreadz. Jersey Boy is one of several high profile pros whose names and likenesses appear on NuThreadz jerseys, hoodies and shirts.
Branding and nicknames aside, Avena is nearing his quest to join the Elites. To seal the deal only requires waiting on Saturday as the competition winds down at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Allstate. The top 5 anglers in the point standings are offered invitations to join the Elite Series and Avena is among the group.
The three-year FLW pro has two appearances in the Forrest Wood Cup and two career wins. He’s hungry for more. Should Avena qualify and accept the Elite Series invitation he plans to make the switch and exclusively compete with B.A.S.S.
“I’m eager to start a new chapter and the Elite Series is where I want to be,” he said. “There are more events and I can give my sponsors more and better exposure for a longer season.”
Avena’s fast rise to the top tiers of bass fishing came through the collegiate ranks. He fished the tour while studying for his bachelor’s degree in business administration at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.
While enrolled he channeled his inner competitive psyche as a member of the college’s tennis team.
“I’ve always been very competitive and it really came out when I was playing college sports,” he said. “There was something missing and I wanted to make that connection in fishing.”
Avena, an avid saltwater angler, couldn’t find a means of satisfying that desire in the tidal and offshore waters off the Jersey shore.
“I just didn’t see a way to make a living doing that as a full time job,” he said.
Then, and now, Avena operates Jersey Boy Charters, although his time on the water is limited to the fall striped bass season. That runs from October through January during what most pros call the “off season.”
Avena only began bass fishing in 2009 after discovering the competitive side of the sport in college. After finding commonalities in saltwater angling and bass fishing he combined experience with knowledge acquisition. That came as he moved farther inland from estuaries into tidal rivers. Along the journey he traced the movements and contours of tidal bass using an electronic fish finder.
“The side scan technology of a fish finder shows remarkable clarity in just how structure-oriented bass really are in rivers and elsewhere,” he said. “Seeing how bass related to objects really helped me gain more knowledge of their behavior.”
Avena’s electronic focus and saltwater savvy paid off on the tidal James River, where he posted a third-place finish in the season opener of the Northern series. An 18th-place finish at Oneida Lake came with another saltwater connection.
“Bass in wind-driven current behave a lot like tidal fish,” he noted. “What happened there was all the smallmouth out in open water followed roaming schools of baitfish.”
The baitfish got pushed around the wide-open, oval shaped lake by prevailing winds blowing from nearby Lake Ontario. Avena recalled how baitfish roam in the open seas and the gamefish follow.
How Avena earned the nickname speaks to his quest to grow as a pro.
“Guys started calling me ‘Jersey Boy’ because it’s so unusual for somebody to come from there and be a pro.”
Michael Iaconelli excluded, he’s correct. But there’s always room for another esteemed pro from New Jersey. Make way for the Jersey Boy.