BassBlaster

Greg Hackney: The Jig Wizard

I’ve been fortunate to cover this sport in a close-up way, and one of the things that never ceases to amaze me is the insane level of detail and attention that tournament pros give to their tackle and presentations. I’m not just talking about tying perfect knots or trimming up a skirt on a spinnerbait. Anal doesn’t even begin to describe these guys. Downright consumed is probably the phrase I would use to describe how top-level sticks evaluate and prepare their tackle.

It’s one thing to read quotes from a pro in a watered-down tips article, but when you actually hear these guys talk to each other on the water or waiting in line for a weigh-in, you gain a whole new respect for the utterly advanced level at which bass pros think. Imagine if you took the average guy off the street and dropped him in the middle of a conversation between a couple of quantum physicists. Those nerds would be tossing around terms and ideas that made perfect sense in their world, but 9-to-5 Joe Blow’s head would explode if he tried to keep up. Listening to pro bassers break down a lake or a pattern is kinda’ like that.

By now you’re probably wondering where the heck I’m going with this. Check out the video below from Strike King’s YouTube page that features Louisiana pro Greg Hackney describing the intricacies in the design of his signature Hack Attack jig. The video is less than 5 minutes long, but after I watched it I felt like I’d attended an in-depth, master’s-level symposium on jig fishing. But for Hack, this is just everyday convo. Line-tie degrees. The physics of hook penetration. How when and where a jig will outperform plastic. All these thought processes that seem highly advanced to the average angler represent base-level thinking in Hack’s world. This is the kind of stuff that goes through his head, almost unconsciously, every time he flips a jig to a stump. Pretty impressive. All that goes through my head is: “I wonder if one’s sittin’ right there?” And then after the bait lands it’s: “$#!^, I’m hung up again.”

Oh, and Strike King, we’re gonna’ have to hit you with a grammar fail for this little slip (but we’ll let it slide because the video was so awesome):

Here’s the full video, enjoy:

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Chad Keogh

    November 11, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    Wow! I thought I knew what to look for in a jig, but I obviously didn’t after watching Greg Hackney break it down. Keep the great articles and videos coming!

  2. AlexV

    November 16, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    That’s why I ALWAYS check the “bite” of a hook, and will often open it up a little bit with the pliers (a Bill Dance trick), then hit the hook point with a file. Do I hang up more because of it? Maybe a little bit, but I rarely miss a bite in a jig, and have lots of tricks to get unstuck, and occasionally get bit in trying to do so, to me it’s all upside. I will be buying a crapload of HACK ATTACK Jigs regardless.

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