Entry 71-2
Emily Shaffer On Handling Different Fishing Situations And The Baits And Colors She Uses
Handling Different Fishing Situations
Editor's Note: Emily Shaffer of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, a member of Strike King’s professional team, and a 9-time Bassin’ Gals Classic qualifier, has three first-place titles, 15 top-10 finishes and the WBFA 2002 Angler-of-the-Year title. With her career winnings at just over $200,000, Shaffer holds the record for the single largest bass, 9.01 pounds, weighed in at a Bassin’ Gals Classic event, beating the 25-year history of the Bassmasters Classic and the 19-year history of Bassin' Gals Classic.
Question: What do you do when cloud cover rolls in where you are fishing for bass?
Shaffer: Because bass hold where there is shade, a cloud cover gives them an enormous amount of shade, so they can be anywhere. I’ll throw something fast and that I can cover a lot of water with, like a Diamond Shad or a spinner bait. Sometimes I’ll switch the depths I’m fishing.
Question: What do you do when a heavy rain comes in where you’re fishing?
Shaffer: I move out of the way. I’ve gotten knocked out by lightning once when I was fishing. It was striking in the area that I was fishing in, and I kept on fishing because I was stubborn. The weather and water conditions started getting bad. I went to what I thought was a boat slip, but it turned out to be a ring wall. When I tried to jump over the ring wall, the lightning struck close enough that it knocked me out. When I came to, I was lying on my back with a bunch of people standing over me and asking if I was alright. The only thing I kept thinking about was where were the bass that I’d just caught.
If it is just raining and not lightning, then I continue fishing with a bait like a Diamond Shad or a spinner bait just like I do when clouds arrive. When there is a heavy rain, odds are there are heavy clouds as well.
Question: What do you do when there is a lot of spectator pressure?
Shaffer: I’ve never had a problem with people being rude, but I try not to move if there are a lot of people around where I’m fishing.
