Reel Chat with CHAD GRIGSBY

Goodwill bass pro answers fan questions about his winning baits, lure retrieves, how to get started in tournament fishing, and much more

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Welcome to FLW Live Reel Chat. Today we’re joined by bass pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minn., who recently won the FLW Tour title at the June 16-19 Kentucky Lake event.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
With nearly $630,000 in winnings and 10 top-10 finishes at FLW Outdoors-related events since 2001, the Goodwill pro finally secured his first-ever FLW Tour win at Kentucky Lake on June 19. Grigsby, who has a remarkable six top-10 finishes on the FLW Tour since the 2005 season, leapfrogged from third place to first on the final day of Kentucky Lake competition after turning in a mammoth one-day stringer weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. In the end, Grigsby – who never led until the final day – wound up winning the tournament title by a healthy margin of more than 6 pounds.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Today, Chad Grigsby is here to take questions from you, the fans. So, without further delay, let’s get started.

Q: How does it feel to get your first-ever FLW Tour win? I know you’ve finished second at least twice on the Tour before, so it must feel pretty great to have finally broken through with a victory.
— Pat Zak (Oakland, Calif.)
A: Obviously it feels great. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well in every tournament. I haven’t had a very good year, but this kind of makes up for it. To finally get a “w” feels really good. I can’t wait to get another one.

Q: Heading back to final weigh-in, did you think you had a good chance to win the title on Kentucky Lake, or were you just hoping to move up the leaderboard?
— Jim Interlandi (Chicago, Ill.)
A: Well, actually, after I caught my fourth big one, I thought it was going to be pretty tough for anyone to catch me. I knew Jay wasn’t going to be able to catch 24 pounds flipping. And I talked to Ramie and he said the day before that, “If it’s cloudy and rainy, my fish don’t position right.” So after my fourth, the only person I was nervous about was Kevin Snider. But I pretty much knew I had it won after the fourth fish, which I caught at about 11:30 a.m.

Q: When did you first realize you were on tournament-winning fish? I heard you had a bad practice. Did the big fish just show up, or do you think they were always there?
— Jim (Mayfield, Ky.)
A: I never knew I was on winning fish until the last day. I was just poking along, doing the best I could. The fish might have moved up the last day, but I guess I don’t know for sure. On Kentucky Lake you can pull up on a spot, make five casts and get right real quick. I had one area where I could catch a limit real quickly, and then I’d move around and try to cull. I’d also hit some spots near the dam. But I only had four or five spots overall, so I was committed to those areas.

Q: Hi, Chad. Congrats on the big win! What lures do you suggest a co-angler should be throwing at Kentucky Lake when fishing ledges? Do you think a co-angler has as much of an advantage as the pro?
— Omar (Ashland City, Tenn.)
A: I would throw two baits: a big worm and a jig. I believe, yes, the co-angler does have as much chance as a pro to do well. Just look at JT Kenney’s co-angler partner last tournament. On Kentucky Lake there are lots of opportunities for co-anglers.

Q: What was your go-to bait at Kentucky Lake, and why do you think the fish were focusing on it?
— Omar (Ashland City, Tenn.)
A: I didn’t have a go-to bait; I used three. I used a Secret Lure Ledge Shaker – a 3/4-ounce football head with a 12-inch homemade worm – it’s kind of a like a big shaky head; I used a 3/4-ounce Secret Lure football jig; and the 6XD Strike King crankbait. That’s all I threw the whole tournament.

Q: Why did you rig that homemade worm on a big shaky head instead of going with the standard 1/2-ounce weight and Texas rig?
— Mike (Decatur, Ala.)
A: Basically, the shaky head is all one piece. But the 3/4-ounce bait gets down better because I was fishing in about 19 to 21 feet of water. The football shape actually helped the bait stand up.

Q: What kind of action does that homemade paddletail worm have? Does the bottom spin like a ribbontail?
— Dan R. (Paducah, Ky.)
A: No, it doesn’t spin. It’s just a round paddletail. A lot has to do with the current; it just waves back and forth in the current. Basically, the worm doesn’t have any salt in it, so it floats.

Q: Being a flipper, did you ever think about heading to the bushes like Jay Yelas did at Kentucky Lake?
— Doug (Fayetteville, Tenn.)
A: It never even crossed my mind with the exception of when the wind was blowing like 35 miles an hour.

Q: I saw some bloody tails at the Kentucky Lake weigh-in. Were some of those bass still spawning? If not, when do you think they finished?
— Mike (Cadiz, Ky.)
A: The biggest fish I caught on the final day, a 6-plus-pounder, looked like it hadn’t spawned yet. The majority of them probably had, but I think there were definitely some that had not.

Q: I bass fish in Minnesota a lot, but I always stay shallow. Do our largemouths go offshore like the TVA fish? If so, where do they go on natural lakes? Or does the water stay cool enough where they pretty much stay shallow or mid-depth?
— Matt Russell (Columbia Heights, Minn.)
A: I’ve only fished in Minnesota about four times in my whole life. Most of the lakes in Minnesota have grass, and they don’t have a lot of current. Water temp down South gets 90 degrees, and we don’t really have that. I think you can stay shallow in Minnesota pretty much all year, but you can find some fish out deep. There is just so much cover here that it’s very productive to stay shallow.

