After catching that 5-pound, 14-ounce jackpot of a bass and weighing a 16-3 limit on Day 1, Greg Hackney is playing with “house money” now. A look back at Todd Faircloth’s win in 2013 illustrates Hackney’s advantage.
Faircloth weighed 16-8 on Day 2 in 2013. It’s the only time in the past two Elite Series tournaments on the Sabine River that anyone has topped 16 pounds. And it allowed Faircloth to withstand a 4-bass, 7-pound, 14-ounce Day 3 and still win the tournament.
Yes, Faircloth followed that with another monster bag for the Sabine of 14-9 on the final day, but he won that event by almost 7 pounds.
There is plenty of time for Hackney to falter. The Sabine has a feast-or-famine element to it for everyone. For example, Skeet Reese was in 7th place with 12 pounds on Day 1 in 2015, then zeroed on Day 2. That could happen to anyone today.
But with a 3-pound, 15-ounce lead over his nearest competitor – Matt Herren with 12-4 – Hackney can take some risks the rest of the way that others can’t afford to take.