Entry 174-3

Shaw Grigsby at Table Rock

Day 3: The Last Day of the Tournament

Editor’s Note: When fishing gets tough, the tough get fishing. They don’t panic, and they don’t get in a frenzy. They know the techniques that should catch bass, and they also realize that you can have a perfect day of fishing and strike out. Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, just completed the B.A.S.S. Legends Tournament in August 2006 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Out of a field of 50 of the best bass fishermen in the nation, he came in fourth and won $23,000. But the story of what he did, and why he did it has lessons to teach us all. And this week, we’ll let Grigsby explain what to do when fishing gets tough.

Going into the last day of the tournament with a $250,000 first-place prize, I felt like I was in pretty good shape to win the big money. I knew all I had to catch were two or three fish, and I could win this tournament. Because as small as the bass were, I felt like that my 4-pound lead was the equivalent of having two keeper bass in the live well before I started my tournament. I felt if I could get one, 4-pounder I might be able to win the tournament. But if I could catch three, 2-pounders, I’d be hard to beat.

As luck would have it, I got to start in hole number 5 where I’d caught all my bass. So naturally I went back to that same stretch of grass and started fishing it with the Baby Beav and the Wild Thang Jr. I knew that I’d taken a lot of fish off this little stretch of grass, but I felt like this spot should have at least two or three more bass in it. The first day of the finals I had big fish and the biggest string. What more could I want going into the last day?

I was as confident as I’d ever been in a tournament. But I flipped that entire area of grass until my time ran out, and I never got a bite. So I expanded my water because there were some good-looking places adjacent to the area I was fishing. But I never got a bite. I went to the next hole and fished the area where I’d lost the 3-pounder but never got a bite. I fished on down the bank and caught two short spotted bass; then I went to hole number 1 and caught two short fish, and caught non-keepers in every one of the holes that I fished. However, I couldn’t catch a bass that would measure. So I went to the scales without a fish to weigh in.

I had absolutely zero on the last day, which was a real heart breaker since I’d started the day with a 4-pound lead. From what I saw and what I heard, the three people who finished ahead of me had caught all their bass flipping also. So I knew I was using the right technique and the right lures, I just didn’t find the right bass.

Next: Did I Win or Lose?

Contents:

• Part 1: The Tournament Begins
• Part 2: The Next Days of the Tournament
• Part 3: The Last Day of the Tournament
• Part 4: Did I Win or Lose?
• Part 5: Mentally Preparing for the Next Tournament