Entry 131-5
Shaw Grigsby - How to Catch Bass in December
Shaw Grigsby's Favorite New Strike King Product
Editor's Note: Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, a well-known professional angler, enjoys fishing all the Strike King baits, especially the spinnerbaits. He has a TV show titled "One More Cast" on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN). This week he will discuss what baits to use in December, depending on the area of the country in which you're fishing.
Question: Shaw, why do you like the Strike King Bleeding Bait tube so much?
Grigsby: I got to fish with the prototypes of this bait last year before the BASS Santee tournament, and I used them effectively to catch spawning bass. I was really surprised at how much the little bit of red in the tube seemed to increase the number of strikes I got in that tournament. But I didn't believe that one tournament proved the effectiveness of any bait. So I took the Bleeding Bait tubes out and fished with them to film some of my TV shows. When I'm filming a TV show just like when I'm fishing a tournament, I have to produce bass, or else we waste our time and don't get a show. I was really impressed with how effectively these tubes consistently produced bass everywhere I fished them.
I've always been a fan of both the Denny Brauer tube and the Kevin VanDam tube. Besides the other features of the tubes that I like, I'm so glad to see that Strike King has made a wide variety of new bleeding tube colors. Now I can choose the color I need to match the water and the weather conditions.
Question: What's your second choice of favorite lures in the Bleeding Bait series?
Grigsby: I'll have to say the Bleeding Bait crankbaits. I feel that Strike King always has had superior crankbaits, but I believe and know that the red hooks solicit more strikes from the bass than the crankbaits without the red hooks do. Seeing how bass will attack the red hooks has sold me on this new idea. But what I'm more excited about this year is the new colors of crankbaits that Strike King is offering. My favorite new color is the chartreuse crawfish, a chartreuse-sided brown-back crankbait. Strike King now have has colors of crankbaits to match up to varying water types and light intensity.
Question: Your third choice?
Grigsby: I've always felt that Strike King has the best jig on the market, but then when they've made the hook and the weave guard red and put red accents in the skirt to better emphasize that the jig is wounded and bleeding, I've become an even bigger fan. These additions increase a bass's ability to see the jig and better communicate the fact that this bait is injured bait, and that the bleeding jig will be easier for the bass to catch and eat. Another important key of both the jig and the crankbait is the red eyes. I'm convinced that the eye of the lure is one of the areas that a bass focuses on to determine whether or not it will attack the lure. So I believe this is a very small yet critical point to cause bass to attack better.
