Strike King Journal - How I'll Fish the Classic with Greg Hackney/title> <meta name="Description" content="Strike King Journal - How I'll Fish the Classic with Greg Hackney" /> <meta name="Keywords" content="Strike King Lure Company, fishing, bass, Bassmaster Classic, Greg Hackney" />  <link rel="stylesheet" href="/stylesheet.css" type="text/css">   <script type="text/javascript" src="/skl_js_library.js"></script> </head> <body> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="container"> <tr> <td class="header"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" background="http://www.strikeking.com/images/gui/header_top_bkg.jpg"> <tr> <td width="188"><a href="http://www.strikeking.com/"><img src="http://www.strikeking.com/images/gui/headshots/rotator.php" width="188" height="125" border="0" /></a></td> <td width="572"><a href="http://www.strikeking.com/"><img src="http://www.strikeking.com/images/gui/header_top_static.jpg" width="572" height="125" border="0" /></a></td> <td width="100%"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td width="170" class="menu"> <div> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_allstar.gif" width="170" height="30" /> <ul> <li><a href="/team/chad_brauer.php">Chad Brauer</a></li> <li><a href="/team/denny_brauer.php">Denny Brauer</a></li> <li><a href="/team/george_cochran.php">George Cochran</a></li> <li><a href="/team/mark_davis.php">Mark Davis</a></li> <li><a href="/team/clay_dyer.php">Clay Dyer</a></li> <li><a href="/team/shaw_grigsby.php">Shaw Grigsby</a></li> <li><a href="/team/greg_hackney.php">Greg Hackney</a></li> <li><a href="/team/debra_hengst.php">Debra Hengst</a></li> <li><a href="/team/mark_menendez.php">Mark Menendez</a></li> <li><a href="/team/james_niggemeyer.php">James Niggemeyer</a></li> <li><a href="/team/mark_rose.php">Mark Rose</a></li> <li><a href="/team/kevin_vandam.php">Kevin VanDam</a></li> </ul> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_bottom.gif" width="170" height="5" /><br /> <img src="/images/gui/body_bkg.gif" width="170" height="15" /><br />  <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_info.gif" width="170" height="30" /> <ul> <li><a href="/catalog/2009/index.php">2009 Strike King Catalog</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.costore.com/strikeking">Strike King Clothing</a></li> <li><a href="/dealers/index.php">Dealer Locator</a></li> <li><a href="/press/press_releases/index.php">Press Releases</a></li> <li><a href="/products/ads/index.php">Print Ads & Commercials</a></li> <li><a href="/info/history.php">Company History</a></li> <li><a href="/info/Strike_King_Credit_Application.pdf">Strike King Credit Application (pdf)</a></li> <li><a href="/press/pressroom/">Strike King Pressroom</a></li> <li><a href="/contact/regional_sales.php">Regional Sales Team</a></li> <li><a href="/contact/contact.php">Contact Strike King</a></li> </ul>  </div> </td> <td width="100%"> <div id="content"> <div id="journalEntry"> <p>Entry 187-5</p> </div> <div id="journalBody">  <h1>How I'll Fish the Classic with Greg Hackney</h1> <h2>Part 5: I’m Praying for Bad Weather</h2> <div class="editorsNote"> <p>Editor’s Note: Greg Hackney of Gonzales, Louisiana, a competitive fisherman for 6 years, never has won a Bassmasters Classic, but he’s won two tour events, one open tournament and the FLW Angler-of-the-Year title. If he wins this year’s Classic in Birmingham, Alabama, he’ll reach one of his most-highly-anticipated fishing goals. "I have only two major titles left to win – the B.A.S.S. Angler-of-the-Year title and the Bassmaster Classic championship," Hackney says. This week, we’ll learn why Hackney’s praying for 20-degree weather, muddy water and high winds for the Classic.</p> </div> <p><strong><img src="/images/journal/00187/17a.jpg" alt="Greg Hackney" width="150" height="200" border="0" class="imgRight" />Question:</strong> What does winning the Classic mean to Greg Hackney?</p> <p><strong>Hackney:</strong> Winning the Classic means I’ve got it made for the next 5 years. Before I won my first Bassmaster Event, I always wondered what it would feel like to win a Bassmasters tournament. When I finally did it, I said to myself, "Regardless of what happens, nobody can ever take this win away from me. I’ve got something most people will never have." That’s the way the Classic will be if I win it. There are many great bass fishermen competing in the Classic. Most of them have won quite a few tournaments. But only a few of them have ever won the Classic. Some anglers may fish professionally for 30 years and never win a Classic. To me, winning the Classic will be like being the last batter up in the World Series in the ninth inning with the other team being ahead by two runs with the bases loaded, and on the first pitch, hitting the ball out of the park and totally closing the game to the win. Winning the Classic will be the last nail in the coffin. Seal it up. It’s over.</p> <p><strong>Question:</strong> You’ve only been fishing professionally for 6 years, and you’ve already had a phenomenal career. <strong><img src="/images/journal/00187/18a.jpg" alt="Greg Hackney" width="150" height="200" border="0" class="imgLeft" /></strong>You’ve won over $1 million in 6 years, not counting sponsor endorsements and speaking seminars. Most people say, "Wow, Greg has come from nowhere and won all this money. He’s the luckiest guy in the world." Is that the truth about your fishing career?</p> <p><strong>Hackney:</strong> Not at all. Although, I’ve only been fishing professionally for 6 years, I’ve been bass fishing all my life. When I got into bass fishing, I was fishing just for the love of the sport. I never had a clue when I started that I’d be bass fishing for a living. I fished because I enjoyed being outside and catching bass. When I entered the tournaments, tournament fishing just seasoned the pot for my bass fishing. I thought, "Man, now I can compete and do what I love to do." I feel really blessed to be able to make a living doing what I love and take care of my family with a fishing pole in my hand. Only in America does a man like me have a chance to live a dream this big and make a living doing it.</p> <p><strong><img src="/images/journal/00187/19a.jpg" alt="Greg Hackney" width="150" height="200" border="0" class="imgRight" />Question:</strong> What do you need to happen at the Classic for you to win?