2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lake Pickwick Day 1: Italian Gallelli Drops 23lbs for Lead!

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.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Pickwick Day 3: Greg Hackney Leads by 7 pounds!

Greg Hackney continues to dominate but Ehrler making a big charge.
by Curtis Niedermier

FLW Press Release

FLORENCE, Ala. - There was no 30-pound mega-limit weighed in today in Florence, Ala., but tournament leader Greg Hackney still hauled in a 22-pound, 4-ounce stringer from Pickwick Lake on a day that nine of the top 10 pros described as a grind.

Greg has a magic spot that is kicking out big bass. Today the
place didn't produce as well as the first two days.
(Photo: FLW)

Hackney’s three-day total is 75 pounds, 14 ounces, which extends his lead to 7-13 over California ace Brent Ehrler, who weighed an identical limit as Hackney’s today. Hackney will be boat No. 1 on the final day of this Walmart FLW Tour showdown, which is presented by Straight Talk Wireless.

Interestingly, the one piece of the puzzle that most anglers have been looking for this week is current, and today the Tennessee River was ripping in the wake of two afternoon thunderstorms that drenched the Tennessee Valley at the end of the workweek. Coupled with a water-level rise, the current turned out to be too much of a good thing, and Hackney’s magic 30-pound spot didn’t fire today like it did yesterday.

“There was a lot of current,” Hackney says. “You’d think that would have helped. Maybe I caught too many [yesterday]. It was OK today, but it took me all day to catch them.”

The Gonzales, La., pro revealed a few more details about his best spot today. It’s a 1 1/2-foot break topped with a “live” mussel shell bed. He knows it’s a live one because he’ll occasionally catch snails, and when he does, he knows he’s on the juice.

Mussel beds are nothing new to ledge fisherman on the Tennessee River, but this one has an extra ingredient that sweetens the deal for Pickwick’s biggest largemouths: giant gizzard shad. As in, gizzard shad so big that Hackney hasn’t even found a bait big enough to “match the hatch.” The 5-pound-plus “hammers” are choking down the jumbo baitfish whenever they slide up onto the structure. When it goes down, Hackney fires in with one of two unidentified lures, and the action is extremely fast.

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Pickwick Day 2: Greg Hackney Attacks!

Big Sacks Push Leaders Away from the Pack. 

by Curtis Niedermier

FLW Press Release

FLORENCE, Ala. – It was show time all day long for Gonzales, La., pro Greg Hackney. The former Forrest Wood Cup champ and FLW millionaire is dialed in on two pieces of structure that are holding schools of Pickwick Lake’s biggest brutes, and through a series of high-intensity flurries, primarily on his first spot, Hackney sacked up a limit of fish that pushed the scale to a staggering 31 pounds, 6 ounces. His two-day total is 53-10.

Hackney was tossing back 4-pounders – without even comparing them to the fish in his livewell – before he finally took his foot off the gas today. He now has a 6-pound, 1-ounce two-day lead at the Walmart FLW Tour’s fifth stop, which is presented by Straight Talk Wireless and hosted by the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau.

“I can’t even explain it,” says Hackney of his day today. “It started slow. I was catching little ones. When I started catching the big ones, they were way bigger than yesterday. When I caught 25 pounds, I thought, ‘I’ll just stay put and see if I can catch 30.’ And then they fired one more time.

                                Hackney hit magic and sacks a 31 pound plus limit to take the lead.
                                                                     (Photo: FLW)

“The only other time I’ve found a school better than that was at Falcon, when I set the three-day weight record,” adds Hackney, who set the record with 109-6 at the FLW Series East/West Fish-Off in 2008.

Hackney’s original goal this week was to lean on his schools as hard as he could for two days in order to earn as many Angler of the Year points as he could, in hopes of qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup. He’s accomplished that goal today, and by leaving his school biting, it appears he’s going to have a strong shot at doing a lot more than just make up ground in the standings (he was 37th coming into this event).

2014 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Pickwick Day 1: Jeff Gustafson Grabs Lead with 10 Pounder Kicker!

Canadian angler take his first lead on the FLW Tour
by Curtis Niedermier
FLW Press Release

Last week he was catching 65-pound sturgeon in British Columbia. Today, he was hauling his personal best bass, a 10-pound, 12-ounce brute, over the gunwale on day one of the Walmart FLW Tour event on Pickwick Lake, which is presented by Straight Talk Wireless and hosted by the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau.

Such is the life for Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson, the second-year pro and popular Canadian outdoor television host from Keewatin, Ontario, who took the early lead on what began as a beautiful, mild morning in Florence, Ala., and ended with a thunderstorm that washed out weigh-in and sent nearly the entire crowd running for cover.

Gussy’s first-day total of 24 pounds, 8 ounces gives him a 15-ounce cushion over the hands-down favorite in this event, Randy Haynes.

As a well-traveled outdoorsman, Gussy has been exposed to some of the best fishing in North America, but he says today ranks right near the top of his greatest fishing experiences.

“I’ve been to Mexico five times, and I’ve never caught one over 10,” he says. “I was shaking like a leaf. When I caught it, I had pulled up to a spot and caught three 1 1/2-pounders in three casts. Then I fired back out there and it bit.

“I’ve never been in this position before,” Gussy adds. “It feels awesome. I picked the right day to catch the biggest bass of my life.”