Dopo la pioggia, arriva il sole.
“After the rain comes sunshine.”
13 Fishing Pro Angler, Jacopo Gallelli stamped his name on the trophy at the MLF BIG 5 Tour stop on the Potomac River over the weekend in powerful fashion!
Dropping a brazen 20 lb bag on the final day to take the win by only 2.31 lbs.
The biggest win of his career so far comes off the back of a tough start to the season. He demonstrated a ton of gritty, grinding effort during the tournament and was elated at the weigh-in scales when he knew victory was in his hands.
“It’s kind of amazing – it’s been such a long road and I’ve had so many things happen this season that just weren’t going my way. So to end up here with this win is absolutely amazing,” Gallelli said.
"This trophy means way more than the money for me. I’ve invested my entire life trying to achieve this level of fishing in my career, and I am finally here. I came 5,000 miles across the ocean to make this day happen."
“It’s been such a sacrifice, and the sacrifice has continually grown. If I go back home, I cannot keep competing. I’ve missed my son’s birthday, Christmas, New Years, Easter and now it sounds like I probably cannot go back to Italy until the beginning of the fall. But I will be coming back with something great. It’s not about the money – it’s about coming home with one of these [trophies]."
Jacopo breaks down all the 13 Fishing gear he used to lead him to the top of the podium over the weekend.
Then, off a tip from travel partner Kyle Gelles, he made the switch to a chatterbait set up - the Chat-R-Crank rod in the Envy Black Series in a 7’4” length with a moderate taper.
Jacopo said, “The moderate action was what I needed to get the distance out of my casts. Without that I couldn’t cover the water I needed to be effective.”
Jacopo used the same reel for each of his setups - a fast retrieve 7.5:1 gear ratio Concept C2.
“I needed the right speed to work my retrieve properly, and then be able to bury the hook in them when I got bit,” Jacopo said.