Entry 282-4

Greg Hackney Sets New Trophy Bass Record

Part 4: The Last Tournament Day

Question: Greg, you’re leading the tournament on the last day. In the past, your track record for winning a tournament when you’re in the lead on the last day isn’t great.

Hackney: When I first started bass fishing, I led in a lot of tournaments. I guess it put too-much pressure on me because I just couldn’t finish the tournaments in the lead. I still didn’t know whether I could lead a tournament and win on the last day. But for some reason, in this tournament, I was in the right mental place to win. I was paired against one guy for the FLW Cup. That fisherman had only caught 7 pounds the first day. So I was 25-pounds ahead of him going into the second day. He zeroed the second day, and I caught 40 pounds. Then I was 65 pounds ahead of him going into the final day.

There was no way for him to beat me. I had made the Forrest Wood Cup at the end of the second day and already accomplished my goal. The pressure was off on the last day. All I had to do was concentrate on winning the tournament. This tournament only pays the first-place winner, and I knew if I finished second I’d go home with no money. I would’ve won a spot in the Forrest Wood Cup, but I wouldn’t have made a paycheck for that week’s worth of work unless I won on the last day. So, financially I’d be in worst shape than when I reached the tournament.

Question: Where did you go first on the last day of the tournament?

Hackney: I returned to my number-one spot that had produced all the big bass. That morning I had seven bites, and on this day, I boated four of the bass. These four bass weighed 32 pounds – an 11-pound 7-ounce bass, two 7-pounders and an 8-pounder. So when the bass quit biting at this spot, I immediately ran to the pond dam. My first cast with the Hack Attack jig at the pond levee landed a 5-pounder, and I probably fished for 30 minutes longer at this location. I probably should have stayed on that pond dam and attempted to catch a 7-pounder to replace that 5-pounder. Instead, I decided I needed a 10-pounder to win. I didn’t know at this time how much the fish in my live well weighed. I misjudged my total weight. I had 37-pounds and 9-ounces. Still, I left and went to my number-one place to catch a 10-pounder. This is the only tournament I’d ever fished in where I truly targeted a 10-pound bass. Although I caught small bass at my number-one spot, I never caught another big bass to cull my 5-pounder.

The bass in this part of Texas were preparing to spawn at the end of November, and those big bass I was catching were planning to spawn the first full moon of December. Even as I caught big fish in my number-one spot every morning, new big fish moved into this region to prepare for the spawn. Every day these bass were replacing the big bass I’d already caught. I felt like I could consistently take big bass every day in this spot until the first full moon in December. This was a staging area that big bass moved into to wait on the right water temperature and moon phase to spawn. Below this spot, were acres and acres of flooded timber. The bass were moving out of that timber to hold in this one spot and wait on the spawn.

The last day I caught four bass on the Anaconda and one bass on the Hack Attack jig. I weighed in 15 bass in the tournament and 12 of those were caught on the Anaconda, while three were caught on the Hack Attack jig. This was the first time I’d fished the Anaconda in a tournament. The 7-pounders I caught during practice built my confidence in the bait. The Anaconda is a big worm but also has a really-big tail. About 2/3 of the worm’s body is tail with a unique swimming action and a big profile that really turns-on the big bass. I’ve decided the Anaconda will be the only worm I fish. I caught nearly 110 pounds of bass using the Anaconda.

Next: Hackney Holds First On the Final Day

Contents:

• Part 1: Twenty-five Bites in 2 Hours and Two 8-Pounders
• Part 2: Thirty-Two Pounds for 4th Place on Day One
• Part 3: The Day to Get Ahead
• Part 4: The Last Tournament Day
• Part 5: Hackney Holds First On the Final Day