Entry 276-2

Why Strike King’s Lures Are the Way They Are with Shaw Grigsby

Part 2: The Little Spinner Bait with Lots of Weight

Question: Shaw, I know you had a great deal of input in the new Strike King spinner bait. Tell us what you did and why.

Grigsby: I started toying with the idea of a compact spinner bait years ago because I wanted a spinner bait I could cast a long way and burn or reel very slowly, while the spinner bait tracked true ( ran straight) regardless of reel speed. Also I still wanted my spinner bait to be small. Most small spinner baits are 3/16- or 1/4-ounce, which are small lightweight spinner baits you can’t cast very far.

Working with Strike King, we developed a 3/8-ounce spinner bait on a 3/16-ounce frame and 1/2-ounce spinner bait on a 3/16- or a 1/4-ounce frame. The lead begins at the bait’s head comes down the body and onto the shank of the hook. So instead of having a spinner bait with all the lead in the head, we’ve brought the lead down the shank of the hook for a heavier bait that’s much smaller than other 3/8- or 1/2-ounce spinner baits.

Question: What’s the advantage of this new Compact spinner bait?”

Grigsby: A couple of years ago I fished an Elite Series tournament at Eagle Mountain Lake in Texas. The bass were attacking killing and eating shad that were very small. If you want to fish a spinner bait in this situation the normal-sized spinner bait is too bulky and big. A 3/16-ounce spinner bait can’t be cast a long way because it’s too small. The only way to make the long cast to reach those bass with a spinner bait is to cast that 3/16-ounce spinner bait on a spinning rod with light line or have a heavier spinner bait. At that time, I had a Compact spinnerbait with me that I put on casting tackle. I really drilled the bass with it. I was able to stay away from the school, make long casts and present a spinner bait to the bass that was about the same size as the shad the bass were eating. That’s only one situation where Strike King’s Compact spinner bait was the best tool to complete the job.

Oftentimes in the fall and the summer, you’ll find bass eating small shad. This is when the Compact spinner bait can be very deadly. At Strike King, we look for situations where a different lure may make the difference in catching fish. Because all the Strike King pros are tournament fishermen, we have to catch bass to win. So, when we discover a new lure or tactic that solves our problems, we bring this idea to Strike King and the other pros on the Strike King team. This is how lures and component parts come to the market from Strike King.

Next: Don’t Forget the Zulu

Contents:

• Part 1: This Ain’t Your Granddaddy’s Spinner Bait
• Part 2: The Little Spinner Bait with Lots of Weight
• Part 3: Don’t Forget the Zulu
• Part 4: Take the Glass Minnow to Salt Water
• Part 5: The Big Brother of the Red Eye Shad