Florence Pro Catches Limit Weighing 16-15 To Lead by 1 Pound, 8 Ounces – Top 50 Advance to Saturday
COUNCE, Tenn. (April 22, 2022) – Phoenix pro Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy , kept his Day 1 lead Friday, bringing a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces to remain in control of the leaderboard after Day 2 of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lithium Pros Stop 3 at Pickwick Lake Presented by Covercraft in Counce, Tennessee. Gallelli’s two-day total of 10 bass for 39-15 give him a 1-pound, 8-ounce lead heading into the third day of the competition as 156 professional anglers compete for up to $135,000.
Pro John Hunter of Shelbyville, Kentucky, slid into second place with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces, for a two-day total of 38-7. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Angler of the Year (AOY) Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan finished the day in third place with 10 bass weighing 34-11, while Berkley pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, moved into fourth with a two-day total of 34 pounds even. Rocklin, California, rookie Andrew Loberg started the day in 18th place, then brought a five-bass limit weighing 17-6 to the scale for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33-13 to round out the top five. Louisiana’s Nick Lebrun of Bossier City made the biggest leap of the day, with a stringer weighing 19-13 to move from 88th place into 11th.
Link to photo of Day 2 leader Jacopo Gallelli
“I was just hoping to stay in the top 20 today, so to be leading again is awesome,” Gallelli said. “I have said I am lucky, but I do feel deserving because three of the fish today were caught strictly on intuition and that intuition just reinforces that you know what you’re doing on the water. Everything is just in sync right now.”
That certainly seems to be the case for the Italian pro, who caught a 3-pound bass on his first cast of the day.
“I hit a grand slam today,” Gallelli said. “I caught a big smallmouth, a big largemouth and a big spotted bass – I don’t think I’ve ever caught large bass from three different species in one day before.
“There was another angler on my spot when I arrived there today, but he was pretty fair and left the area shortly after I arrived. I caught a small limit there and a big smallmouth on a log that I saw on the (Garmin) Livescope.”
Gallelli continued to be tight-lipped about his location, bait and patterns, but said he found another area where he caught a 5-pound largemouth; however, he doesn’t expect that spot to hold up after fishing it for three hours with only one keeper.
“I don’t know if I will try to fish that area again tomorrow,” Gallelli said. “I think if I can just get a limit tomorrow, I will be happy.”
With weights zeroing on Championship Sunday, Gallelli said he may get a limit and then just spend time practicing for the final day.
“The weights resetting takes a lot of pressure off, with the lead I currently have,” Gallelli said. “I think if I come back with 12-13 pounds tomorrow, I will make it into the top 10.
Gallelli said he believes it will take 20 pounds to win the event on Day Four.
“There were two limits around 20 pounds today, so with only 10 boats in the water, it will take at least 20 pounds to win, but I don’t want to overthink this tournament. I just try to keep it very simple and very basic. I do a lot of finesse-fishing in Italy but have never found an opportunity to do well here in the states. I’ve found a way to use those finesse skills in this tournament, so it’s been really nice.”
Although he’s spent the last two days at the top of the leaderboard, Gallelli said that isn’t his favorite position to be in leading up to the final day of an event.
“I like to work from behind and don’t really like to have the spotlight on me, but I know a lot of people are cheering for me in Europe. It really means a lot to be representing an entire continent, although sometimes I do feel the weight of it because the attention is on you when you do good, but it’s also on you when you do bad,” Gallelli laughed.
The top 50 pros that made the cut after Day 2 and will fish Saturday on Pickwick Lake are:
2nd: John Hunter of Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 38-7
3rd: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 34-11
4th: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 34-0
5th: Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, Calif., 10 bass, 33-13
6th: Mark Rose of Wynne, Ark., 10 bass, 33-0
7th: Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 32-12
8th: Larry Nixon of Quitman, Ark., 10 bass, 32-7
9th: Corey Neece of Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-10
10th: Chris Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-9
11th: Nick Lebrun of Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 31-7
12th: Jim Moynagh of Shakopee, Minn., 10 bass, 31-3
13th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 31-0
14th: Shane Lineberger of Lincolnton, N.C., 10 bass, 30-15
15th: Steve Lopez of Oconomowoc, Wis., 10 bass, 30-11
16th: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 30-7
17th: Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-7
18th: Randy Howell of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-5
19th: Cameron Mattison of Benton, La., 10 bass, 30-3
20th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 30-2
21st: Brian Latimer of Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 30-0
22nd: Darrell Davis of Dover, Fla., 10 bass, 29-12
23rd: Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., 10 bass, 29-11
24th: Troy Stokes of Trenton, Mich., 10 bass, 29-11
25th: Miles Burghoff of Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-5
26th: Mike McClelland of Blue Eye, Mo., 10 bass, 29-4
27th: Cal Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-4
28th: Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., 10 bass, 29-2
29th: Mitchell Webb of Skiatook, Okla., nine bass, 29-1
30th: Josh Bragg of Fayetteville, Ga., 10 bass, 29-0
31st: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 29-0
32nd: Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 28-15
33rd: Chad Warren of Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 28-14
34th: Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Ill., 10 bass, 28-12
35th: Kyle Gelles of Pingree, Idaho, 10 bass, 28-12
36th: Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Ore., 10 bass, 28-6
37th: Blake Hall of Decatur, Ala., 10 bass, 28-6
38th: Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 28-5
39th: Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla., eight bass, 27-15
40th: Brad Knight of Lancing, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-15
41st: Braxton Setzer of Wetumpka, Ala., 10 bass, 27-11
42nd: Kyle Cortiana of Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 27-7
43rd: Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-5
44th: John Voyles of Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 27-4
45th: Andy Newcomb of Camdenton, Mo., 10 bass, 27-0
46th: Philip Dutra of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 26-12
47th: Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 26-10
48th: Justin Cooper of Zwolle, La., 10 bass, 26-7
49th: Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 26-6
50th: Barron Adams of Mineral Bluff, Ga., 10 bass, 26-3
Overall, there were 626 bass weighing 1,653 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 150 pros Friday. The catch included 88 five-bass limits.
The event, hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, marks the third regular-season event of the year for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. Now, the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros, based on cumulative weight from the first three days, will continue competition on Championship Sunday, where weights will be zeroed, and anglers will compete in a one-day shootout for the grand prize of up to $135,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE Presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where they will compete for up to $235,000. The 2022 TITLE will be on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York on Aug. 16-21, and is hosted by the Town of Massena.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. CT each day from the Pickwick Landing State Park located at 120 Playground Loop in Counce. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park daily at 2:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all four days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lithium Pros Stop 3 at Pickwick Lake Presented by Covercraft will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere in July on the CBS Sports Network.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Fuel Me, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.