Bites To Remember
Victory Or Heartbreak:
Hawgs Can Go Either Way

Monday, December 18, 2006    by:  Bassfan.com

Photo: FLW Outdoors Anthony Gagliardi secured his victory at the Murray FLW Tour with a 6-pounder on the final day.

(Editor's note: This is part 2 of a 2-part story in which some of the top pros in the sport describe the circumstances surrounding their single most memorable fish of 2006.)

Anthony Gagliardi

"It was my last fish at (the Murray FLW Tour) on the last day. I had four big ones and a 12-incher (in the livewell) and I felt like if I could get another big one, I'd have the tournament in the bag.

"I had a little dry spell and I went awhile without catching anything. I was headed up the lake to a spot I'd fished earlier in the day and I was going by an island out in the middle. I'd caught quite a few fish there over the years, and when you do catch one, it's usually a big one.

"I hadn't fished there during the tournament, but I decided to stop and make a few casts. On my second cast to a brushpile (with a jig), I caught a 6-14. I felt that one had won it for me, and it was a pretty big thrill when it was the last one I pulled out on the stage."

> He weighed 28-04 on the final day, and his 47-04 total over the final 2 days beat out runner-up Brennan Bosley by 1 1/2 pounds. He went on to win the FLW Tour Angler of the Year (AOY).

Kevin VanDam

"At Kentucky Lake, my first bite of the tournament was about an 8-pounder on a jig. I fought it all the way to the boat, then it shook its head when I was trying to lip it and it threw the jig.

"It was about 8:00 and I'd made a really long run. On my next four casts, I caught a 3-pounder every cast, so that helped me get over it a little quicker. But if I'd caught that fish, I would've won the tournament."

> He ended up 3rd in the event, 3-01 behind winner Morizo Shimizu.

Steve Kennedy

"At Amistad on day 2, I had a limit that was maybe 20 pounds and I was looking for a big bite. I had one area from practice where I'd gotten two or three bites, and I went all the way over there to make a pitch in this one tree.

"I flipped in there with 20-pound fluorocarbon instead of braid, about a 20- or 30-foot pitch. The bait fell down 4 to 5 feet in water that was 15 to 20 feet deep, and this was a full-size tree. Then the whole tree shuddered, and my partner just gasped. I told myself I wasn't going to break that fish off on the hookset, so I reeled down and pulled in, and he just straight-lined me and broke (the line). It sounded like a rifle shot.

"I'm guessing that fish was 12 to 15 pounds. I've caught a bunch of 8- and 9-pounders at Okeechobee and places like that, and this was twice the bite any of those were. It was one of those that I'll never forget."

> He ended up 5th in the tournament – the first of eight Top 10s he compiled on the Bassmaster Elite Series, FLW Tour and FLW Series combined.

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Alton Jones caught a 9-pounder on his first cast on day 2 at Amistad.

Alton Jones

"My first cast of the morning on day 2 at Amistad. It was a fish I'd spotted in practice – I didn't know if it was catchable and I didn't go to it on day 1.

"On day 2, I ran up and made a really long cast with a Yum Dinger, and as soon as I tightened the line it was swimming off. It started coming toward me, and I thought it was the little one (that was on the bed with the giant). Then it came up and jumped and did a double back-flip, and I just about had a heart attack.

"I got it into the boat and it was a 9-pounder, and my next fish right after that was an 8."

> He weighed 29-10 that day en route to a 7th-place finish.

Dean Rojas

"I was 12th after the third day at Grand Lake, and I caught a 5-02 on the (Spro Bronzeye frog) on the last day. I moved up to finish 5th, and those few places I gained with that fish were worth about 15 AOY points because the increments are bigger up near the top.

"The first 3 days I fished that same tree and never had a bite. Then for whatever reason, on the fourth day that big one came up and ate it. It was cloudy and there was a big storm coming in, and I think the fish decided to eat right before it got there.

"I ended up with the second-biggest bag of the day, and that was a nice shot in the arm to keep the (AOY race) close."

> He ended the year 5th in the AOY standings.

Ray Scheide

"Nobody had caught a 6-pounder during the whole (FLW Tour Championship at Logan Martin), but I got one on the last morning. I'd just gotten things lined up and dropped a buoy, and I caught it on my second cast on a (Norman) Deep Little N.

"It gave me all kinds of memories of when I won at Okeechobee in 2004 – when I caught a (5-pounder), a 6 and a 7 on consecutive casts. As it turned out, I came up 11 ounces short this time, and Brent (Ehrler) caught the fish that won the tournament on one of the last few casts."

> He was the runner-up in the FLWTC and finished 4th in the Tour AOY race.

Jared Lintner

"There was one fish I lost at Santee Cooper. I'd spotted it on a bed and worked on it for close to an hour, and my non-boater was looking at it and saying it wasn't even a bass. He was from upstate New York or somewhere, and he was saying it had to be a carp, but I could see the lateral line and I knew it was a bass.

"She'd been reacting to smaller-profile baits and I got her to eat one on 10-pound line, but I didn't want to try to catch her on that, so I shook her off. Then I picked up a rod with 30-pound line and flipped over there, and she ate it again.

"I set the hook and she made a beeline out in front of the boat, then came back around and was coming toward us. I told the dude to just get a hand in her mouth as she was swimming by, but all of a sudden she came off. It was like everything was in slow motion as she slowly swam away. I proceeded to throw my rod and reel out in the middle of the lake.

"It was the second day, about an hour before weigh-in, and I missed the cut by 8 ounces."

> It was one of only three Top 50 cuts he missed en route to winning the BassFan.com Rookie of the Year award.

Notable

> To read part 1 of this story, which features accounts from Peter Thliveros, Tommy Biffle, Edwin Evers, Gerald Swindle, Mike Hawkes, Kevin Wirth and John Crews, click here.

– End of part 2 (of 2) –