Who The Heck Is Anthony Gagliardi?

Most BassFans who meet Anthony Gagliardi on the street probably wouldn't recognize him. He's the guy behind you in the grocery line. The one dropping off videos at the local Blockbuster.

On the FLW Tour, he sort of flits around in the shadows. But those shadows have started to recede and after this year's season, when he made a serious run for Angler of the Year, the bass world's suddenly starting to notice Anthony Gagliardi. Does he

deserve it? Absolutely, and he might be the most potent not-talked-about angler on tour right now.

His first full season on the FLW Tour was 2002, when he finished 51st in the Tour points. After that, he steadily improved – 45th, 31st, then 3rd in this year's points. And he started the year ranked No. 56 in the State Farm World Rankings, but improved big-time to end the year ranked No. 11.

In the past 2 years of regular-season FLW Tour competition he's finished worse than 50th only three times. And he won the Kentucky Lake FLW last year, then finished 3rd at the 2004 FLW Tour Championship.

Back to Front

Gagliardi's hometown is Prosperity, S.C., but another Prosperity resident, Davy Hite, had nothing to do with his development. "I don't really know Davy that much," Gagliardi said. "I hardly ever see him. Back when I fished team tournaments on Lake Murray, we fished a lot of the same events. I was familiar with him then, and kept up with him when he turned pro. Other than that, I never see him."

He took a popular development route that began with Red Man tournaments, until he joined the FLW Tour as a co-angler in 1999. He fished a full season that year from the back of the boat.

"My first pro-am was the Red Man trail – I was just out of college," he said. "It was boater-on-boater and I did that for 2 years. It didn't take long to realize I wasn't too happy fishing from the back of the boat. It was maybe by the end of the second year when I switched over to the boater side.

"At same time, I started fishing as a co-angler on the FLW Tour. So that's really what gave me the gist of what it was all about."

When he graduated college with a mechanical engineering degree, that's when he "had to decide. I had to weigh out all my options. I could get a job and earn money, or take a chance (on pro fishing). I talked to my dad a lot about it. He helped me out financially and I said I'd try it for a year."

The Big Leagues

Gagliardi called the FLW Tour in 2001 as a Ranger owner but couldn't get into the first event at Okeechobee. But he fished the rest of the season and requalified for the Tour in 2003. His disappointment that season was the Red River FLW. He finished 51st in the points with just five events, but a 132nd at the Red River kept him out of the Championship.

"I had two good tournaments that first year, but the one at the Red River really hurt me," he said. "I think I cashed a check in the first three tournaments I fished, but that one at the Red River killed me. I was so torn up after that tournament. It made me start questioning if what I was doing was the right thing. I had serious confidence problems."

The Climb

Despite the Red River confidence blow, he kept at it and, at the same time, marked a steady improvement. He said that improvement was because of his fishing style.

"I think (the improvement) was due to the fact that I did a lot of different kinds of fishing before I started this thing. When people ask me about it, the best explanation I have is, if you take a person who has a lot of different things they're capable of doing, it takes longer to become better at each individual thing. If someone just flips, in 2 years, they'll be pretty good at it. With me, I had eight or nine different things I did, and it's taken longer to get adept at each individual technique.

"It's taken me 4 or 5 years to get to where I'm good at about everything I do. I'm not as much a master of one technique. I can sight-fish, spinnerbait, flip, dropshot – there's nothing I don't feel comfortable doing. And I'm slowly getting better at everything."

Top 50 Goal

Gagliardi has only made two Top 10 cuts in his 5 years of tour-level competition. But that wasn't really his goal in each tournament.

"When I was building my career, the main thing that sticks out in my mind was payout. When I first started, it was to make a living. It might not be the best approach, but to win or get a Top 5, I think it's hard for someone like me. Being versatile, I didn't have one specific technique, and I think it's harder for someone like that to win.

"At the same time, it's easier for someone like that to place in the Top 50. Now if I can make the Top 50, I'm happy. I'm still growing as a fisherman and I'll have more opportunities to make Top 10 cuts and potentially win. It's a slower process but better in the long run. On the other hand, there are guys like (Denny) Brauer and (Tommy) Biffle who made a good living doing one technique."

Another aspect of his career development involved learning new water, and he didn't shy from getting help where it was needed, which is fully within the FLW Tour rules.

"If I have somebody who could help me, sure, I'll use that info," he said. "I try not to rely on it, because a lot of times, if you strictly rely on it, it doesn't work out. But if you use it in addition to what you learn yourself, or use it to build on something else, then it can be really helpful. If I do get help, I try not to focus on that. I'll use it to try to find other things.

"I still build some friendships just through meeting people," he added. "And I stay in touch with people. If I know somebody that I think can point me in the right direction before we go, I'll talk with them and use whatever info I can get. It's not a crutch. I don't feel I need it. But it cuts down on my time."

Notable

> Gagliardi said his ideal practice is "5 to 7 days."

> He plans to fish both the FLW Tour and FLW Series next year.

> On last year's Kentucky Lake win, he said, "It was big – really big. I don't know if it was necessarily a turning point in my career. It wasn't a make-or-break situation. But financially, it gave me a lot of independence. It took a load off my shoulders. Plus, it's a confidence boost."

> He noted confidence has been a problem at times. "Throughout my career, confidence is my biggest problem. It's real easy for me to get down on myself."