Hackney’s final limit of bass helped him slip past Brandon Card of Caryville, Tenn., by a slim margin of 1-15.

Hackney, the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, knew he needed to have a solid day to contend for the win. As a result, he fished his spots in reverse order because the larger fish were biting later in day.

“The way the fishing had been all week, there was a good bite early in the morning, then it slowed during the middle of the day and picked up again in the afternoons,” Hackney said. “I knew I had to catch a big bag of fish today to have a shot at winning.”

Hackney’s best locations were adjacent to the main river channel. He also caught a lot of fish on the inside turns of coves and the points that were created on the outside edges of those coves.