Greg Hackney's 3 Favorite Lures
By: Rob Newell
Greg Hackney thinks he'd have most scenarios covered if he were limited to a square-bill crankbait, a swim jig and a soft-plastic stick worm. (Rob Newell photo)
Here's a breakdown of 3 lures that Greg Hackney doesn't leave home without
Greg Hackney took a moment to digest the question.
“What three lures are absolute must-haves at any lake across the country in any season, in any condition?”
After a thoughtful pause, Hackney started picking through his rod locker and added, “I kind of like this concept. Maybe we should have a tournament where we are restricted to just three lures; now that would be interesting.”
In less than a minute, the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup winner and 2014 Elite Series Angler of the Year had plucked out three rods.
“These three never leave the boat,” he added. “They are on my deck nearly every day I’m on the water, so here you go.”
Here’s a breakdown of what Hackney picked out.
Square-Bill Crankbait
No cover in the upper 7 feet of the water column is safe from Hackney’s square-bill. Riprap, natural rock, docks, cypress trees, scattered vegetation are all subject to being probed by the Louisiana resident.
“No matter where we go, there are bass usually living in 1 to 7 feet of water,” Hackney said. “And it’s hard to beat a Strike King KVD 1.5 square-bill for searching that zone of water. It’s an efficient bait for covering water in all seasons, from the pre-spawn through the fall.”
His favorite shallow cranking targets are laydowns or any kind of wood targets. But he also has a couple of tricks up his sleeve for old square-lips as well.
“Everyone thinks you’ve got to be cranking 15- and 20-foot plugs in the summer on TVA lakes – that’s not necessarily the case,” Hackney noted. “A lot of fish get on some of those shallower river bars in places like Kentucky Lake, Pickwick and Chickamauga. Those fish are totally catchable on a 1.5.”
Hackney dominated an FLW Tour event on Pickwick Lake in 2014, catching 97 pounds of bass over four days on shallow river bars when others were looking deep. He used bigger swimbaits during the event, but it was the 1.5 that initially sniffed out the mother lode.
In addition, Hackney contends that a square-bill is deadly on smallmouth up north in open water.
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