Greg Hackney Takes Bassmaster Angler Of The Year Title

ESCANABA, Mich. — Louisiana’s Greg Hackney, 41, is the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY). Over nine events, Hackney outpracticed, outstrategized, outfished and ultimately outlasted the other 107 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers who started the season. Hackney finished 24th in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Bays de Noc Monday after weather forced the postponement of the second (and final) round for three days. It was enough to lock up his first career AOY title. Along with the title and trophy, Hackney earns $100,000 as bass fishing’s best angler in 2014. The other 49 competitors earned shares of the rest of the $900,000 purse, based on their rankings in Angler of the Year points.

His season was solid right out of the gate. He finished a respectable 38th in the opener on Lake Seminole and followed it up with Top 16 finishes at the St. Johns River (16th), Table Rock Lake (third), Lake Dardanelle (third) and Cayuga Lake (first). His worst finish of the season was 48th at the Delaware River. He was the only angler in the series to earn a prize check (Top 50 finish) at every tournament. Hackney entered the championship with a 15-point lead over defending AOY Aaron Martens and a 17-point margin over Todd Faircloth. Hackney knew that if he finished in the Top 15 at Bays de Noc, no one could catch him. Though he fell short of that mark, he was strong enough to hold off his challengers.

“I started thinking about Angler of the Year after the Lake Dardanelle tournament,” Hackney said. “I felt like I had a chance to do it. It didn’t change my approach to the tournaments, but it motivated me and made me fish harder.”

This was not Hackney’s first brush with the AOY title. In 2004, he finished second to Gerald Swindle as a rookie, earning Bassmaster Rookie of the Year honors in the process. He was also fifth in 2005 and eighth in 2010. He is the first Louisiana resident to win AOY, and the fourth angler to claim AOY honors with both B.A.S.S. and FLW (along with Denny Brauer, Kevin VanDam and Jay Yelas). A Bassmaster Classic victory would make Hackney the first angler in history to complete the Grand Slam of professional bass fishing — winning both AOY titles, the FLW Forrest Wood Cup (which he won in 2009) and the Classic.

The rest of the 2014 AOY Top 5 are Todd Faircloth, Jacob Powroznik, Aaron Martens and Mark Davis, respectively. For the event, Jacob Powroznik took first place with two five-bass limits weighing 47-6. In addition to prize money earned for his rank in the Angler of the Year race, Powroznik won $500 and the Livingston Lures Leader Award which is given to the angler leading on the second day of the event.

Powroznik completed one of the greatest rookie seasons in B.A.S.S. history. Not only did he win the Rookie of the Year award, but he also became the first newcomer to the Elite Series to win two Elite events and the first angler of any classification to win two Elite tournaments in the same season since Skeet Reese in 2010. Ironically, Reese came in second at this event with 46-2, and Mark Davis was third with 44-13. Brandon Lester and Mark Davis shared the Carhartt Big Bass Award with identical 6-4 smallmouths. Lester caught his on the first day; Davis on the second. For their lunkers, Lester and Davis share $1,000. A $500 bonus will be awarded to one or both if they were wearing Carhartt clothing.

As expected, Bays de Noc revealed itself to be one of the finest smallmouth bass fisheries in the world. Almost all of the competitors recorded five-bass limit catches in both rounds, and the average bass weighed 3 1/2 pounds. In addition to AOY, Bays de Noc was also the final battle ground for dozens of berths in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C., Feb. 20-22.

 

2014 Points Report
 
PROFESSIONAL
 
 ELITE SERIES
 
as of 22-Sep-2014

 
Angler Points Lbs-Oz

1 Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 741 309- 1

2 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 727 273- 1

3 Jacob Powroznik Port Haywood, VA 723 292- 2

4 Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 721 240- 0

5 Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 716 283-14

6 Keith Combs Huntington, TX 705 264-13

7 Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 702 268-13

8 Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 696 271- 6

9 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 669 272-10

10 Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 644 250- 8

11 Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 638 283- 0

12 Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 637 260- 6

13 Randall Tharp Port Saint Joe, FL 627 264-14

14 Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 624 264- 6

15 Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 622 240- 3

16 Matt Herren Ashville, AL 621 268-14

17 Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 618 251-15

18 Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 615 257- 3

19 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 613 263- 4

20 David Walker Sevierville, TN 613 243-10

21 Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 602 240- 8

22 Edwin Evers Talala, OK 599 240- 5

23 Paul Elias Laurel, MS 595 217- 8

24 Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 594 225-15

25 Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 587 247- 8

26 Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 586 240- 7

27 James Niggemeyer Van, TX 585 255- 1

28 Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 585 247- 5

29 Randy Howell Springville, AL 585 240-14

30 Morizo Shimizu Osaka, JPN 585 218- 2

31 Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 580 273- 7

32 Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 576 232- 5

33 Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 574 222-12

34 Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 567 254- 3

35 Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 565 250- 8

36 Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 563 245- 7

37 Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 563 241- 5

38 Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 562 259-11

39 Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 561 231- 0

40 Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 560 231- 0

41 Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 558 246- 8

42 Tim Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 557 244- 4

43 Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 552 232-10

44 Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 545 247- 3

45 Alton Jones Lorena, TX 544 239- 0

46 Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 536 232-15

47 Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 525 209-10

48 Casey Scanlon Lanexa, KS 524 213- 7

49 Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 519 232- 9

50 Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 517 202- 3

Source: Bass Resource

TF&G Staff

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