When the 2014 FLW Tour schedule was announced Anthony Gagliardi was elated. The Forrest Wood Cup – the Tour’s season-ending championship – was returning to Lake Murray, Gagliardi’s home lake.

He would get a shot at redemption this August. The last time the Cup was held on Lake Murray in central South Carolina – just two years after winning his first FLW Tour qualifier on the lake and demolishing tournament records in the process – Gagliardi finished a disappointing 48^th.

“That was not a real reflection of the opportunities I had. I should have done better,” said Gagliardi, who was the FLW Tour’s Angler of the Year in 2006. “I had chances to do better.”

Gagliardi was on fish, possibly enough fish to win, in the 2008 Cup, but he made a fatal mistake. He had no backup plan and his fish disappeared due to a drastic change in the weather on the second day of the tournament. After weighing a limit at over 10 pounds the first day, he managed only two bass the second day, giving him a two-day total of seven fish at 12 pounds, 6 ounces, far short of what was needed to make the cut to the second round.

“If I had made it past the second day I think I could have done pretty good, but I did not have anything to fall back on,” he said.

So, as soon as the schedule came out, he began planning his year with the goal of making it back to the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray.

Then disaster struck.

“About a week before I was going to leave to go down to Okeechobee for the first tournament of the season, I realized what had happened.”

“What” had happened was that Gagliardi, an icon of honesty in the pro fishing ranks, realized he had violated a practice rule, a change that was just installed for the 2014 season.

While practicing on Okeechobee he fished one day with a friend from South Carolina who was practicing for a Rayovac tournament on the lake in January. That would have been legal in previous years, but the rules change required prior approval to fish with a contestant in another tournament series.

Although he knew the rules, Gagliardi said he did not think about it when he and the other angler decided to fish together on day when the other angler’s planned practice partner could not get to the lake. However, he soon realized his own mistake and did the honorable thing. He called Bill Taylor, director of tournament relations, and reported the violation.

There is no slap on the hand when a serious rule is violated in FLW Outdoors tournaments. Taylor had no choice but to disqualify Gagliardi for the Okeechobee tournament. That meant he would start the season with a big 0, a hard hole to dig out of.

“It just devastated me,” Gagliardi said. “I just knew my season was gone before it ever got going.”

But, being the pro that he is Gagliardi knew he had to try. He had to fish hard all year if he had any chance to get back into contention for the Cup on Lake Murray.

Then fortune smiled.

At the second tournament of the year on Lake Hartwell, Gagliardi finished 7^th. It was just the boost he needed to get things going again.

“That kind of got everything started,” he said. “I got a lot of points to begin with and realized I had a shot to make the Cup. After that one tournament was pretty much my goal. As long as I had a shot going into the next one that was all I could ask for.”

The Hartwell tournament gave him a little breathing room. He followed that with a 30^th place at Same Rayburn and then 13^th at Beaver Lake. The Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray was in sight, but he was not there yet.

“My last two tournaments were not great, but I did not have a really bad tournament this year,” Gagliardi said. “All in all, it was a fantastic year, considering all the pressure I put on myself.”

He finished 46^th at Pickwick in early June, then 48^th at Kentucky Lake in late June.

Although the Chevy pro did not make the cut at Kentucky Lake, he learned he had slipped into the Cup by the slightest of margins when total points for the year were calculated.

“I was next to the last guy in. One point or maybe two less and I would have been out,” he said.

This time around Gagliardi does not intend to squander his chances on Lake Murray. He began planning a year ago to hedge his bets in case he made the Cup.

“I don’t have a lot of experience on Lake Murray this time of year. It’s hot and there is not a lot of fun fishing going on,” Gagliardi said. “But last summer I did fish a little bit in preparation for this event. I did not fish all that hard. I just wanted to get an idea of what things might be like, just to stay in tune with the lake.”

This time, he said, he will have several different things to fall back on if he begins to struggle. The lake is up higher than normal this time of year, Gagliardi said, which means there will be some bass caught shallow.

“I’m not going to say I have the fish figured out. It’s a tough lake this time of year,” he said.

“There are not a lot of places where you can catch a bunch of fish on one spot. I think you will be able to pick up a fish and a fish there. Michael Bennett won it in 2008 by junk fishing and I think it will be won junk fishing this time.”

In his blog on the FLW website, fellow pro Dave Lefebre of Pennsylvania wrote about his friend, Gagliardi’s year:

“Statistically, Gagliardi has been one of the most consistent fishermen on the FLW Tour for several years, but what he accomplished this year is simply incredible, especially when you consider the circumstances involved,” wrote Lefebre who did not qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup, the first championship he has missed after making 11 straight.

“In this game it’s all about attitude and believing, and Gagliardi’s achievement is an inspiration to me, and one I think should motivate all of us who fish tournaments. It seemed impossible, but he overcame the odds and accomplished something that is clearly one of the most incredible feats this sport has ever seen, especially with only five tournaments to work with.”

Knowing he can fish this next week has filled Gagliardi with both relief and determination.

“The main thing for me is just having the chance to fish in the Forrest Wood Cup after almost blowing it at the beginning,” Gagliardi said. “I’m just so glad to say that I am going to be there.”

 

2014 FLW Forest Wood Cup

Aug 14-17, 2014

Lake Murray – Columbia, SC

Dreher Island State Park

www.flwoutdoors.com