By MLF Communications Staff
After a rainy start to the morning, a field of 156 anglers spent the day adapting to falling water and changing conditions to kick off the four-day competition at the MLF Pro Circuit event at Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tenn. Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds even to take the lead after Day 1, while veteran Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Florida sits 1-11 behind with 21-05.
“I honestly don’t know how I did it,” said Gallelli. “I caught six fish in three days during practice, so I guess the takeaway is never give up. I got lucky – I only caught seven fish all day long – so it was tough, but I caught the right ones.
“This is probably the biggest limit I’ve caught in my life,” Gallelli continued. “We don’t have Florida-strain bass in Italy, and I think the biggest bag I’ve ever weighed in a tournament there or in the U.S. weighed 22 pounds, 8 ounces.”
Gallelli said his ‘luck’, which brought him three big smallmouth and two good-sized largemouth, was a top-secret combination of a special location and a lure that he preferred to keep under wraps.
“The area where I started is pretty special – I had a limit of 19 pounds by 9 a.m. this morning, then was able to cull three times later in the day,” said Gallelli. “I didn’t go to that spot during practice, but I’ve fished there in the past and was so desperate this morning, I thought I’d give it a try. Within 15 minutes I caught a 3-pound smallmouth, then caught a 5-pound smallmouth a bit later. I fished it very slow and methodical, picking it apart, and came out of that area with more than 20 pounds.
“I could see the fish with my (Garmin) Livescope, and I really think I caught all the ones in that area, but if I can catch a big one over there on Day 2, that would be perfect.
“I feel like I did an awesome job, and I could not be happier,” continued Gallelli. “I had such a bad practice on Pickwick Lake and had a rough time at my last tournament at the James River, so I was happy to come here and have some redemption.”
Gallelli said he’d already received many messages from friends and family who are rooting for him in Italy.
“I didn’t expect this to happen today, and I don’t know if I can do this again tomorrow,” said Gallelli. “I’m currently 14th in Angler of the Year (AOY) points and one of my season goals is to qualify for the Bass Pro Tour, so if I get 12 pounds tomorrow, I’ll be super happy.”
Gallelli said his game plan for Day 2 is to go back to the same spot to see if his lucky streak will continue.
“I also have another area where I caught several quality fish today and lost a big fish against a structure, so hopefully I can fill up a limit on Friday between the two spots.”
Matt Reed of Madisonville, Texas brought a bass weighing 7-09 to the scale to win the day's $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award.
In Pro Circuit competition, the full field of anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The Top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advance to Saturday. Only the Top 10 pros continue competition on Sunday, when weights are zeroed and the winner is determined by the heaviest weight from the final day of competition.
Anglers 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 are held at the park daily at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome 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.
Day 1 Standings
1. Jacopo Gallelli -- 23-00 (5)
2. Mike Surman -- 21-05 (5)
3. Corey Neece -- 21-01 (5)
4. John Hunter -- 21-00 (5)
5. Cameron Mattison -- 19-11 (5)
6. Jimmy Neece Jr -- 18-07 (5)
7. Ron Nelson -- 18-06 (5)
8. Steve Lopez -- 18-04 (5)
9. Larry Nixon -- 17-13 (5)
10. Miles Burghoff -- 17-12 (5)
11. John Cox -- 17-02 (5)
12. Mark Rose -- 16-14 (5)
13. Chris Lane -- 16-11 (5)
13. Josh Butler -- 16-11 (5)
15. David Walker -- 16-10 (5)
16. Brett Hite -- 16-09 (5)
16. Billy Hines -- 16-09 (5)
18. Andrew Loberg -- 16-07 (5)
19. Skeet Reese -- 16-03 (5)
19. John Voyles -- 16-03 (5)
21. Michael Neal -- 15-15 (5)