</p> <p><strong>Hackney:</strong> If we have extremely-bad weather, I’ll have a better chance of winning. Mentally, bad weather takes a lot of the guys out of the game. If we have severe weather, 20-degree temperatures, 30-mile-an-hour winds and rains so hard you can barely see, the fisherman who catches four or five bass a day will win. That will be my kind of Classic. If on the other hand, we have pretty weather, and everybody’s catching bass, my chances for winning aren’t as good. All I ask for in this Classic is to have a shot to win on the last day. Then whatever happens, I’ll know I’ve done my very best. </p> <p>I want the weather to be miserable on everyone because I can handle the misery better than most. When money’s on the line, I say, "Let ‘em all suffer." In other Classics, I pray for it to be hotter. Even if the weather’s 110 degrees, I want it to be 150 degrees. I like to have the contestants complaining about the weather and the fishing. I’m like Br’er Rabbit who was thrown into the briar patch. Those stickers bother everybody else, but I love ‘em. Mentally, I get pumped-up when the weather’s bad. </p> <p><img src="/images/journal/00187/20a.jpg" alt="Greg Hackney" width="200" height="150" border="0" class="imgLeft" />I really like what Rick Clunn says about fishing in bad weather. Clunn says, "When you have good weather and good fishing conditions, you have to try to beat all the other competitors. When you have bad weather and bad conditions, the weather and the conditions will beat 90% of them, so you only have to fish better than 10% to win." I really like to fish a tournament when all the competitors are suffering, because I suffer best and fish best when the weather’s bad.</p>  </div> <div id="journalNext">  </div> <div id="journalLinks"> <h4>Contents:</h4> <ul> <li><strong>Part 1:</strong> <a href="http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00187/1.php">Why I Don�t Pre-Fish Tournaments</a></li> <li><strong>Part 2:</strong> <a href="http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00187/2.php">Shorts and T-Shirts</a></li> <li><strong>Part 3:</strong> <a href="http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00187/3.php">Snowmobile Suit Weather</a></li> <li><strong>Part 4:</strong> <a href="http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00187/4.php">Switch Hitting</a></li> <li><strong>Part 5:</strong> <a href="http://www.strikeking.com/journal/00187/5.php">I�m Praying for Bad Weather</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </td> <td width="170" class="menu"> <div> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_fans.gif" width="170" height="30" /> <ul> <li><a href="/forums/">Strike King Forums</a></li> <li><a href="/gallery/amateur023.php">Amateur Photo Gallery</a></li> </ul> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_bottom.gif" width="170" height="5" /><br /> <img src="/images/gui/body_bkg.gif" width="170" height="15" /><br /> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_journal.gif" width="170" height="30" /> <ul> <li><a href="/journal/00279/1.php">Winning Tournaments – Denny Brauer on Decision Making</a></li> <li><a href="/journal/00278/1.php">Kevin VanDam and the Creation of the Sexy Shad, the Burner and KVD Perfect Plastics</a></li> <li><a href="/journal/00277/1.php">How to Win with James Niggemeyer</a></li> <li><a href="/journal/00276/1.php">Why Strike King’s Lures Are the Way They Are with Shaw Grigsby</a></li> <li><a href="/journal/00275/1.php">Clay Dyer – Living Life Beyond the Limits</a></li> <li><a href="/journal/00274/1.php">Chad Brauer Fishes the Wake Shad, the Burner and the Bottom Dweller</a></li> <li><a href="/journal/index.php">More journal entries...</a></li> </ul> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_bottom.gif" width="170" height="5" /><br /> <img src="/images/gui/body_bkg.gif" width="170" height="15" /><br /> <img src="/images/gui/header_menu_links.gif" width="170" height="30" /> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.wired2fish.com/">Wired2Fish</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.collegebass.com/">College Bass</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.anglerslegacy.com/">Anglers’ Legacy</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.costore.com/strikeking">Strike King Clothing</a></li> <li><a href="http://espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/">BassMaster</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.bassfan.com/">BassFan</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.brauerbass.com/">BrauerBass</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.shawgrigsby.com/">Shaw Grigsby</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.kevinvandam.com/">Kevin VanDam</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.fishpickwick.com/">Roger Stegall</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/">Night Hawk Publications</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.debrahengst.com/">Debra Hengst</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.fishersofmenministries.com/">Fishers of Men</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.bluebankresort.com/">Blue Bank Resort</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.anglerschannel.com/">AnglersChannel.com</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.toddwitt.com/">Todd Witt's Pro Guide Service</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.reellifeoutdoors.com/">Reel Life Outdoors</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.fishincountry.net/">Fishin’ Country</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.flatsclass.com/">FlatsClass</a></li> </ul> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="170" valign="bottom" class="menu"><img src="/images/gui/header_menu_bottom.gif" width="170" height="5" /></td> <td width="100%"> </td> <td width="170" valign="bottom" class="menu"><img src="/images/gui/header_menu_bottom.gif" width="170" height="5" /></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <div class="footer"> <p>© 1996-2008 Strike King Lure Company</p>  </div>  <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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