Entry 259-1

Fishing One Tournament after Another with Shaw Grigsby

Part 1: A Level Playing Field

Question: Shaw, what did you know about Wheeler Lake before you arrived?

Grigsby: I knew very little about the lake, but I knew the water level had risen in the last month and was pretty high. This was great information because once you get into late May and June, if an area has high water, the tournament becomes more equal for all the contestants. When the lake comes up, a few areas are flooded, and the lake is almost like a brand-new lake, allowing everyone to compete on a level playing field with any of the local anglers who already know that body of water. So, for me it was a really-good sign that I did well in this tournament. During practice, I went to the bank and caught some really-nice-sized bass, and probably had a 16- to an 18-pound stringer on the first day of practice.

Question: Shaw, you’ve fished Wheeler Lake before, haven’t you?

Grigsby: Yes, I have.

Question: What did you think you’d have to do to be competitive in this tournament?

Grigsby: For practice, I figured I’d fish shallow and hopefully be able to catch my bass on a spinner bait, the Strike King Rage Shad, the Rage Toad or some other type of shallow or top-water bait. When I fished Wheeler Lake before, I mainly caught my bass on a spinner bait in shallow water. Pure Poison is another one of my favorite baits for shallow-water fishing. I hoped to find visible grass and possibly underwater grass and fish these patches of grass with the Red Eye Shad. So, when I arrived at the lake, I searched for that type of cover.

Question: Shaw, what kind of year did you have on the BASS circuit before you fished the tournament on Wheeler?

Grigsby: I’d had a pretty good year, except on Lake Murray and Lake Amistad, where I didn’t get a check. I was in the money pretty strong and had actually hooked the fish that would have put me into the 12-cut on Lake Amistad. As a matter of fact, I had two bass that would have put me into the 12-cut to fish the last day. I had one bass over 5 pounds and another bass over 4 pounds. But I lost those two bass and didn’t get to fish on Lake Amistad’s final day.

n, when I went to Lake Murray and didn’t make a check, that really hurt my feelings. So, going into Wheeler, I expected another hard tournament, because in June, the bass generally are transitioning from shallow water to deep water. During this time of year, a few bass are still shallow, some are in the mid-depths, and many have already moved-out to the river channel. I knew the bass could be scattered all over the lake. When fish are scattered like that, I generally have a hard time in the tournament.

Next: Practice Lessons

Contents:

• Part 1: A Level Playing Field
• Part 2: Practice Lessons
• Part 3: The First Day of the Tournament
• Part 4: The Second Day of the Tournament
• Part 5: The Third and the Final Day of the Competition