Entry 217-1
Greg Hackney Finishes in the Top-10 at the Bassmaster Legends Tournament
Editor’s Note: Greg Hackney of Gonzales, Louisiana, one of the top contenders on the B.A.S.S. circuit, has moved up fast in the tournament standings. He had a good finish at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas, in the Ray Scott Memorial Bassmaster Legends Tournament the last week in August. This week, Hackney will tell us how he fished, and the patterns that worked for him to produce an 8th-place finish, earning him $16,000.
Part 1: The Game Plan
Question: Greg, what did you know about Lake Dardanelle before you arrived there?
Hackney: I’d fished Lake Dardanelle a couple of times as a kid. I fished a top-50 tournament there and a couple of small tournaments. But I learned that the lake had a lot of vegetation in it that wasn’t there previously when I fished it.
Question: What was your game plan going into the tournament?
Hackney: I didn’t think the weights would be as heavy, the currents as strong or the fish biting as much. I figured to win the tournament would take 24 pounds, however, that was about the pounds required each day to win the tournament. I really felt like my best chances for winning were to fish the backwaters off the main river. I was betting on vegetation and wood cover to produce the bass I needed to win the tournament.
From growing up on a river system, I know that at this time of year, when the water was really hot, backwater fish would relate to some type of grass or wood cover. I also knew that normally when you fished for backwater fish, when the water was really hot, you wouldn’t catch a lot of bass, but you’d catch quality fish. You may not get but six bites a day, but those six bites generally would be heavier fish than you’d normally catch. I actually thought I’d catch the fish cranking a Strike King crankbait.
Question: Why did you think you’d catch the bass with a crankbait?
Hackney: Normally, at this time of year, the bass suspend in the water column. They’re usually not on the bottom, but they’re holding up off the cover.
Question: How many days of practice did you have, and what did you learn the first day?
Hackney: We had 2-1/2-days of practice, and the first day I decided that instead of fishing the backwater, I’d fish the main river. I changed my starting fishing spot because the river had so much current in it. I thought the fish that were in the main river would be easier to catch because the current would stimulate them to bite. I learned that the bass on the river were easier to catch, but I wasn’t able to catch the size of bass I needed to win the tournament. On that first day of practice, I probably caught 10 bass cranking a Strike King Series 3 and a Series 4 crankbait in the chartreuse-and-blue, the chartreuse-and-black, and the Tennessee-shad colors. My biggest bass weighed 4 pounds.
Next: Day Two of Practice
Contents:
- Part 1: The Game Plan
- Part 2: Day Two of Practice
- Part 3: The First Day of Competition
- Part 4: Day Two of the Tournament
- Part 5: Day Three of the Tournament
