Quick Bites: FLW Old Hickory Lake, Day 2

Hackney rebounds in dramatic fashion, Dudley makes catch of a lifetime and Rojas stumbles bigtime

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Old Hickory Lake, Gallatin, Tenn.

Opening round, Thursday

Comeback Cajun kid … After turning in a paltry catch of 3 pounds, 3 ounces in yesterday’s competition, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., knew that he needed the catch of a lifetime if he was to have any hope of qualifying for the top-10 cut after today’s weigh-in. After all, with the cut expected to come in at 27 pounds and Old Hickory Lake proving to be as stubborn as ever, Hackney realized he was in dire straights. “After yesterday’s performance, I knew I had a long way to go,” said Hackney. “Usually when I’m really down after the first day, my goal is to just get a paycheck. But if you go out there enough times, something good is bound to happen one of those days.” Clearly, today was that day. Using a monstrous catch of 26 pounds, 8 ounces, Hackney leapfrogged from 122nd place all the way to sixth to qualify for Friday’s semifinals. “This was the day of a lifetime for me,” said Hackney, grinning from ear to ear. “And to do it here, on a lake that isn’t exactly known for big fish, makes it even more special. This is my biggest comeback by far.” So what was the trick? “I was flipping a jig, and I just changed colors and lightened the weight today,” he said. “And that made all of the difference in the world.” Hackney said he knew he had something special going on after landing a 5-pound largemouth very early in the day. “It was awesome. Every time I set the hook, it was another big fish,” he said. “I caught a 5-pounder, then a 3-pounder, then a 4-pounder and then another 5-pounder. I probably had between 11 and 12 great keeper bites today.” Although Hackney was ecstatic with his good fortune, he did express some reservations heading into the semifinals. “My main worry is that I’m not really fishing a pattern, but an area,” he said. “I’m going to go back to that same spot tomorrow. But I’m not really that sure I can bring back another 26-pound stringer.” Maybe not, but at least he’s guaranteed to leave Old Hickory Lake with a huge paycheck and some amazing memories – something he wouldn’t have dared dream about a mere 24 hours ago.

Manual labor pays off … Like Hackney, David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., had a less-than-stellar day on the water on Wednesday. After only recording a 4-pound, 11-ounce stringer on the first day of competition, Dudley was looking for a break, any break at all, to go his way. Miraculously enough, he got it – just where he least expected it. After throwing out his crankbait on one particular cast, Dudley watched helplessly as his line snapped. With his bait sailing through the air, Dudley tried to pay careful attention to where it landed so he could retrieve it later. “I kept an eye on where my bait went the whole time,” said Dudley. “Eventually, we got to where my bait was and I grabbed the broken line. I said to myself, `Well, at least I’m getting my bait back.'” Then the fun began. “I started pulling the line back to the boat and all of a sudden I see this 3-pounder grab my lure. I promise you, I wound up hand-lining that fish right into the boat. It’s the first time that had ever happened to me before. It’s funny. You make a zillion casts a day, you make a mistake, your line goes sailing and you catch a fish. It doesn’t make any sense.” Luckily for Dudley, his fish helped him make a whole lot of dollars and cents later on. Because, by the end of the day, Dudley’s 3-pound fish helped spur his very own comeback. Ultimately, Dudley recorded a 13-pound, 15-ounce catch to vault all the way from 92nd place to 27th – the difference between winning nothing and $3,500. “I still can’t believe it,” he said.

Rojas has day to forget … While feel-good stories abounded on the second day of competition, Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas, didn’t have one of them. After a hugely promising start of 15 pounds, 12 ounces, Rojas needed just an average day to make the cut and solidify his lead in the 2004 FLW Tour Angler of the Year race. What he got instead was a 2-pound, 4-ounce catch and a day filled with frustration. “The angler-of-the-year race is really important,” said Rojas. “I put myself in a great position, but it just didn’t work out.” Rojas’ headaches started when he got to his prime location that had been producing fish by the dozens all week. “I had a guy come in and sit on my area pretty much the whole day,” said Rojas. “And that’s where I got the bulk of my weight. I’m starting to see that good sportsmanship doesn’t matter as much as it used to.” However, Rojas acknowledged that that wasn’t the only reason for his poor showing. “Aside from that, I had four keeper bites and I lost three of them. And I have only myself to blame for that.” In the end, Rojas finished the tournament in 30th place, earned a check for $3,500 and still managed to keep his hopes very much alive for the AOY title. “It was a frustrating day, but that’s just how it goes sometimes,” he said. “In this sport, there are a lot of ups and downs.” Just ask Hackney and Dudley.

Quick numbers:

1,078-8: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of fish caught by the pros Thursday.

352-8: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of fish caught by the co-anglers Thursday.

386: Total number of fish caught by the pros in today’s competition.

134: Total number of fish caught by co-anglers.

116: Number of places Greg Hackney climbed to make today’s top-10 cut.

18: Number of anglers (both pros and co-anglers combined) who caught limits today.

7-11: Total weight, in pounds and ounces, of largest fish caught at Old Hickory over the first two days of tournament action (by Stanley Mitchell of Fitzgerald, Ga.).

5: Number of pros who remained in the top 10 after the completion of the second day of competition.

1: Number of co-anglers who broke the two-day 15-pound barrier.

Sound bites:

“I made a little change today.”

– FLW Tour pro Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with the understatement of the day after rebounding from 122nd place to sixth with a whopping 26-pound, 8-ounce stringer in Thursday’s competition.

“I knew we’re in trouble when we didn’t see any boats today. I told my partner that we better find some boats so we can find out where the fish are – because what we’re doing right now is wrong.”

– FLW Tour pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., joking about his poor choice of strategy in today’s competition.

“It’s not the Snickers (Big Bass) award, it’s the snicker award.”

– FLW Tour co-angler Randy Clark of Mobile, Ala., poking fun at his 15-ounce catch in today’s competition, the smallest catch of the tournament to date.

FLW action continues at Friday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. CST at Bull Creek Marina, located at 200 Odoms Bend Road in Gallatin, Tenn.