Greg Hackney is returning to his bass fishing roots in an effort to connect with the numerous 3 to 5-pound bass that find themselves swimming in exceptionally dirty Bassmaster Classic waters this week at Oklahoma’s Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees.
“A spinnerbait is the bait I learned to fish with, but sadly, I could count on one hand the number of bass I’ve weighed-in on it the past ten years,” reflected the shallow water expert from Louisiana.
“But this week, a heavy spinnerbait with that giant #7 hubcap-sized Colorado blade just seems to make sense on Grand,” explains Hackney.
“This one is a really heavy 1-ounce Strike King Hack Attack, so I can get it deep enough to where those pre-spawners are suspended, and that giant gold blade produces about as much vibration as anything you could tie-on in this muddy water,” he adds.
“I started with a #6 size willowleaf blade in practice – but I’ll be honest with you, it just wasn’t providing enough ‘thump’ to give me confidence the fish could feel it in that dirty water, so I changed over to that big Colorado blade instead, and I’ll promise you they can sense that rollin’ past ‘em,” grinned Hackney, who hunts as much as he fishes, and proudly signed a sponsorship deal with Badlands specialty hunting backpacks this off-season.
As far as the gear required to tow such a heavy high-vibration beast, Hackney uses a Quantum 7’ 4” TourKVD heavy action rod, and a large EXO 200 reel spooled with 20-pound Gamma fluorocarbon line.
“It just seems like we seldomnly ever have an Elite Series event anymore that set-ups perfectly for spinnerbaits, but with the water being dirty and 46-degrees, this could be it,” warns Hackney. “And if that water warms up to the low 50s – look out!”
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