Lake Murray has been good to professional angler Anthony Gagliardi.
Coming into the event, the Prosperity native had two major national wins including the prestigious 2014 FLW Cup, He had also banked nearly a half of a million dollars in career tournament winnings from Lake Murray alone.
On Friday, Gagliardi added another big trophy and another $100,000 in earnings from his hometown fishery. Gagliardi caught 16 scorable bass, with his best five weighing 26 pounds, 13 ounces, to win the top prize of $100,000 at the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour Fox Rent A Car Stage Three at Lake Murray presented by Mercury.
Gagliardi’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 47 pounds, 12 ounces, earned him the win by a 4-pound, 11-ounce margin over second-place finisher Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, who weighed in 10 bass totaling 43-1.
“There is something about this lake, I don’t know what it is, but this lake just suits me,” Gagliardi said.
“I don’t even fish it all that much – I honestly don’t – but this lake is just incredible, and I am so proud to be from here. Lake Murray showed out for everybody this week.
“If you’d have told me that I was going to be able to catch that kind of weight doing the things I was doing today, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Gagliardi continued. “I started the day out thinking I was going to fish conservatively and just try to get to 18 pounds and see what happens after that. But I caught a 5-12 early, and then the 8-pounder – just a huge, huge fish. Then it was on. This has just been a blessed day all around.”
The final 10 pros from the Fox Rent A Car Stage Three at Lake Murray presented by Mercury
1st: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 47-12, $100,000
2nd: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 10 bass, 43-1, $45,000
3rd: Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 10 bass, 41-6, $38,000
4th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 40-15, $32,000
5th: Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 10 bass, 40-6, $30,000
6th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 40-0, $26,000
7th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 10 bass, 37-3, $23,000
8th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C, 10 bass, 36-13, $21,000
9th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 10 bass, 36-0, $19,000
10th: James Watson, Lampe, Mo., nine bass, 31-11, $16,000