How much is enough? For Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, it was an ounce. That’s what it took to edge Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury and win the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart on South Carolina’s Lake Murray Aug. 14-17.
Gagliardi hoisted the Cup before a packed house at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., after weighing a four-day total of 51 pounds, 2 ounces. Just 11 ounces separated first and fifth places. For fans of this sport, a weigh-in like this delivers memories not soon forgotten.
Gagliardi was a statistical improbability from the start of the season. His season began as horribly as an angler could imagine when he was disqualified at the Walmart FLW Tour opener at Lake Okeechobee due to an inadvertent rules infraction. At that point, qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup seemed an impossible dream.
“This is just a testament of faith and stick-to-itiveness,” he said. “All that stuff, this was just a year that I probably needed from a personal standpoint and an emotional standpoint. I think I proved to myself that no matter what happens now, that staying positive will always bring about the best outcome.”
A win anywhere would no doubt equally merit that sentiment. However, Gagliardi, of Prosperity, S.C., said doing so in front of his home crowd magnified the moment. In addition to the impressive piece of hardware he now owns, Gagliardi won $500,000.
On days one and two, Gagliardi caught bass on a 5-inch Basstrix swimbait in scaled sardine paired with a 3/8-ounce Buckeye swimbait head over shallow grass points where bass were chasing blueback herring in about 5 feet of water. He also caught fish the first three days in the Saluda River on a Zoom Ol’ Monster worm Texas rigged on a 4/0 hook with a 1/4-ounce weight.
On the final day, he committed to casting Zoom Flukes and Yamamoto D Shads (white and olive shad colors) on a 4/0 weighted-shank hook with 10- and 12-pound-test Gamma fluorocarbon line. Fishing in about 15 to 20 feet down near the dam, Gagliardi opted for a single bait rather than the “double fluke” rig often used on blueback lakes.
“I like the single because I like to make precise, accurate casts,” he said. “The double rig is good sometimes, but it’s cumbersome, and if they come up busting and you get tangled, you’ll miss them.
Gagliardi placed seventh on days one and two with 13-2 and 10-3, improved to third on day three with 13-25 and sealed the deal on the last day with a limit of 13-14.
[easy-social-share]