Entry 240-5

Who Will Win the 2008 Classic with Shaw Grigsby

Part 5: Two More Lures for Winning the 2008 Classic

Question: Shaw, you said that if you were fishing at the 2008 Classic, your first two choices of baits would be the Red Eye Shad and the Football Jig. What other two lures would you take with you to the Classic?

Grigsby: You have to take a King Shad with you. I did a TV show this year on Lake Murray in South Carolina with the King Shad. We were often catching bass two at a time with this bait. Strike King has also produced the colors we need for Lake Hartwell. The company, of course, makes the shad colors, but they also have the blue back herring colors. The King Shad may not be the primary lure I’ll choose to work down the bank. For this tactic, I’ll probably use the Red Eye Shad and the Football Head jig.

But if I see bass breaking the surface of the water chasing shad, or if I pull up on a point or fish around to a point, I’ll use the King Shad to fish across the point to try and catch a big bass. You can probably catch a 7-, an 8- or a 9-pound bass with the King Shad on a lake like Lake Hartwell. Catching one kicker fish can win the Classic. Even if I’m fishing a drop-off or a ledge, I’ll throw the King Shad across that drop-off or ledge, hoping to pull a bass up to take that bait up close to the surface.

Question: What type of retrieve will you use?

Grigsby: I’d probably use a slow, steady retrieve. I’d get the King Shad down about 3 or 4 feet and then crank it, which will be my single best retrieve. I’d also try to occasionally give it a slight twitch to entice a reaction strike if a bass is following the bait. The King Shad will catch spotted bass and largemouth because they both eat blue back herring. The blue back herring isn’t a small baitfish, and the King Shad is a perfect replica of this fish. I caught some blue back herring in 2007 and laid them beside the King Shad. They matched perfectly. So, why wouldn’t you fish that lure?

Question: Okay, Shaw, if you only had four baits, what one other bait would you take with you to the Classic?

Grigsby: I’d have to take the Premier Elite jig because it’s one of my favorite lures to fish. I’d have a lot of confidence in this lure anywhere I fished it. I’d want to either fish it in the Texas craw color or the green-pumpkin color. If I were targeting the largemouth bass, I’d pitch the Premier Elite jig around cover. I might even go upriver, search for stained water, and try to pitch it around cover. If I could find some weeds, a weed bank or any kind of vegetation, I’d pitch the bait. Remember that at the 2007 Classic on Lay Lake in February, the bass were holding in 1 to 1-1/2-feet of water in the grass, even though the weather was cold. So, why wouldn’t you assume the bass would be stacked in that grass at Lake Hartwell at this time of year?

Question: What pound-test line would you use to fish the jig?

Grigsby: I’d probably fish 20-pound-test Sufix Siege Line on the Quantum Gary Klein 8-foot Signature Series rod. It’s got a parabolic bend, which means I’ll get a better hook set on the fish than I will with a different type of rod.

Question: What weather do you think will favor the Strike King Pros at this year’s Classic?

Grigsby: I’d give them all their best chances to win in cold, nasty weather. The weather won’t really matter to VanDam, but he may fish better with nicer weather. Hackney and Wurm will probably do better with a cold front or a blizzard to get that jig bite going.

Contents:

• Part 1: Kevin VanDam
• Part 2: Greg Hackney
• Part 3: Mike Wurm
• Part 4: The Lures that May Win the 2008 Bassmasters Classic
• Part 5: Two More Lures for Winning the 2008 Classic