Entry 148-1
Shaw Grigsby Talks About Hot-Weather Bassing
When You Can Fry Eggs on the Sidewalk
Editor’s Note: When the weather’s so hot you can fry eggs on the sidewalk, bass often won’t bite. But tournament fishermen like Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, have to fish and catch bass regardless of the weather conditions. This week, Grigsby, who travels the country participating in bass-fishing tournaments, has his own TV show and also commentates on ESPN for the Bassmasters Classic, shares tactics he uses to catch bass when most people sit at home in their air-conditioned houses, sipping glasses of iced tea.
When the weather’s this hot, I like to take my flipping stick and fish heavy cover. I use Strike King’s Wild Thang Jr. and a heavy-weighted-bullet sinker up the line. I prefer to fish with either a 1-1/2- or a 1-1/4-ounce weight called a penetrator weight that’s made of tungsten. This weight can punch through heavy grass mats or any other form of thick cover. When I use this heavy-weight, thick-cover tactic, I fish 30-pound-test Stren Super Braid line. I fish the Wild Thang Jr. on a No. 4/0 HP hook.
Because I’m fishing in real-thick heavy cover, once my Wild Thang Jr. gets through the cover and down to the bottom, I want to make sure the bass can see my lure. So, I’ll spray the tips of the claws with Spike-It’s Chartreuse Spray Dye in either the Garlic or the Crawfish Scents. Then the bass can see the color and smell the bait. I believe that the chartreuse spray gives the lure added visibility, and the smell of the spray attracts bass better, helps to locate the bass better and also to take the bait more quickly.
The places I really like to fish this tactic the most are through really-really heavy hyacinths, alligator weeds and smart weeds that look like you almost can walk on top of them. These grasses can grow above water even when the water’s 3- to 6-feet deep. The bass lay up under these grasses because the grass provides plenty of shade, cover and oxygen.
Too, many different kinds of critters live in those types of vegetation. I’ve actually taken a seine under this grass before to see on what kinds of critters the bass are feeding. I’ve caught a crawfish, sirens, little eels and all kinds of crazy critters under these grasses, which is part of the reason I’m convinced that Strike King’s Wild Thang Jr. is so effective in regions like this. When the bass see this bait, they just crush it.
Contents:
- Part 1: When You Can Fry Eggs on the Sidewalk
- Part 2: When the Water’s Hot Up To the Top
- Part 3: Summertime Carolina Rigging
- Part 4: Find Deep Fish Quick
- Part 5: No Lips in Hot Weather
