Entry 78-4

Shaw Grigsby, Jr.

The Next Level

Editor's Note:Shaw Grigsby, Jr., a 47-year-old professional angler from Gainesville, Florida, has joined the One Million Dollar Club of professional fishermen on the BASS Circuit, after earning more than $1 million in tournament winnings. He has finished in the top 10 in 43 tournaments and ranks fourth in career winnings on the BASS circuit. He has a TV show and is always listed among the best of the best tournament bass fishermen.

Question: Were you fishing any other tournaments besides the BASS circuit in 1984?

Grigsby: Yes, I was also fishing the Operation Bass Red Man circuit. I qualified for their end-of-the-year tournament, the All-American, and I won. I received $100,000 for that tournament. For the first time in my life, I could live the life of a professional fisherman and not have to worry about having enough money to make the house note, getting to a tournament and taking care of the maggots. During the 1984-1985 season, I did terrible. I didn't make the Bassmaster Classic, but the next year, during the 1985-1986 season I made the Classic. My second year as a professional fisherman, I earned a berth in the Bassmaster Classic and felt pretty good about my chances of becoming a pro.

Question: During that first season when you won the All-American, what did you think when you won so much money?

Grigsby: I was really excited about winning $100,000, but my excitement was short-lived when I found out how much I had to give back in taxes. Uncle Sam took about $40,000 of that paycheck, and that really hurt my feelings. The biggest paycheck I had ever earned in tournament fishing was $2,000. When I finally made a really big check, and was all excited about having money to pay off all my bills and still stay out on the road and fish, I was about as excited as you can get. This is when I learned that Uncle Sam takes almost half of it, and I was a little bit disappointed.

Winning that Red Man All American and the following year earning a place in the Classic really helped build my confidence that maybe I could compete and earn a living as a professional fisherman. Winning that All American the first year was one of the biggest breaks that I've had in my tournament-fishing career. In 1989 I had another big confidence boost. We were fishing in the BASS MegaBucks tournament. I led the tournament for the first three days, and on the fourth day of the tournament, I didn't think there was any way anyone could beat me. However, on the last day they zeroed the weight for all the competitors. At the final weigh-in, Jim Bitter beat me by about 1-1/2 pounds.

Although I didn’t win the tournament, my confidence of my fishing ability with and against the greatest bass fishermen in the world was built up tremendously. Confidence is the lifeblood of a tournament fisherman. Without confidence, you have very little chance of winning. Fishing skills are important, but having confidence in your fishing skills is more important. That MegaBucks Tournament was a major boost to my confidence level more so than it was a boost to my income.




 

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