Strike King pro Greg Hackney is fishing in southern Louisiana, close to the middle of Zone 1. “The cool thing about Zone 1 is that it’s a target-rich environment,” Hackney says. There is a lot of vegetation for bass to live by, in, and around, but unexpected weather could impact typical bass patterns during this time of the year. The morning of filming, Hackney found frost on his boat cover from the cold front the night before. The interesting mix of weather was not ideal, but Hackney still finds a way to capitalize on every opportunity.
With over 25 years of experience fishing in Zone 1, Hackney feels right at home in all the Cypress trees. He ties on a Tour Grade Spinnerbait with an orange “kicker.” He feels as if the flash of color makes a difference because of how dirty the water tends to be in Zone 1. “I throw stuff because it works,” says Hackney.
Despite the slow morning, Hackney starts to pick up momentum. He was expecting large strikes because of the change in weather, thinking that the bass would be feeding up before the cold weather really sets in. As he continues to cast, he lands a few unintended bites from non-bass species.
In Zone 1, you’re dealing with “resident fish” – they just move in and out of a close proximity from summer to fall and winter. Now that it’s cooling off, there are some fish that have moved into places with less current and less wind, like dead ends.
“Proven thing is Strike King catches everything – caught me!” Hackney remarks after hauls another non-bass catch on the boat.
“One thing about fishing is that confidence will make you fish a lure better,” Hackney assures. Without confidence, Hackney believes that there are casts that anglers simply won’t make if they are not confident when throwing their lure. “You’ll do things that get you bites,” he says.
Hackney says that if you’re not getting hung up, you’re not catching anything. “It’s a double-edged sword” when fishing with crankbaits, says Hackney. “That’s how you get bit, you have to be deflecting that bait – that’s what makes a crankbait better on inactive fish than anything,” Hackney shares.
If you throw that bait in there enough, that spurs defensive bites. The bass from Zone 1 have been dubbed “the fish of 20,000 casts” by Hackney, since it is one of the most elusive catches and hardest bites to get in Zone 1.
As the day progresses, Hackney makes the switch over to the Thunder Cricket Gold Vibrating Swim Jig. “Most of the time I am a big gold fan when it’s cloudy, but in the fall I think it’s a big deal; those shad have a gold tint in the fall,” shares Hackney.
Hackney was hoping for a slight change in the weather, and it finally happened. Sure enough, Hackney lands another large bass and then another.
“I honestly think I prefer to fish in the fall over the spring because look at this – how many people are on the lake?” Hackney points out. “It’s football season, deer season, squirrel season, fixing to be duck season – people doing everything. And we’re buzzbaitin’,” he says.
Going into day two, Hackney felt more optimistic because he had at least figured out where the bass were located and could find success that way, even if the weather did not cooperate. After throwing the KVD Toad Buzz Buzzbait 10 or so times, he switches back over to the Thunder Cricket Gold Vibrating Swim Jig and was able to get a bite within the first few casts. “It’s not that they’re not biting, they’re just not biting on top now. You know, the weather has changed, that front is starting and making them tighten up,” Hackney says.
“You know the big thing for me, what makes fishing fun is that deal of figuring them out; making those changes. The whole deal of going through everything and figuring out what’s best – having that weather change and knowing what bait to pick up and catching a big bass. That’s the reason I do what I do, that’s the part of it I like,” Hackney reflects.
“This jig is just such a good jig for getting bites. It catches big ones, but it catches all of them. It’s small, just real compact. It’s got that big hook in it,” Hackney says, referring to the Hack Attack Fluorocarbon Flippin’ Jig. Hackney uses it on both braid and fluorocarbon depending on the cover.
“You know, here’s the whole deal with any of this – you just have to make the most of every experience,” Hackney emphasizes. Challenging fisheries make for better anglers, encouraging deeper thought, higher levels of awareness, and forcing anglers to make changes to fit their current situation.
“That’s what I consider myself – jack of all trades, master of none,” says Hackney. Hackney is extremely experienced in fishing all over the United States but continues to add to his vast pool of knowledge and experience every time he hits the water, no matter where he is at.
