Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli Leads Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lithium Pros Stop 3 Presented by Covercraft

SEAN OSTRUSZKA • TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT

COUNCE, Tenn. – Things are finally starting to stabilize on the Tennessee River. Which, ironically, means chaos seems about to break loose at Lithium Pros Stop 3 on Pickwick Lake Presented by Covercraft.

After a week of fluctuating weather and water levels, Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event saw conditions mellow out for what looks like the foreseeable future. And that seemingly has put the spring transition into hyperdrive.

Pros caught fish in all stages of the spawn today, but with so much happening in such a condensed timeframe, it was the pros who capitalized early in the day that did the best. Pros like leader Jacopo Gallelli, who had 19 pounds before 9 a.m. and ended up with 23 pounds to set the pace.

“I cannot be more happy,” Gallelli said. “I just got lucky. I had a place I’d fished in the past but didn’t go over to in practice. I felt I’d give it a try this morning because I was so desperate. Within 15 minutes I had a 3-pounder. Then I caught a 5-pounder, and I was like, ‘OK. There’s something here.’ So I fished really slow and came out of that spot with over 20 pounds.”

His story was hardly the only one like it, as nearly every pro in the Top 10 mentioned they sacked up the majority of their weight within the first hour or so, with many mentioning a shad spawn. What set Gallelli apart, though, was that he had three kicker smallmouth.

Pickwick is known as one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the Southeast, so seeing some giant brown fish brought to the scales is no shock. But what is surprising is that none of the big bags featuring smallmouth came from the famed tailraces below the Wilson Dam.