MANCHESTER, Tenn. (Major League Fishing) — A day after it took them almost three hours to land their first scorable bass, Adrian Avena and Jacob Wheeler didn’t need near as much time to light up SCORETRACKER® on Friday.
Representing Team MillerTech, the duo had staged a furious comeback to win their Knockout Round match on Normandy Lake and qualify for the Championship Round at the Toyota Heritage Cup Presented by OFF!® Deep Woods® Repellents. Even though Friday brought them to a different fishery in Tims Ford Lake, Avena and Wheeler kept their momentum rolling. They totaled 23 scorable bass weighing 41 pounds, 5 ounces to cruise to a near-25-pound victory at the second event of the 2026 Starlink Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Michael Neal and Wesley Strader jumped out to an early lead but struggled to maintain a consistent bite as the day progressed. The Tennessee duo finished second with eight scorable bass weighing 16-9. Team Ferguson’s Brent Ehrler and Justin Lucas finished third with six bass weighing 12-12, while Team Star brite’s Bobby and Chris Lane rounded out the four-team field in fourth with six bass weighing 10-7.
New Water, Same Pattern
Despite fishing a different section of Tims Ford Lake, Avena and Wheeler found the same bladed jig bite that carried them through the Elimination Round. Photo by Tyler Brinks The Championship Round playing field represented a different section of Tims Ford than anglers competed on during the three-day Elimination Round – this time, they were confined to the roughly the lower third of the lake, nearest the dam.
Despite the change in location, Wheeler and Avena quickly recognized an opportunity to revisit the shallow pattern that had carried them to a dominant victory in Tuesday’s Elimination Match. The duo found its rhythm within the first hour, taking over the top spot from Neal and Strader and never relinquishing it.
Rather than relying heavily on forward-facing sonar, Wheeler and Avena committed to covering water with vibrating jigs, targeting shaded banks, pockets and isolated wood where bass were positioned to ambush passing baitfish. Both anglers used similar presentations, pairing bladed jigs with soft-plastic trailers (including the Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow and Rapala CrushCity Freeloader) and working quickly through productive stretches of shoreline.
The approach allowed the pair to steadily build their lead throughout the day, with Avena accounting for 14 scorable bass weighing 25-7 – enough to win the Championship Round on his own. Wheeler contributed another nine bass for 15-14, giving them their third victory in as many days of Heritage Cup competition.
“Today was all about chucking and winding,” Wheeler said. “We went to several different places and made adjustments on the fly. We caught a couple on a minnow this morning, but then we transitioned over to what Adrian was throwing. Once we got on that vibrating jig bite, we were able to cover a lot of water and keep running places that looked good.”
The key was identifying the right combination of shade, shoreline cover and fish activity, then continuing to search for similar conditions as the sun shifted throughout the day. With the fall sun creating increasingly defined shade lines along the banks, Wheeler and Avena focused on making efficient casts to high-percentage targets rather than slowing down to thoroughly work individual areas.
Avena said confidence in their presentations and capitalizing on key opportunities proved critical.
“Jacob and I were throwing really similar setups, just two different brands,” Avena said. “I was using a 7-foot, 3-inch, medium-heavy Abu Garcia Fantasista X Casting Rod with an Abu Garcia Zenon reel, and we just covered a lot of water. The biggest thing was having confidence in what we were throwing. We honestly threw the same bait for a big portion of the day, and being able to maximize those key casts is what allowed us to hoist the Heritage Cup trophies.”
While the pair established a commanding advantage early in the day, Wheeler said the nature of the every-fish-counts format meant there was little room to become complacent. Instead, they continued moving through new water, adjusting their approach as changing sunlight and occasional wind created additional opportunities.
“Once we had a good lead, we just continued to run throughout the day,” Wheeler said. “It’s more fun to run new areas and fish stuff that looks good to you. You never know when that next bite is going to happen. As the sun changes, those shade lines start to appear, and you have to make adjustments with your eyes. If something looks right and fits the pattern, you stop and fish it. We knew we had a decent lead, but no lead is safe in this format.”
For Wheeler, the win continued a remarkable run in Team Series competition. This is his third consecutive Team Series win, each with a different partner. After winning the 2025 Heritage Cup alongside Mark Daniels Jr. and the 2025 Patriot Cup with Dustin Connell, Wheeler added another victory to a résumé that already includes 12 Bass Pro Tour victories and four Angler of the Year titles.
“This was an awesome week, and it was great to be back in the boat with Adrian,” Wheeler said. “I’m looking forward to adding this one to the trophy case.”
