The mop-style jig notched its first big-money victory at Lake Murray on a chilly day in February 2006. Spring weather had been trying to break out early in the Carolinas that year, and a string of warm days had pulled a lot of fish shallow. Tournament week marked the return of bone-chilling cold, however, and by the time the Walmart FLW Tour event began many bass were retreating back to deeper water.The script suited Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi just fine. Gagliardi, who makes his home at Lake Murray, knew the fish were in cold-water prespawn mode. Bass would be scattered due to the up-and-down spring temperatures, and they would be hunting for calorie-packed meals that didn’t require much work. That dovetailed nicely with a strategy that was then still regionally contained in South Carolina: dragging a “heavy rubber” jig very slowly across the bottom Read More
Finishing just five ounces off the lead was second place pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. Gagliardi caught 18-3 on day four and ended with 73-7.
With the final round field greatly reducing the amount of competition, Gagliardi could finally spend all of his time fishing, rather than guarding his primary spot. Keying on a grass flat of a couple hundred square yards, Gagliardi quickly dialed in a sweet spot that delivered 19-12 and 19-15 the first two days. He only weighed 15-9 on day three, but he knew the spot would replenish and he’d be fine – if he could fish without the constant companionship of other competitors looking for the chance to ease into the area.
“Most of my fish that I weighed this week came off one spot,” Gagliardi said. “My biggest fish, the 4-pounder, came off another place I hadn’t fished before, but I knew going into today, if I did win the tournament, I’d win it off that one spot.
“The first three days, I had to guard against someone else coming in there so I had to stay on that spota lot longer than I normally would have because I knew if I left that someone would come in there. That changed the way I fished the spot – I couldn’t move around on it the way I wanted to. I couldn’t let it rest for 20 minutes and then come back. That’s usually how you end up catching a big fish.
“Today, I could leave it and come back to it and I caught a couple of fish by doing that. I think I made the right decisions this week and gave myself every opportunity to win it.”
Gagliardi caught most of his fish by slow dragging tubes and other soft plastics across the bottom. He caught a few, including his largest fish of day four, by burning a crankbait along the edges of the flat. Full Story
With the final round field greatly reducing the amount of competition, Gagliardi could finally spend all of his time fishing, rather than guarding his primary spot. Keying on a grass flat of a couple hundred square yards, Gagliardi quickly dialed in a sweet spot that delivered 19-12 and 19-15 the first two days. He only weighed 15-9 on day three, but he knew the spot would replenish and he’d be fine – if he could fish without the constant companionship of other competitors looking for the chance to ease into the area.“Most of my fish that I weighed this week came off one spot,” Gagliardi said. “My biggest fish, the 4-pounder, came off another place I hadn’t fished before, but I knew going into today, if I did win the tournament, I’d win it off that one spot.
“The first three days, I had to guard against someone else coming in there so I had to stay on that spota lot longer than I normally would have because I knew if I left that someone would come in there. That changed the way I fished the spot – I couldn’t move around on it the way I wanted to. I couldn’t let it rest for 20 minutes and then come back. That’s usually how you end up catching a big fish.
“Today, I could leave it and come back to it and I caught a couple of fish by doing that. I think I made the right decisions this week and gave myself every opportunity to win it.”
Gagliardi caught most of his fish by slow dragging tubes and other soft plastics across the bottom. He caught a few, including his largest fish of day four, by burning a crankbait along the edges of the flat. Full Story
Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C. turned in big limits of 19-12 and 19-15 the first two days, but today he weighed 15-9 and dropped from first to third with 55-4. Oddly enough, Gagliardi attributes his day three dip to having a good spot. As he explained, his key area sees periodic bites as groups of fish come and go. He caught good fish there on days one and two, but day three brought a dilemma – a stalled spot that’s still too good to surrender. Full Story
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – It’s standard party politics – you’ll enjoy more interaction if you hang out by the food. That’s basically what Anthony Gagliardi did to take over the lead at the FLW Series Eastern Division event on Lake Champlain.Fishing a grass flat in the lake’s north end, the Properity, S.C., angler fished tubes and other soft plastics along the bottom. Most of his action came in 10 to 13 feet of water.
“I’m not doing anything differently than a lot of (the other competitors),” Gagliardi said. “I just think I have a good area with some quality fish. They’re just moving in every so often to feed, and if you’re there when those fish start feeding, you can catch a couple of nice fish.” Full Story
A midday flurry gave Anthony Gagliardi the opportunity to cull up from a dinky limit and the Prosperity
South Carolina pro took full advantage by sacking up 19-12 for fourth place. With maybe 11 pounds in the boat by late morning, Gagliardi made a move that paid off big for him and his co-angler partner Chris Kinney-Hermes, who leads his division.
“I finally got on one place that I had some bites on in practice,” Gagliardi said. “There was a bunch of fish there and they all turned on and started feeding and we caught them pretty good for about 45 minutes. I’m sure that some of the places I fished earlier had some fish on them and they may have turned out at some point. It’s just a timing deal – you have to be at the right place at the right time.”
Gagliardi was mostly dragging plastics along the bottom but he mixed in some cranking and jerkbaiting throughout the day. Full Story
South Carolina pro took full advantage by sacking up 19-12 for fourth place. With maybe 11 pounds in the boat by late morning, Gagliardi made a move that paid off big for him and his co-angler partner Chris Kinney-Hermes, who leads his division.“I finally got on one place that I had some bites on in practice,” Gagliardi said. “There was a bunch of fish there and they all turned on and started feeding and we caught them pretty good for about 45 minutes. I’m sure that some of the places I fished earlier had some fish on them and they may have turned out at some point. It’s just a timing deal – you have to be at the right place at the right time.”
Gagliardi was mostly dragging plastics along the bottom but he mixed in some cranking and jerkbaiting throughout the day. Full Story
Gagliardi won Kentucky in 2004 and needs to finish in the Top 50 tomorrow to crack the $1 million mark in career FLW Outdoors earnings. He came in with a single 2 1/2-pound fish today. "It's been a good year up until today," he said. "I'd like to crack the $1 million mark, but I don't think it's going to happen this time. We'll have to wait until Champlain." Read More
| {rokzoom}images/stories/pics/62.jpg{/rokzoom} |
|---|
He had weighed in 15 pounds, 4 ounces on day one, which got buried by a rush of 18- to 20-pound limits brought in by his competitors, and he lingered in 41st place.
With just two keepers in his livewell at midday on day two, thoughts of dropping completely out of the money in the second Tour event of the year were beginning to creep up on him.
| {rokzoom}images/stories/pics/60.jpg{/rokzoom} |
|---|
Two days later Gagliardi found himself holding a $125,000 check as the winner of the Table Rock event with a two-day total of 28 pounds, 14 ounces.
“I still can’t believe it,” Gagliardi said. “Two days ago I was scratching and clawing just to get a check, and now here I sit the winner – unreal. After I moved out on Friday and began fishing over deeper water, I caught 18 pounds immediately, and it all suddenly made sense as to how the fish were positioned on the points. In essence, I had been fishing up too shallow and moving out was the key move, no doubt.” Read More