Adrian Avena of Vineland, N.J., already has a respectable resume for being only 25 years old. He has three years of tour experience, which is particularly impressive as he only picked up bass fishing seven years ago.
Photo: Adrian Avena
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Avena fished the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens and the FLW Tour. He qualified for two Forrest Wood Cups through the FLW Tour, which he’s leaving after three successful seasons to fish exclusively with B.A.S.S.
Read Avena's full new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., joins the Bassmaster Elite Series this year after also gaining some experience on the FLW Tour. The 27-year-old angler narrowly missed the Elite Series cut via the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens in 2012.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Benton, a skilled shallow water angler, fished the FLW Tour and the Opens in 2015. The Southern Opens began in Florida and concluded near his home on Lake Seminole. He finished 23rd at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, fifth on the Alabama River and closed out the season in 22nd place on Seminole.
Read Benton's full new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Jay Brainard, 29, is originally from Enid, Okla. When Brainard was 25, he retired from bull fighting and focused on making bass fishing his new career. He began guiding at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees and fishing local tournaments.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Brainard nearly completed his goal of reaching a GEICO Bassmaster Classic when he finished second at the Bassmaster Central Open at Ross Barnett Reservoir in March of 2015. It was Brainard’s first Bassmaster Open tournament.
Read Brainard's full profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Though Luke Clausen, 37, is considered a new Elite for 2016, he has fished 57 B.A.S.S. events, dating back to 1999, winning $697,928.31. This total includes winning the 2006 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Toho. After winning the Classic, Clausen opted for 12 years on the FLW Tour where he earned nearly $1.7 million.
Photo: Shaye Baker
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After finishing 10th, 39th and 11th in three Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Opens in 2015, Clausen qualified for the Elite Series – and he said he couldn’t be more pumped. Though the Spokane, Wash., native has more than a decade of professional angling experience, Clausen views this year's move to the Bassmaster Elite Series as a career jump starter.
Read Clausen's full new Elite profile here.
Photo: B.A.S.S.
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Clent Davis, 30, of Montevallo, Ala., started a bass fishing team with a friend while at the University of Montevallo. Davis competed as both a boater and a co-angler and used his winnings to join the FLW tour in 2012. He claimed that year's Rookie of the Year title.
Photo: James Overstreet
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The 2015 bass tournament season is one Davis will never forget. He finished third in the Angler of the Year standings of the Bassmaster Southern Opens and qualified for the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series. Davis also qualified for the FLW Forrest Wood Cup and made the money in 12 of the 14 tournaments he competed in, including a third place finish at the Southern Open on the Alabama River.
Read Davis' new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Chad Grigsby, who now lives in Maple Grove, Minn., started fishing local tournaments in Michigan when he was 17 years old. Grigsby started his full-time angling career with FLW in 2002.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Grigsby fished in three B.A.S.S. events (one in 1995 and two in 2002) and decided to try the Bassmaster Central and Southern Opens in 2015 to qualify for the Elite Series. A third-place finish in the Southern Open at Lake Seminole helped Grigsby place eighth in the Southern Open points standings and earn an invitation to the Elites.
Photo: James Overstreet
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John Hunter, a 24-year-old pro from Kentucky, has a short professional career with B.A.S.S. Though he has only participated in the three 2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open events, he had money finishes in each of them. This propelled him to fifth place in the year-end standings, the last spot to be guaranteed a slot in the 2016 Elites.
Photo: John Hunter
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In addition to the 2015 Northern Opens, Hunter took part in the Southern Rayovacs and the FLW Tour as a co-angler. In the latter category he won the tour’s Angler of the Year award. That ambitious tournament schedule was built on a solid base of knowledge that he constructed by competing in the collegiate ranks for Georgetown College (Kentucky).
Read Hunter's new Elite profile here.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Dave Lefebre, a Pennsylvania native of 45 years, qualified for the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series via the Bassmaster Northern Opens. Over the past 14 years, Lefebre has been one of the most consistent anglers on the FLW Tour with earnings of $1,852,081, six wins and 51 Top 10 finishes out of 194 tournaments.
Photo: Dave Lefebre
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Lefebre often tested the Bassmaster waters and fished the Northern Opens in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2013 he finished one place out of qualifying for the Elites, and he did qualify for the Elites in 2015 by finishing second in the Northern Open’s AOY standings.
Read Lefebre's new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Shane Lineberger, 43, fished the Bassmaster Opens in 2015, and he has quit his job at Timken Co. to devote all of his time to competing in the Bassmaster Elite Series. Quitting his job was a gamble, but it will give Lineberger the chance to make a living by competing in high-profile tournaments.
Photo: Tyler Wade
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Lineberger bought his first boat when he was 23 and joined the South Fork Bassmasters in 1993. He fished in the club for 10 years and made the North Carolina state team twice to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Nation Southern Divisionals. Winning some BFLs, including a regional in 2010, gave Lineberger the funds he needed to start fishing the Bassmaster Southern Opens in 2011.
Read Lineberger's new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Brock Mosley, 27, from Collinsville, Miss., began his quest to join the Bassmaster Elite Series at the University of Mississippi. Mosley was only able to fish his final year of college, but he made it count. Mosley and his partner won the 2011 College B.A.S.S. East Super Regional on the Alabama River.
Photo: Brock Mosley
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Mosley began fishing regional events in 2011, and in 2013 the turning point came when Mosley took second place as a co-angler in the Forrest Wood Cup. That year, he also fished the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Opens, finishing 10th in the point standings.
Read Mosley's new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Brett Preuett's success on the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series catapulted his career in bass fishing. While attending the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Preuett ascended from a wistful former baseball player to fishing in the sport’s premier event, the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, as the winner of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket.
Photo: Shaye Baker
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Preuett fished all nine Bassmaster Opens in 2015, finishing in the money five times and in the Top 12 on three occasions. He found the most success on the Central Opens. The first was at Ross Barnett where he finished eighth. His sixth-place finish in the final Central Open on Table Rock bookended a 51st-place result on Fort Gibson. The three scores landed him in eighth place for the year, good enough to get an invitation to the Elite Series for 2016, which he quickly and gladly accepted.
Read Preuett's full new Elite profile here.
Photo: James Overstreet
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Fabian Rodriguez, 50, was a plumber and a Delaware B.A.S.S. Nation angler who earned an Elite Series qualification at the 2015 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
Photo: Fabian Rodriguez
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Rodriguez also qualified to fish the 2016 GEICO Bassmater Classic via the B.A.S.S. Nation in 2015. He lists frogging and jig fishing as his angling strengths, so he's hoping to rely on his favorite tactics during the Grand Lake Classic in March.
Read Rodriguez's full Classic Nation angler profile here.
Photo: Thomas Allen
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Perrysburg, Ohio, native Matt Vermilyea rounds out the lineup of new Elite anglers for 2016. Vermilyea earned his Elite spot last year with a fourth place points finish on the Northern Opens.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Vermilyea started the 2015 Northern Opens strong with a 10th place finish on the James River last July, he landed just inside the Top 25 on Oneida Lake in August and he finished up the season with a 45th place showing on Lake Erie.
Photo: James Overstreet
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