on thE beaten path
T he Upper Mississippi River – home of the 2021 Tackle Warehouse TITLE Presented by Mercury back in August – is one of the most diverse and picturesque fisheries on any tournament schedule . It really says something , then , when an angler is able to catch fish in a spot that stands alone for its sheer uniqueness , despite not being the only fisherman to take advantage of it .
Adrian Avena earned his 10th-place finish at the TITLE fishing some highpressure areas , but the one that stood out most was his small section below the spillway separating Pools 7 and 8 , where he found schools of quality fish that allowed him to hunker down and get down to business . Avena , keying in on fish chasing small shad , utilized an arsenal of swimbaits and soft jerkbaits and a handful of topwater offerings to fire up schools of big bass wrangling shad in the turbulent waters of the spillway .
While Avena wasn ’ t able to seal the deal after skipping through to the Championship Round with his Group B Qualifying Round victory , he did provide us with a venue for some of the most compelling photos of the entire tournament .
PHOTO BY JODY WHITE
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 73