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Summer 2021
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Championship that put him in motion to fish professionally in America.
“The drop-shot is very big in Italy, and so are other Japanese techniques with light line,” he said. “The Neko Rig and fishing I-Motion plastics are very popular. We use three and four-inch baits with very light line over there and do little variations on techniques like using a three- inch Yamamoto Senko instead of the bigger ones that are popular here.”
His confidence with finesse fishing is always a fall back here in America, especially in the warmer months.
“The big difference is the size of the fish here, because we only have northern strain largemouth in Italy,” he said. “I have caught some really big bass on places like Lake Chickamauga with little baits, but I had to go to the heavier line. I lost too many big fish and had to go with 10 or 12-pound test to have a chance.”
As a result of his fishing upbringing, the drop-shot is a staple in his arsenal, as are the Neko and Wacky rigs.
“Most of the time, I like to fish a Neko, just to get it to the bottom faster,” he said. “You can fish more areas that way. I love fishing these during the summer, because you can skip under docks where they live this time of year.”
He likes a 13 Fishing Envy Black 2 spinning rod in
the 6’11” medium-heavy size for his Neko and Wacky setups.
“It is a fast action, but I like that it is not too fast,” he said. “With small hooks and a slow hookset, you need that. If the rod has too fast of an action, you will rip the hooks out.”
For drop-shotting, Gallelli preaches patience. He learned this through difficult fishing as he climbed the ranks from Italy to the professional level in the United States.
“The thing is to not take your sinker off
of the bottom,” he said. “You always want
the weight to stay in place as you shake the
bait. The lakes we fish in Italy are often very
clear and it is important to fish slowly when
it is extremely hot or extremely cold.”
He likes a 7’1” medium 13 Fishing Envy Black 2 spinning rod paired with a 13 Fishing Creed GT reel for drop-shot fishing.
“The rod has a soft tip and helps you move the bait without moving the weight,” he said. “Doing that will help you entice the largest fish.”
Although Jacopo Gallelli is across the ocean in a foreign country, he is living out his dream of becoming a professional bass angler. While he is far away from friends and family, he makes many sacrifices to try to make it a pro angler in America for the long haul. His story proves that bass fishing can truly be a universal language. •