By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


While some anglers drove away from the Lake Erie Bassmaster Northern Open beaten and battered – the roiled waters of the western basin can do that – Adrian Avena and Dave Lefebre were among the small group that headed home with a pep in their step and an eye on next year already.

That’s because the two anglers, who most BassFans know as FLW Tour pros, finished 1-2 in the Northern Open points standings and secured invitations to fish the Elite Series in 2016, marking the start of yet another potential wave of anglers crossing over from one circuit to the other.

In what has become an annual ritual now, the Bassmaster Opens have again served as the bridge for established FLW Tour anglers to qualify for and compete on the Elite Series. In 2013, the group included Jason Christie and Clifford Pirch. Last year, Jacob Powroznik, Justin Lucas, Brett Hite and Randall Tharp were the big movers. This year, Brent Ehrler headlined another round of defections.

While the official invitations have yet to go out, Avena and Lefebre are already trying to plan ahead and secure the additional sponsor support they’ll need to make the Elite Series a reality. Others could follow, too.

In the Central Opens, which conclude this week at Table Rock Lake, Stetson Blaylock (7th) and Luke Clausen (9th) have themselves in position to move into the Top 5 in points and earn an Elite Series invitation for next year. If they’re successful and ultimately choose to accept the Elite Series invite, that’ll take four of the Top 15 in this year’s FLW Tour Angler of the Year race

In a few weeks at Lake Seminole at the final Southern Open, still others who’ve competed on the FLW Tour will look to secure an invite to join B.A.S.S.’ top circuit in 2016.

Needs to Make Financial Sense for Avena

It’s Avena’s contention that any division of the Bassmaster Opens offers stiffer competition, top to bottom, than either of the top-tier circuits, which is why he was thrilled to walk away with the AOY honors from the Northern Division this season. He followed up a 3rd-place finish at the James River with a 19th at Oneida Lake and a 20th at Lake Erie to capture the title.

“I’ve always said the hardest circuit to fish is the Opens,” he said. “You have such a variety of guys from all the locals to the pros. I still believe the Opens are the toughest competition out there.”

That’s why he’s going to take a long, hard look at what it’s going to take to make the move to the Elite Series. It's expected that Elite Series entry fees will increase for 2016 with the addition of another event to the schedule.

“In talking to friends that have fished both circuits, it’s almost like when you get this opportunity you have to jump on it because it doesn’t happen all the time,” he said. “At the same time, I can’t put myself in a financial spot. I’m just not going to do that. I’ll be focused on that these next few weeks so when I get that package I can say, ‘Yes.’”

He called the night before the Lake Erie tournament one of the “most nerve-wracking nights of my life. I wanted to get it going 2 weeks before when I was there pre-fishing,” he said.

He caught a decent 17-01 stringer on day 1 to start the event in 45th place. He followed it up with a 20-15 catch to move up to 20th.

“I had a limit in the first hour and my fifth one was a 14-incher so it wasn’t one I got all excited about,” he said. “About an hour later, when I caught a 4-pounder, my co-angler and I did some chest-bumping. It was one of those textbook days you dream about. It happened to be one of the most important days of fishing in my life. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Avena, 25, who’s coming off a stellar FLW Tour season, says qualifying for the Elite Series may open the door to bigger and better opportunities for him.

“My hope is to one day become a household name,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a bass pro and I feel the best way to do that is to fish the Elite Series. The additional tournaments helped. It’s also important to me to be able to promote my sponsors and I can do a better job at it on the Elites.”

He says it would be a much tougher decision to make if FLW still featured a schedule that included six Majors and four Opens, but that format went away after the 2012 season.

“I really wouldn’t mind to fish the Tour a couple more years,” he said. “I still have a lot to learn and I’m not going to say it’s a little safer, but it is a little less expensive. I am comfortable on the FLW side, but I think it’s time for a change. If they’d go back to their old format, it wouldn’t be a 75-25 decision. It’d be 50-50. The seasons are only so long and the more opportunities we have in that time frame, the better off we are.”

Lefebre: ‘I Want To Fish 25 Tournaments A Year’

For Lefebre, the motivation behind his desire to pursue an Elite Series invite isn’t rooted in his wanting to completely shun FLW. He simply wants more opportunities to compete against top-flight competition than the six Tour events FLW offers.



BassFan
Photo: BassFan

Dave Lefebre would prefer to fish both tours, but schedule conflicts will likely prevent that next season.

“I need more cracks at it,” he said. “It’s turning into a hobby with six events. I want to fish 25 tournaments a year if I can. Six isn’t cutting it. If it were 10 (tournaments) versus 10, I’d have a tough decision to make, but the way it is now, it’s a no-brainer.”

He came into the final Northern Open brimming with confidence. A few weeks ago, he took 3rd in the Northern Rayovac, also out of Sandusky, Ohio. He was the points leader after posting Top-8 finishes in the first two events at the James River and Oneida Lake so he had some wiggle room at Erie.

He didn’t run as far as he did in the Rayovac and caught enough over 2 days to lock up a 39th-place finish. He slid down one slot in the points, but more importantly, he secured an invitation to the Elite Series for next year.

“I’m incredibly excited,” he said. “I tried to make it before and I’ve been the first man out a couple years ago. It’s a good feeling, no doubt.”

Lefebre last fished the Bassmaster Tour in 2003 and finished 22nd in his only career Classic appearance that year at the Louisiana Delta. Ever since, he’s competed mainly in FLW events. The time has come, though, to make a change.

He mentioned the changes B.A.S.S. made several years ago to allow anglers to freely promote any and all of their sponsors along with the elimination of co-anglers and the bigger schedule as some of the triggers for his desire to pursue an Elite Series bid.

“I don’t have a choice in the matter,” he said. “The things I’ve been fighting for for years now, B.A.S.S. made those changes that we’ve been fighting for – fishing out of our own boats, no jersey stipulation, no co-anglers, no nets. The decision was made for me. Those things are important to me in trying to support my family as a professional angler.”

While next year’s schedule includes three direct conflicts between Elite Series and FLW Tour events, Lefebre may consider fishing a partial FLW Tour schedule, although he would likely be forfeiting deposits for the three events that he’d miss.

“I would love to still fish as many as FLW events as I can,” he said. “My whole thing is I want to fish. My goal was to fish both until the schedules came out, but now those goals have been evolving.

“It’s a huge change financially and we have to figure it all out.”

As satisfying as his Elite Series qualification is, he still has one meaningful event left this season. He qualified for the Rayovac Series Championship at the Ohio River later next month when he’ll have a chance to qualify for next year’s Forrest Wood Cup.

“I still have something to fish for,” he said. “This year has been awesome because there have been these goals that have developed throughout the year – making this year’s Cup on points, making the Elites through the Opens and now making next year’s Cup through this year’s Rayovac Championship.”

He said he’s grateful for the opportunities he had during his time competing on the FLW Tour – he was frequently part of the team program and was well known for his time in the Frosted Flakes boat.