Maybe horrific floods near his Louisiana home helped put things into perspective, or simply enough time has passed since Cayuga, but either way Greg Hackney finally opened up Sunday on Bassmaster LIVE.
It was seven weeks ago at the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake that Hackney’s Day 1 catch was disqualified after it was determined he fished an off-limits area. He finished last in the event and his hopes for a second Toyota Angler of the Year title nose-dived.
“It was good we had a big break,” Hackney said. “I’m glad we didn’t have a back-to-back. I needed a rock to crawl under somewhere.”
LIVE hosts Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders interviewed Hackney as he drove home from the Bassmaster Elite at Potomac River presented by Econo Lodge, where he finished 13th. After learning of some of the devastation the floods have caused, Zona asked his friend where he is mentally now from a month and half ago.
“I’m probably back to 75 percent,” Hackney said. “It’s one of those deals where it’s been hard for me to stomach. I think about it every day. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t affected me.
“It’s like everything else. You get up the next day and you get over it.”
Hackney weighed in 17 pounds, 8 ounces on the first day at Cayuga and later learned he’d been disqualified. New York bans fishing in all manmade basins, and Hackney had entered the Cornell Sailing Center. Some called the law antiquated and others railed on the harshness of the penalty.
“The deal was if I had known I was in the off-limits, I could have called in and restarted the day,” he said. “I culled that fish out. I could have went back if I had realized.
“You live and you learn. I don’t ever plan on that happening again. I hope I have another good chance. I started off really good this year in every event.”
The ramifications of the DQ shell-shocked Hackney, who was coming off victory on Lake Texoma. Hackney launched early on Day 2 to avoid most everybody, and he appeared distraught on stage. He told emcee Dave Mercer he did not yet feel like talking as he weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces to salvage four points.
“The hardest thing I’ve ever done is fish the second day at Cayuga. It was horrible,” he said. “It took me until about 12 o’clock until I really fished. I didn’t even know why I was out there.”
Hackney’s 30-point lead in the AOY race became a 67-point deficit. He left Cayuga “wanting to shoot myself in the neck.” He did appreciate the reaction of his fellow Elites, who told him it felt like it happened to them. Think about that. His fellow competitors were empathetic to someone who regularly takes their money.
“It really shocked me to see how many guys came up to me at Cayuga and were truly sincere they hated what happened,” Hackney said. “I have the utmost respect for the anglers. All of our bunch are really, truly good guys.”
That includes Gerald Swindle, the main benefactor of Hackney’s miscue. Swindle, who was sick for Hackney, finished 10th on the Potomac to add three points onto his cushion over Hackney. Keith Combs and Randall Tharp also stand ahead of Hackney, making the hill that much steeper.
Hackney called into LIVE when eventual winner Justin Lucas led by about 10 pounds, and he assessed his shot of overcoming the obstacles and winning AOY – “My chances are the same as anybody coming back and beating Justin Lucas today,” he said.
BABY GOT BACK … IN ITS NEST
We got our fill of northern snakehead info – who knew ugly could be good eating? – so this rescue of a young osprey by Ott DeFoe, Koby Kreiger and Marshal Mike Belter (as photographed by Marshal Mike Belter) gets the good deed nod as the photo sequence shows.
SHAKERS AND SLIDERS
Behind top 12 finishes on the Potomac, Fred Roumbanis and Andy Montgomery climbed into Classic contention. Montgomery finished fifth and moved from 55th in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings to 37th. Roumbanis’ jump was from 59th to 40th, making him the first outside the Classic cut.
Gary Klein at 39th in the AOY standings is currently the last man in, and Roumbanis, Casey Ashley and Cliff Pirch next in line. Pirch made headway by taking 12th on Sunday, moving from 60th to 42nd in the standings..
Brent Ehrler (41st to 31st) and Keith Poche (50th to 38th) also helped their causes, while anglers like former Classic champ Randy Howell, John Crews and Josh Bertrand fell. Howell finished 102nd on the Potomac and dropped 20 spots to 53rd. Crews’ 90th-place finish pushed him down 11 spots to 49th, and Bertrand dropped from 34th to 44th.
The Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis., Sept. 8-11, is the final regular season event and it will determine the top 50 who advance to the AOY Championship on Mille Lacs Lake, Sept. 15-18.
NO EXCUSES FROM POWROZNIK
Catching only one fish on Day 3 led to Jacob Powroznik’s precipitous fall from third to 35th place at the Potomac (thus severely affecting my fantasy team along with countless others), but he didn’t offer any excuses.
OK, he did say the wind changed on him so he knew fishing would be tough, but he came on LIVE with Mercer and blew off criticism on his decision to let roommate Koby Kreiger win their match on the Niagara.
“We pay to play, so technically, I can make any kind of decision I want,” Powroznik said. “The deal was … I didn’t really have nothing to gain. If there had been a Toyota truck, ‘Sorry Koby. You’re a good friend, but not that good.’”
Finishing in the top eight at Cayuga sent Powroznik to the Classic Bracket, assuring a payday of $5,000. However, his long-time friend, the only competitor who wasn’t well within the Classic cut, would benefit much more with a Classic berth, which are valued at much more than the $10,000 payday.
Powroznik said he’s confident tournament organizers are going tweak the bracket format and to take out any such potential glitch in the future.
The gang’s all here as Dave Mercer, Davy Hite and Wes Miller cover Justin Lucas’ early check-in.
LUCAS SHUTS DOWN EARLY
Justin Lucas decided to call it a day early and head back in around noon Sunday, giving Powroznik and Mercer a nice topic of discussion on LIVE.
Aside from Aaron Martens coming in somewhat early last year at Chesapeake, nobody had gone to the dock and ordered pizza since Timmy Horton blew away the field on Lake Champlain in 2007. Mercer suggested they should meet Lucas at the dock with pizza in hand.
“It’s looking like he’s running around the river taking a little victory lap,” said Powroznik, who added Lucas was smart because he had enough time to paddle back if he broke down. “To see him coming in right now, I can only imagine the feeling he has knowing he’s about to clinch his second Bassmaster victory.”
The ironic thing was Lucas actually needed a last-minute ride in from Ish Monroe last year to win on his home waters near Sacramento, Calif.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL CATCH
Probably the closest catch we’ve ever witnessed came from Jason Christie on Sunday during his run to 23-1, the big bag of the event. Cameraman Rick Mason saw a black-backed bass slowly swimming near Christie’s boat and tracked it with his lens while Christie put his bait in front of the fish’s face.
Bing, bang, boom. It bit and was yanked into the boat lickety split.
“That’s why you fish!” Mercer said. “That is one of the coolest things we’ve seen on LIVE.”
HOT TIME IN DC
Temps were in the 90s and the heat indexes climbed above 100 to 110 several times during the Potomac event. It took its toll on the anglers, one of whom reported a really bad go.
“… I got really sick on Day 1 after 12:30, barely completed the day and just starting to feel better today,” Fabian Rodriguez reported, adding that keeping cool, wet rags around your neck helps.