Gagliardi qualified for the Knockout Round by staying deep, but put all of his eggs in the shallow-water basket for his final two days of fishing.
“The majority of my fish the first two days were out deeper on ledges or in deeper grass,” he said. “I went shallow late in the day during the Knockout Round and made a big run to make it to the Championship Round. Maybe against better judgment, I stayed shallow all day on the last day and tried to make it work.”
Out deep, Gagliardi fished a ¼-ounce Buckeye Spot Remover jighead with a Berkley MaxScent Hit Worm in green pumpkin as well as casting a Berkley J-Walker topwater bait when a fish showed itself.
His shallow area was less than two feet of water and he attacked it with a wacky-rigged Berkley PowerBait Power Nightcrawler in the natural color.
“It was a mix of shallow grass and the fish were laying in the shade,” he said of his shallow area. “It wasn’t in a backwater but wasn’t on the main river either. It’s a place I’ve caught them well in the past, including during the Pro Circuit event last year.”