22. Chad Warren -- 15-12 (5)
23. Laramy Strickland -- 15-10 (5)
24. Pete Ponds -- 15-08 (5)
24. Kurt Mitchell -- 15-08 (5)
26. Jim Tutt -- 15-03 (5)
27. Barron Adams -- 14-14 (5)
28. Brian Latimer -- 14-12 (5)
29. Martin Villa -- 14-11 (5)
30. Blake Hall -- 14-09 (5)
30. Spencer Shuffield -- 14-09 (5)
30. Cal Lane -- 14-09 (5)
33. Jim Moynagh -- 14-08 (5)
33. Troy Stokes -- 14-08 (5)
33. Mitch Crane -- 14-08 (5)
36. Shane Lineberger -- 14-05 (5)
36. Michael Matthee -- 14-05 (5)
36. Darrell Davis -- 14-05 (5)
36. Kyle Gelles -- 14-05 (5)
36. Nick Hatfield -- 14-05 (5)
41. Rusty Salewske -- 14-04 (5)
42. Randy Howell -- 14-03 (5)
43. Chris Groh -- 14-02 (5)
44. Cole Floyd -- 14-01 (5)
45. Chad Grigsby -- 13-15 (5)
45. Matthew Stefan -- 13-15 (5)
47. Scott Dobson -- 13-14 (5)
47. Dakota Ebare -- 13-14 (5)
49. Jimmy Reese -- 13-13 (5)
50. Justin Lucas -- 13-12 (5)
51. Kyle Weisenburger -- 13-11 (5)
52. Mitchell Webb -- 13-10 (4)
52. Clayton Batts -- 13-10 (5)
52. Colby Schrumpf -- 13-10 (5)
55. Tai Au -- 13-09 (5)
56. Lane Olson -- 13-08 (5)
56. Brandon McMillan -- 13-08 (5)
56. Jacob Wall -- 13-08 (5)
59. Terry Bolton -- 13-07 (5)
59. Kerry Milner -- 13-07 (5)
61. Scott Towry -- 13-06 (5)
61. Joey Cifuentes -- 13-06 (5)
63. Dicky Newberry -- 13-05 (5)
64. Joshua Weaver -- 13-04 (5)
65. Randall Tharp -- 13-02 (5)
65. Jason Vance -- 13-02 (5)
65. Ricky Robinson -- 13-02 (5)
65. Dylan Hays -- 13-02 (5)
65. Andy Newcomb -- 13-02 (5)
70. Charlie Ingram -- 13-00 (5)
71. Jason Meninger -- 12-15 (5)
71. Jason Abram -- 12-15 (5)
73. Braxton Setzer -- 12-14 (5)
74. Jon Canada -- 12-13 (5)
75. Brad Knight -- 12-12 (5)
76. Wesley Strader -- 12-07 (5)
77. Mike McClelland -- 12-06 (5)
77. Josh Bragg -- 12-06 (5)
79. Greg Bohannan -- 12-05 (5)
79. Charlie Evans -- 12-05 (5)
81. Jeff Reynolds -- 12-03 (5)
81. Dave Parsons -- 12-03 (5)
83. Phillip Dutra -- 12-02 (5)
84. Jeff McLain -- 12-00 (5)
85. River Lee -- 11-15 (5)
86. Derrick Snavely -- 11-14 (5)
87. Lendell Martin Jr -- 11-12 (5)
88. Darrel Robertson -- 11-10 (5)
88. Lance Oligschlaeger -- 11-10 (5)
88. Nick Lebrun -- 11-10 (5)
91. Bobby Lane -- 11-08 (5)
92. Chase Serafin -- 11-06 (5)
93. Tyler Woolcott -- 11-04 (5)
94. Alex Davis -- 11-03 (5)
94. Takayuki Koike -- 11-03 (4)
96. Justin Cooper -- 11-01 (5)
97. Ricardo Gonzalez -- 10-12 (4)
98. James Niggemeyer -- 10-10 (5)
98. Kyle Hall -- 10-10 (5)
100. Steve York -- 10-09 (5)
100. Matt Becker -- 10-09 (4)
102. Grant Galloway -- 10-08 (5)
102. Kyle Cortiana -- 10-08 (5)
104. Trevor Fitzgerald -- 10-06 (5)
105. Mickey Beck -- 10-04 (5)
106. Bruce Parsons -- 9-14 (3)
106. Grae Buck -- 9-14 (5)
108. Ron Farrow -- 9-13 (5)
109. Todd Walters -- 9-12 (4)
110. Matt Reed -- 9-11 (2)
111. Randy Despino -- 9-08 (4)
112. Clark Reehm -- 9-07 (4)
113. Cole Hewett -- 9-03 (4)
114. Evan Barnes -- 9-02 (3)
115. Christian Greico -- 9-01 (3)
116. Shonn Goodwin -- 8-08 (4)
117. Jimmy Washam -- 8-07 (4)
118. Jason Reyes -- 8-06 (4)
119. Brandon Mosley -- 8-05 (3)
120. Stuart Arthur -- 8-04 (2)
121. Ramie Colson Jr -- 7-15 (3)
122. Robby Lefere -- 7-14 (3)
123. Colby Miller -- 7-10 (4)
124. Scott Wiley -- 7-09 (4)
125. Casey Scanlon -- 7-02 (3)
126. Tyler Stewart -- 7-01 (3)
127. Joe Wieberg -- 7-00 (2)
127. Miles Howe -- 7-00 (3)
129. Shannon Abbott -- 6-13 (3)
130. Mark Fisher -- 6-09 (2)
131. Jared McMillan -- 6-08 (2)
131. Stephen Albertson -- 6-08 (3)
133. Jamie Horton -- 6-07 (3)
134. Rusty Trancygier -- 6-04 (3)
135. Cody Pike -- 5-13 (3)
136. Tom Monsoor -- 5-12 (3)
137. J Todd Tucker -- 5-09 (2)
138. Nick Gainey -- 4-12 (2)
139. Bill McDonald -- 4-10 (2)
140. Clabion Johns -- 4-05 (2)
141. Jason Blair -- 4-04 (3)
142. Keith Carson -- 4-02 (2)
143. Tom Redington -- 3-12 (2)
143. Aaron Britt -- 3-12 (2)
145. Terry Luedtke -- 3-11 (2)
146. Robert Nakatomi -- 3-04 (1)
147. Tommy Dickerson -- 3-01 (1)
148. Cole Harris -- 2-14 (1)
149. Gary Yamamoto -- 2-11 (1)
150. Tim Frederick -- 2-03 (1)
151. Jordan Osborne -- 2-02 (1)
152. Blake Smith -- 1-14 (1)
152. Lance Crawford -- 1-14 (1)
Jeff Bridges -- 0-00 (0)
Jason Lieblong -- 0-00 (0)
Matt Greenblatt -- 0-00 (0)