Q: How do you know when to snap the rod when you’re cranking shell beds like that? And can you see the shells on your graph, or do you just feel them with your baits?
— David (Springfield, Ill.)
A: When I hit bottom, I’ll sometimes snap the rod to see if the fish react. But there are no rules. You just have to vary your action. The fish will bite differently every day. But the key is to try and make that bait erratic. A lot of times those fish will follow the bait along the bottom, and if you do the same thing all the time, the fish won’t bite it. But if you do something different, it’s like how a cat will react – they’ll jump. When fishing shell beds, you can definitely feel it – it’s like pulling the bait across gravel.

Q: What was the key structure that gave you the win at Kentucky Lake?
— Omar (Ashland City, Tenn.)
A: It was the shell beds, but I’m not sure if you consider that structure or not. I just found the right shell beds where the fish were biting.

Q: I am an aspiring angler. My father and I used to compete in local tournaments a couple years back. Recently he has tried to show me everything he knows because I want to work my way up to the pro level. I’m new at this and not sure how to start. Any advice?
— Glen (Newcomerstown, Ohio)
A: You should start fishing the BFLs or get in a local bass club. Then you can work your way up through the EverStart tournaments, and hopefully, eventually you can qualify for the FLW Tour. FLW Outdoors has probably the best farm system there is as far as working your way up the ladder.

Q: I’ve read a lot lately about people using swimbaits on offshore ledges. How do you use a swimbait in deep water? I thought it was just a cast-and-retrieve bait.
— Nick (Marietta, Ga.)
A: I don’t really know because I don’t throw swimbaits that often. I had one tied up all week, but didn’t really throw it because I don’t have a lot of confidence in it. Guys use it are successful at it, but I don’t have enough experience with it to give you a good answer.

Q: Hi, Chad. Great job at Kentucky Lake. With your win and all, how do you feel about Pickwick? Are you going to be fishing deep or shallow? Who do you feel will excel and win this event?
— Cody Hanley (Utopia, New Brunswick, Canada)
A: I’m sure I will be focusing 90 percent of my practice deep – because that’s where they are in July on TVA reservoirs. I don’t go into tournaments thinking how I’m going to do; I let practice dictate that for me. But I never have a sense heading into a tournament whether I’m going to make the top 10 or not. I know it’s going to be hot though. JT Kenney should do well at this event; he’s mastered the offshore fishing. He was there for the EverStart, and he’s got a bunch of spots and probably spent 15 days on the lake already this year. So he’s a good choice.

Q: I know you’re busy, but I would like some info on next year’s tournaments and try to get in on the co-angler side and pair up with a pro. What’s the best way to go about doing this?
— Barry White (Pine Bluff, Ark.)
A: If you sign up for all the tournaments (on FLWOudoors.com), you should be able to fish all of the tournaments on the co-angler side. If you ask enough guys once you get to the dock, you can usually find somebody to take you out. You can go on Facebook.com and ask for partners, or you can try the forum sections on FLWOutdoors.com.

Q: What would you say is the best way to find bass on a lake you have never fished before?
— Justin (Kansas City, Kan.)
A: This question is a little hard to answer without some more details. It varies on what time of year it is. It also varies depending on what type of lake it is. But I’d generally start shallow. But I’d keep an open mind, try all techniques until you start getting multiple bites, and then you can expand upon your presentations.

Q: Do you think the storms on day three changed the complexion of the Kentucky Lake tournament? If so, how were you able to capitalize on those developments?
— Matt Hunt (San Diego, Calif.)
A: It absolutely did. It cut the fishing time down for a lot of us. Some guys had to go to the bank for cover. For me, the storms made a difference as well. On one spot, I caught three fish before the storms came, and then after the storm left, I didn’t catch anything. But I think, overall, the storms helped me. Ramie Colson had a bunch of areas he wanted to hit, but because of the storms, he wasn’t able to get to a lot of them. It definitely hurt the guys running to Barkley more than it hurt the guys staying on Kentucky. Personally, I was glad to see the storms come in. I didn’t want to go out in them, but they helped me as I wound up with the biggest stringers on both the third and fourth days.

Q: Why did you go with the 6XD? Would a DD22 or a Rapala DT 20 have worked on that spot?
— Chris (Clarksville, Tenn.)
A: I’m not saying those wouldn’t have worked, but the new 6XD, it humps better when it deflects off things. When you hit a stump, a lot of times you can lose the feel of the bait. But with the 6XD, I like the way it feels and stays true when it runs into structure.

Q: Chad, congrats on your win! How important is knowing the skill of crankbaiting for up-and-coming weekend bass fisherman? I’m from Maryland, and there’s so much submerged grass it is hard to learn the skill effectively.
— P.J. Pahygiannis (Olney, Md.)
A: For one, if you’re going to be a professional fisherman, you better not be just good at one thing. So crankbaiting is a very important skill to learn. You can’t throw a jig every tournament. You have to be versatile. If you’re from Maryland, practice throwing the crankbait in early spring before the grass has come up yet.

Q: Great win on the Big K! How did you find those key areas? I fish a million ledges on Kentucky and can’t catch the numbers or size I should, and I’ve spent a ton of time doing it. Is there something unique you looked for or found? Thanks!
— Luke (Benton, Ky.)
A: Try fishing spots you’ve never tried before, and spend a whole day just idling around with your electronics, learning new spots. Obviously, if you’re not catching big ones, you need to go to a different spot. Personally, I found about 10 different areas where I could catch big bass fairly regularly.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have to chat with Chad today. Thanks, once again, to all the fans who tuned in and participated in today’s Reel Chat. And a special thanks to Goodwill pro Chad Grigsby, the recent FLW Tour winner on Kentucky Lake, for giving us his time and insights into bass fishing. Check back shortly for a complete transcript of today’s FLW Live Reel Chat.