Entry 159-3

February Bass Fishing At Its Best

Go Slow-Rolling

Editor’s Note: $65,000 and the title, Angler-of-the-Year on the Forest L. Woods (FLW) tour, prove that Greg Hackney knows how to catch bass. One of the newest members of the Strike King Pro Staff, Hackney from Gonzalez, Louisiana, has been fishing professional tournament circuits for 5 years. However, he’s been competing in bass-fishing tournaments since he was 11 years old.

Question: What size and what color spinner bait do you like to slow-roll this month?

Hackney: The size and the color of the bait I use depends on the depth and the color of the water I’m fishing. Most of the time I’ll fish a 1/2- to a 3/4-ounce spinner bait, but on some occasions I’ll fish a 1/4-ounce. If I’m fishing shallow vegetation or shallow wood, I’ll use the 1/4-ounce. Unless the water’s clear, I prefer to fish a Colorado and an Indiana blade on my spinner bait.

Question: What kind of skirt do you like on your spinner bait?

Hackney: I really like the new Strike King Perfect Skirt. The main thing I like about the new Perfect Skirt is I don’t have to put on a new trailer. I don’t like to put a trailer on my spinner bait, and the only time I do is when I’m fishing cold water like you find this month. The trailer part of this skirt helps to float the bait up more, hides the hook better and gives the bait more action.

You’ve also got to remember when you’re slow-rolling the spinner bait the bass has a longer time to look at the bait, and a better chance to see the hook. But, that new magic tail hides the hook better than a trailer does. Ninety-nine percent of the time I’m fishing a trailer hook. Even when the bass are really aggressive and taking the spinner bait deep in their mouths, you’ll always have one or two fish in every tournament that’ll hit the bait short. You won’t catch those fish if you don’t have that trailer hook.

In a tournament, one or two more keeper fish can be the difference between winning or losing, going home with a small check, going home with a big check or going home with no check at all. So, when something as small as a trailer hook can make the difference in your payday, or, whether or not you get a payday, you better fish a trailer hook.

Question: How deep do you slow-roll a spinner bait?

Hackney: In my part of the country, 5 feet is deep. So, when I’m slow-rolling the spinner bait, it’s in 1 to 2 feet of water.

Question: What color spinner bait are you fishing?

Hackney: If I’m fishing in clear water, I’ll be fishing a clear-shad-pattern spinner bait. In stained water, I’ll fish a white or a chartreuse color skirt on my spinner bait. I’m not much on blending colors. I prefer solid-colored skirts. I’d rather fish a pearl- and shad-colored skirt instead of a white- and chartreuse-colored skirt.

Question: Why do you like the solid color skirt better than the mixed color skirt?

Hackney: I guess it’s a confidence thing more than anything else. I always seem to catch more bass with solid colors than I do with mixed colors.

Question: What pound-test line are you fishing with the spinner bait?

Hackney: I fish a 20-pound-test or heavier. If I’m fishing shallow cover, I’ll be fishing Berkley Sensation. If I’m fishing deeper water, I’ll be fishing 20-pound-test Vanish.

February Bass Fishing At Its Best

Go Slow-Rolling

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