Anthony Gagliardi caught a 24-pound, 9-ounce stringer Sunday to finish the tournament fourth with a total weight of 74 pounds, 1 ounce. Gagliardi too was using the A-rig and claims he was the first FLW Tour pro to purchase one.
“I bought some at the Chevy Pro Night before the Pickwick event,” Gagliardi said. “I threw it some at that tournament so I knew they’d bite it, but I didn’t realize the potential.”
Largely due to the reports of a tough practice, Gagliardi thought he was in good shape with 13 or 14 pounds the first day fishing grass edges.
“Looking back, I could’ve really improved my weight. I’m kicking myself for not fishing some stuff harder. But I also got more and more tuned into that rig as the week went on.”
Gagliardi fished Preston Creek and Mill Creek. On the final day, he wanted to stay in one area and probe it thoroughly – that turned out to be Mill Creek. It was a wise decision as he caught his three biggest fish after 1:30 in the afternoon.
“If could find some shad in the backs of pockets and get it in front of them, they would bite it every time.”
The Prosperity, S.C., native said he employed two different setups – a heavier one with big swimbaits and a lighter one with smaller swimbaits. He used mostly Buckeye jigheads and either Keitech Swing Impact swimbaits or Jack’s swimbaits.
He used his longer, heavy powered 7'6" and 7'8" rods to get the job done right.
The Chevy pro earned $24,288.