Gagliardi leads pros at Atchafalaya

Israel tops co-anglers

MORGAN CITY, La. – It was pretty much a hit-or-miss affair at the rainy Atchafalaya Basin on opening day of the second Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop of the season. The angler who hit the most was Anthony Gagliardi, a hot young stick from Prosperity, S.C., who led the Pro Division with a five-bass weight of 17 pounds, 1 ounce.

“Yeah, that shocked me a little bit,” he said. “I have caught some good fish here in practice, but most of them were over on the Belle River side about a 45-minute run from here.”

Instead of returning to his most productive practice location, which involved the long run, Gagliardi rolled the dice Wednesday and went to a closer location about 15 minutes from the takeoff point at Belle River Boat Launch. It was a spot that he fished briefly before the tournament and caught a few fish, but he had no idea that a leading stringer awaited him when he returned there Wednesday morning.

“My first fish was a big one, about a 5-pounder. That pretty much made my mind up and I stayed there all day,” he said.

The area he fished is a dead-end canal containing a lot of grass, hydrilla and coontails that seems to be harboring its fair share of the bigger-sized bass needed to contend here this week. Still, by flipping a ¼-ounce, black-and-blue jig, Gagliardi caught only the five keepers he weighed in, and it took him most of the day to land his limit.

“There’s a slime coat over the top of most of the grass, and that makes it really tough to fish,” he said. “But I had it all to myself today.”

Like many anglers predicted, the ceaseless rain, cool conditions and high water have made it tougher to find good fish at Atchafalaya so far. Just 37 pros caught limits, and many more than that came in with just one bass Wednesday. The weights are on par with what the FLW saw here in 2003, but, punctuating the changes the basin has seen this year compared to last, few contenders from last year’s tournament are even sniffing at the top 10 yet this week.

Gagliardi, however, likes the rain. Without the sun, he said it helps position his fish out from underneath the slimy grass and makes them more accessible.

It’s been an auspicious start of the season for Gagliardi. He placed 34th at FLW Lake Okeechobee last month, but finished in sixth place in the EverStart Eastern event at the same lake. He has steadily moved up the ranks in the FLW standings since he turned pro in 2001.

Monsoor second in the rain

Where Gagliardi fished in somewhat muddier water and only caught five keepers, pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., earned second place by working the cleanest water he could find and catching “two or three limits.” Monsoor’s five bass weighed 16 pounds, 6 ounces.

“I just went looking for clean water so I could swim that jig,” Monsoor said.

“That jig” is his own brand of lure he calls “Tom’s Swimming jig.” He paired it with a Yamamoto grub Wednesday and caught some 15 keepers in the first three hours Wednesday. After that he moved to another spot and culled out three more fish.

“That Yamamoto grub is just like a Senko,” he said. “It gets slimy like a leech after it’s been in the water a while. If a fish touches it, I swear it hangs onto it. You just don’t seem to miss as many bites.”

Tomorrow, Monsoor plans to readjust his GPS unit and go on the hunt for more clean water since he fears his location today will have muddied up by then.

“That spot was probably only good for one day,” he said. “This is a great fishery, but you’ve got to have a really good Garmin, though. If not for that, I’d never get there.”

Bird third, Schenck fourth, Roumbanis fifth

Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, grabbed the third position with a five-bass weight of 15 pounds, 13 ounces.

Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., placed fourth with a limit weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I was just fortunate to go into one place and get several bites,” said Schenck, who used the prevailing technique of flipping a jig Wednesday. “There’s a lot of rain, and I did my best to adjust to that. You’ve really got to be focused on your line because the bite is so light. It’s crazy. You can go out and catch 14 fish here and maybe only two of them will be keepers.”

FLW newcomer Fred Roumbanis of Auburn, Calif., positioned himself in fifth place with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros are Gary Yamamoto of Mineola, Texas, with a weight of 14 pounds, 6 ounces (sixth place); Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., with 14-2 (seventh); Kenneth Strickland of Greensboro, N.C., also with 14-2 (seventh); Steve Tosh of Waterford, Calif., with 14-1 (ninth); and Brennan Bosley of Benton, Ark., with 13-10 (10th). All of the top 10 pros caught five-bass limits.

Mark Pack of Mineola, Texas, claimed the $750 Snickers Big Bass Award for a giant basin largemouth that weighed 8 pounds even.

Co-angler Israel returns to the top

Female fishing sensation Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla., took the lead in the Co-angler Division with a four-bass weight of 8 pounds, 12 ounces Wednesday. Israel, who already has eight top-10 finishes in the FLW and EverStart ranks and one BFL victory, was ecstatic about her return to FLW contention.

“It feels wonderful,” she said. “I’ve been so lucky with the pros I’ve been partnered with. You can’t do it without them.”

Fishing with pro Tony Defilippo of Lake Ann, Mich., Israel caught her leading sack by flipping a Gambler craw. Even she seemed surprised with her solid outing since, she admits, flipping is not her strong suit.

“I flipped them up today,” said Israel, who originally hails from New York City. “It’s my weakest technique, but we were flipping and pitching in less than 4 feet of water. I think these New Orleans fish just like the Bronx girl.”

Leon Williams of Fairdale, Ky., placed second for the co-anglers with a three-bass weight of 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., landed in third place with three bass weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces.

Fourth place went to Terry Chapman of Cornelius, N.C., for three bass weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces.

Kevin Langhill of Gastonia, N.C., placed fifth with two bass weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces.

Rounding out the top co-anglers are Arch Cornett of Huntsville, Ala., with a three-bass weight of 6 pounds, 8 ounces (sixth place); Ed Garrett of Hot Springs, Ark., with two bass weighing 6-6 (seventh); Scott Noel of Loveland, Ohio, with two bass weighing 5-15 (eighth); Ron Clifton of Fort Smith, Ark., with one bass weighing 5-11 (ninth); and co-anglers in a three-way tie for 10th place, all with 5-7, including Rodney Chmolack of Phenix City, Ala., with one bass, Asa Godsey of Clewiston, Fla., with two and Thomas Sandefur of Robards, Ky., with two.

Clifton also won the $500 Snickers Big Bass Award for his 5-11 largemouth on the co-angler side.

None of the co-anglers caught five-bass limits Wednesday.

The opening round of FLW action at the Atchafalaya Basin continues with its second half Thursday as anglers take off from Belle River Boat Launch at 7 a.m. CST. The full fields will be cut down to the top 10 anglers apiece following tomorrow’s action.