Bass-Fishing Tactics with Greg Hackney
Finesse Fishing Pays Off
 Editor’s
Note: Greg Hackney of Gonzalez, Louisiana, one of the
hottest tournament fishermen on both pro circuits, has
finished in the top-10 in four tournaments with nine
more tournaments left to compete in this year. Hackney
won the Lake Sam Rayburn Bass Tournament, and so far
this year, he’s earned $192,000 on the Bassmaster
circuit and is ranked No. 1 statistically on www.bassfan.com
as of May, 2006.
Question: What baits are you using to fish slowly at
this time of year that most fishermen aren’t using?
Hackney: In the last couple of years, fishing a finesse
worm has really proven to be a strong tactic. I use
the Strike King 3X Finesse Worm in June and the other
summer months. The Strike King Finesse Worm is a predominant
bait in every tournament we fish throughout the summer.
I think the biggest reason that finesse worm fishing
has become such a major tactic is because all the lakes
have so much fishing pressure now. Also, fishermen today
are much better than they’ve ever been before.
Finesse tactics  are
now producing bass in places where power fishing will
have ruled in the past.
Question: How do you rig your finesse worm?
Hackney: I rig it on a 3/16- or a 3/4-ounce jighead,
depending on how deep I’m fishing. I like to use
a shaky-type jighead, so I rig the worm either Texas
style or with an exposed hook. That worm is really thin,
so it’s easy to get a hook through it.
Question: What color do you like?
Hackney: I like watermelon red, watermelon, pumpkin
or Junebug.
Question: On what type cover are you fishing the finesse
worm?
Hackney: The season of the year dictates the type of
cover I fish. I may fish boat docks or shallow-wood
cover, but in the summer, I’ll  primarily
fish points. As the bass leave the bed and start to
move out to deeper water, they’ll be holding on
points and creek channel beds.
Question: How are you fishing the finesse worm to get
the fish to bite it?
Hackney: Right now, the bass has just come off the bed,
so they don’t suspend too much. They’re
usually holding close to the bottom. I cast the worm
out and let it fall all the way to the bottom. Once
I let the worm hit the bottom, I shake the jighead with
a slack line to cause the worm to quiver like it’s
some kind of bait feeding on the bottom. Now, this is
a really-slow technique. For the tactic to be effective,
you have to have the bass “dialed-in.”
Question: What do you mean “dialed-in?”
Hackney: I’ll either find the bass with a crankbait,
a Carolina-rigged worm or a jig. After I find the fish,
and I’ve caught maybe one or two of them, I know
where those bass are holding. I have them “dialed-in.”
Now when they stop biting the bait I was catching them
on ,
I’ll cast back to that same spot with shaky jigheads
and a Strike King Finesse Worm. I use the finesse worm
to show that same school of bass a different lure. For
instance, in the tournament I recently fished, I’d
caught four bass on a jig when the bass quit biting.
I started fishing the Strike King Finesse Worm, and
I caught nine more bass. I caught my biggest fish with
the finesse worm. This tournament was on Grand Lake
in Oklahoma. I was catching bass that weighed about
2-pounds each on the jig, and I started catching the
bigger bass using the finesse worm. Normally, when you’re
fishing structure at this time of the year, there will
be more than one bass holding on that structure. I like
to fish the places where bass are migrating. In other
words, when you catch three or four bass off one structure,
there may be more bass that will move onto that same
structure. Every day these places replenish themselves
with more structure and more fish.
Tomorrow: Drag a Jig, and Drag
in Bass
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