Entry 212-3

Greg Hackney’s Saltwater Tactics for Catching Bass

Part 3: How I Fished During Day Three of the Bassmasters Lake Erie Elite Tournament

Question: Greg, did you plan to fish the same two spots on the third day as you’d fished on the first day of the tournament?

Hackney: Yes, I did. I went back to the areas I’d fished on the first day. The day off allowed the fish to rest and helped them to bite better, because having no one fishing on the second day relieved some pressure. I couldn’t tell I’d caught any fish off the spot when I went back the second time because there still were plenty of bass holding there.

Question: Which flight were you in on the third day?

Hackney: I was in the second flight. I basically had a repeat of the first day of fishing. In the first two hours of the third day, I caught between 18 and 18-1/2-pounds of smallmouth in my live well. I was catching most of my big fish within the first two hours, and the rest of the day, I caught a lot of fish but not any fish that would increase my weight. From 10:00 am, I probably caught about 20, 3-pound smallmouth. Many of the fish in my live well were large enough for me to cull them. I only caught 4-pound bass on the third day of the tournament, but I never caught one of those 5 pounders I needed. On the third day of the tournament, my partner in the back of the boat had 19 pounds and 11 ounces, and I had 19 pounds and 2 ounces. At that point, with all those fish in our boat, my partner was confident that I had a pretty good place to fish.

Question: What was the trick to catching those smallmouth on a drop-shot rig?

Hackney: One big mistake many people make while fishing the drop-shot rig is they try to give action to the finesse worm. I don’t give the finesse worm any action because Strike King’s 3X plastics give the worm all the action it needs. I’ve found that the real secret of fishing the drop-shot worm is holding the worm steady. I caught several keeper-sized bass by pulling over the top of them, dropping the worm straight down on them, holding my worm steady and watching the bass see the worm and bite it. The worm looked steady because we had great weather. I knew I could fish just like I would in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I was moving over the top of the fish, so I could see my drop-shot and drop it straight down to the bass. I was able to use my trolling motor to stay on top of the fish, and cast and drag my drop shot to the site where they were holding.

Question: How big were your biggest fish?

Hackney: I had three, 4-1/2 pounders.

Question: What place were you in on the third day?

Hackney: I was in sixth place. Then they cut the field to 12. So, I’d only have to compete against 12 people on the final day of the competition.

Question: Who was in first place, and what was he doing that you weren’t doing?

Hackney: Edwin Evers was in first place. Everyone was drop shotting in 25 to 30 feet of water. Edwin just found a larger school of bass than I did. He also was fishing further from the launch site than I was. Edwin was running 35- to 50-miles away from the launch site, and I was fishing 2- to 10-miles away from the launch site. I was only 1.9 pounds out of first place on the final day, so I had a good chance to win.

Next: How I Fished During the Final Day of the Bassmasters Lake Erie Elite Tournament

Contents:

• Part 1: How to Learn About a Lake You’ve Never Fished
• Part 2: How I Fished During Day One of the Bassmasters Lake Erie Elite Tournament
• Part 3: How I Fished During Day Three of the Bassmasters Lake Erie Elite Tournament
• Part 4: How I Fished During the Final Day of the Bassmasters Lake Erie Elite Tournament
• Part 5: What I’ve Learned