Entry 269-2

Greg Hackney Squeaks into the Classic, Thanks to the Zero, the Finesse Worm and the Red Eye Shad

Part 2: Beefed-Up Finesse Fishing

Question: Greg, if you had to pick three lures that helped you make the Classic this year, what three lures would they be?

Hackney: The Strike King Zero, the 4-inch 3X Strike King Finesse Worm and the Red Eye Shad.

Question: Why was the Strike King Zero your No. 1 lure this year?

Hackney: I had a top-10 finish at Lake Amistad in Texas, and the two baits that were key to my success in that tournament were the red Red Eye Shad during the first part of the tournament and the Zero on the last day of the tournament. On the last day, the wind died, the lake slicked-off, and I fished the Zero all day long. I caught enough fish to finish 7th in that tournament, which was huge in gaining enough points to make it to the 2009 Classic.

Then at Old Hickory in Tennessee, the tournament before we fished the last two tournaments in New York, I knew I had to make a big move to get enough points to even think about going to the Classic. So I rigged a Strike King green-pumpkin Zero on a 3/16-ounce sinker, flipped that Zero for 3 days and finished in the top 25. That caused me to move up 9 or 10 places in the Angler-of-the-Year race to qualify for the Classic. That bait also gave me a lot of confidence, and I felt like I still had a chance to make the Classic. I didn’t have a huge opportunity to make the Classic, but at least the Zero had given me the chance.

When we went to New York, I caught every bass that I weighed in on the Strike King Finesse Worm. At Lake Oneida, three of the 3-pound smallmouths I caught, I took on the Strike King Finesse Worm, and all of the other fish I caught in that tournament I caught on a green-pumpkin Rage Craw.

Question: Wait a minute, Greg. Let’s go back and talk about the Zero for a minute. You said you were flipping the Zero. Most people don’t flip a cigar-shaped worm like the Zero. How and why did you decide to start using the Zero as a flipping bait?

Hackney: I call this type of fishing beefed-up finesse fishing, because it uses beefed-up tackle and finesse flipping.

Question: I agree that the Zero is a beefed-up worm, but I’ve never heard anyone fishing a Zero like it was a finesse bait. How are you flipping it?

Hackney: This tactic is very productive during tough weather conditions. I start off with 20-pound-test Gamma fluorocarbon line, I use a Quantum Tour Edition 741 Flipping Stick, and a Quantum reel. And what I like about the Zero is when you flip it, it’s got the same action it has as when you fish it weightless. It still wiggles and squirms as it goes down through the cover. I think it falls a little faster than a lighter worm does, and because it falls faster I’m convinced I get more bites.

I’ve also got a lot of confidence in the Zero. I believe if I flip that Zero into a brush pile, a submerged tree, a stump or any type of cover and get it close the bass, the bass will eat it. When I’m in an area, and the fish may or may not bite a jig, I want to be flipping a bait that I know they’ll bite every time they see it. And to me, that’s what the Zero is.

Question: How did you decide to start using the Zero as a flipping bait?

Hackney: I grew up fishing a lot of weightless baits, and when Strike King introduced the Zero, I was really excited about it and started fishing it often. I won the Elite Series tournament on Lake Rayburn with a Zero, and so one day I just started experimenting with it. You know that in the last few years the shaky head worm has been getting a lot of attention and catching numbers of bass. So I looked at that Zero and decided that if I used it as a flipping bait, it would really be a beefed-up shaky head worm that I could flip into cover and shake. I could fish it with a slip sinker and 20-pound-test line instead of fishing a little jighead and 6- or 8-pound-test line. I still believe that the Zero is a subtle finesse bait. It’s just the big boy of the finesse baits. I’m really confident when I’m fishing the Zero.

Question: Greg, are you pegging the lead to the head of the Zero?

Hackney: That really depends on the type of cover I’m fishing. If I’m fishing in shallow-water cover, or if I’m fishing through vegetation, I will peg the sinker to the head of the Zero. But if I’m fishing out in open water, I don’t peg the lead to the head of the Zero. The way I’m fishing the Zero in open water is much like you’d fish a snapper rig in saltwater in that the lead gets to the bottom first and separates itself from the bait. Then the bait floats gently down to the bottom.

So when I’m flipping in deep open water with the Zero, by the time the weight gets to the bottom, the Zero has usually separated itself from the weight. That last 2 feet of fall it wiggles just like it will wiggle if I’m fishing it weightless. The lead just lets me get the Zero down in the bass’s strike zone quickly. However, then when the lead’s on the bottom, the Zero acts like a weightless worm. So I call this beefed-up finesse fishing.

Next: The Finesse Worm Saves the Day at Lake Oneida and Lake Erie

Contents:

• Part 1: I Almost Missed the Train
• Part 2: Beefed-Up Finesse Fishing
• Part 3: The Finesse Worm Saves the Day at Lake Oneida and Lake Erie
• Part 4: Don’t Be Afraid of the Red Eye Shad
• Part 5: The Classic Comes Home