Entry 200-1
What Makes Him Good – Shaw Grigsby
Part 1: Shaw Grigsby Analyzes His Fellow Anglers’ Fishing
Editor’s Note: Fifty-one year old Shaw Grigsby, a longtime member of the Strike King team, has won over $2 million in tournament bass fishing. He’s fished professionally since 1984 and he has traveled with and fished against the Strike King pros his entire professional career. He’s also the host of the “One More Cast” TV show on the Versus Channel. If you interview, as I have, a large number of tournament fishermen and ask them, “What makes Shaw Grigsby so good?” they’ll say that Grigsby is one of the best sight fishermen in the nation. Grigsby does have the eye of an eagle. He can spot bass from long distances, swoop in close and deliver the lure that puts the fish in his boat. Grigsby also sees and understands what makes other fishermen great and has learned from them. Today, we’ve asked Shaw to tell us what makes some of his teammates great.
Question: Tell us about George Cochran
Grigsby: I think George Cochran is an incredible angler because of his confidence in shallow-water fishing and will fish shallow waters at times of year and in water conditions that many other fishermen won’t dream of fishing. Not only will George fish shallow water, he’ll catch bass and win tournaments in shallow water. George will make 20 to 30 casts to the same bush or stump before he leaves it, whereas most anglers, if they didn’t get a bite after 5five or six casts, will look for other cover to fish. Maybe on his 30th cast, George will catch a 4-pound largemouth. George can look at shallow-water structure and know that there’s a bass holding on that piece of cover even, though he can’t see the fish. He’ll use whatever tactic he has to make that bass bite. 
Most people will give up and not be as persistent as George, but that’s the reason he wins. George Cochran may well be the best shallow-water fisherman in the nation.
Question: What makes Kevin VanDam such a consistent winner?
Grigsby: Kevin is the full package. His skill, his talent, his athletic ability and his knowledge of fishing all come into play together at the same time to create a bass-fishing machine in Kevin VanDam. Kevin is a very-fast fisherman. He can cover a lot of water very quickly and find and catch the most-aggressive bass in any lake. Kevin also has another skill that’s rare in our industry. Even as fast as he fishes, Kevin knows how to trigger a bass to make it bite. In my opinion, Kevin VanDam is absolutely the best bass fisherman I’ve ever seen. Kevin will make many more casts in an hour than the average tournament fisherman. Kevin will probably make 20% to 30 % more casts per hour than any other tournament fisherman. The more casts you put in the water, the more bass you’ll catch.
Question: What makes Denny Brauer so deadly in tournaments?
Grigsby: Denny Brauer is the best jig fisherman in the world. There’s no angler in the world who understands the jig and its associated techniques better than Denny. If the bass are biting jigs, Denny Brauer’s got the best chance to win any event. If the bass are biting spinner baits, Denny will hold-tough with you, but if the bass are biting jigs, you may as well pack up your gear. Denny will win. When you add in the number of years Denny’s been fishing, I believe he can feel when there’s a bass holding in the bush, can read water extremely well and know where the bass are and why they’re holding on the type of cover that they’re holding. Denny believes in his heart that he can catch more fish and bigger fish on a jig than on any other bait. I’ll have to call him the “Jig Master.”
Question: What about Greg Hackney?
Grigsby: Greg Hackney is young, aggressive and versatile. He has an extremely-strong work ethic. He’s such well-rounded anglers that very few times in a tournament will Greg not be able to figure out where the bass are and how to catch them. Because he’s so versatile, Greg will almost always be high on the Angler of the Year title list, and he’s a threat to win every tournament he fishes. If I have to pick one tactic as Greg’s strength, I think it’s fishing vegetation. In his home lakes in Louisiana, he fishes in a lot of brush and wood. Greg understands how a bass positions itself, and what it takes to make a bass bite.
Question: OK, Shaw, step back for a minute, and look at Shaw Grigsby objectively. Tell me what makes Shaw Grigsby such a great bass fisherman.
Grigsby: Whoa, stepping out of my skin and looking back at me is tough. I never have considered Shaw Grigsby a great angler. I never have included myself on the same level as Mark Davis, Kevin VanDam, Denny Brauer, Greg Hackney, Mark Menendez or some of the other Strike King pros. I’ve always considered myself a good tournament fisherman. Although I’m 4th on the all-time money-winning list for B.A.S.S., I’ve just never considered myself to be on the same level as the greats of bass fishing.
But if I had to look at myself critically, I’d say my strength is in being a sight-fisherman. If I can see a bass, I have confidence I can catch that bass, regardless of the time of year. 
I went to Spain and fished there in the Eurobass cup last year. If I can see bass, I can catch them. I’m somewhat like Denny and George in that I know my strength is sight-fishing, whereas Denny’s is jig fishing and Georges is shallow-water fishing. If bass are in water where I can spot them, I’m confident that I can catch them.But I think I’m also a versatile angler, which is what has kept me making money in tournament fishing and allowed me to win some tournaments. If I’m not sight-fishing, I love spinner-bait fishing. I also enjoy catching bass on top-water lures.
I probably was the most excited about fishing this past year when, in two tournaments, I caught every bass I caught by seeing them first on my depth finder and developing techniques to catch them. I would watch the bass on the screen, drop my drop-shot rig with a Strike King Finesse worm down to the bass and catch the bass I’d seen on my depth-finder. By being versatile, I think I can hang tough in most tournaments.
