Hackney’s tackle picks for High School Lay Lake

Anglers will be gathering at Alabama’s Lay Lake this week for the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, so we asked Bassmaster Elite Series pro Greg Hackney to run down the tackle that should be players in the event.
Anglers will be gathering at Alabama’s Lay Lake this week for the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, so we asked Bassmaster Elite Series pro Greg Hackney to run down the tackle that should be players in the event.
Hackney knows the basis of success are the rod and reel combinations chosen for each application. So, he shared his recommendations based on several patterns sure to be in play during this week’s tournament.
Hackney knows the basis of success are the rod and reel combinations chosen for each application. So, he shared his recommendations based on several patterns sure to be in play during this week’s tournament.
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Hackney’s foundation for success is built on his signature Lew’s Hack Attack Speed Sticks, which are available only at Academy Sports + Outdoors. “These are the best quality rods I’ve ever used,” he said. “All my rods come standard with the Winn grips, so you don’t have to worry about your hand slipping if they get wet. They include real high-quality Fuji components, and they are light but strong.“The other thing about the whole line is every one is labeled on the handle with what they are made for, so if you need a frog/swim jig rod, there it is.”He also is proud of the rod line’s $99 price point. “I know how it is to fish on a budget, because I’ve fished on one my entire life,” Hackney explained. “Fishing can get expensive, if you let it. So you can pick up one of these rods without breaking the bank and still have a quality product.”
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Hackney continues to build his rigs with two Lew’s reels: the BB1 Pro and the Super Duty line of reels that come in either a wide-spool or standard spool size.Specific reel choice is dependent upon application. “I do all my cranking and winding with a BB1 Pro, and I do all my flipping, frogging, braided line stuff with a Super Duty. I’m about down to those two reels,” Hackney said.The BB1 is perfect for moving baits, he said. “The BB1 comes in three speeds, and I use it for cranking, spinnerbaiting, bladed jig — anything you’ve got to move,” he said. “It’s the best cranking reel they make, and it also has a wider spool. I’m just big on that wider spool: When you make a longer cast, the reel is still fast. One of those little bitty reels, if you make a long cast it might be an 8.3:1 when it has all that line on it, but when all the line is off it, it’s a 5:1. Those bigger reels don’t fluctuate as much speed-wise; they are more consistent.”When Hackney is working slower baits or in heavy cover, he chooses the Lew’s Super Duty spool size based on what he’s throwing. “Basically they are the exact same reel,” Hackney explained. “The only difference between these two reels is the size of the spool. I just like the wider spool when I’m making extremely long casts because they hold a lot of line.“They have heavy-duty components, and they have heavy-duty drag systems, which I crank all the way down. And they take a beating.”
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For most of his Lay Lake applications this time of year, Hackney is spooling up with Gamma Torque braided line. Line weight is dependent on the exact application, but ranges from 50-pound to 65-pound.“So on a topwater bait and swimming a jig, I use 50-pound test,” Hackney said. “For a frog and punching mats, I use 65-pound test.”The heavier line when punching thick cover is necessary because of the heavy weights being used.“That big weight is hard on line,” Hackney explained. “I use 65-pound just because it’s more protection. If you put a 1 1/2-ounce weight on 50-pound braid, halfway through the day it’ll rub a hole in that line.”When braided line isn’t needed, he’ll use 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon.
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A bone-colored Strike King Kevin VanDam Sexy Dawg 300 would definitely be on Hackney’s deck this week.“There’s a big-time shad bite on Lay Lake,” Hackney explained. “And those big spotted bass love to school, so a big topwater bait is a huge deal in the summertime. You know, Lay Lake has some standing timber in it under the water, and those spotted bass are bad about suspending in it. I can draw those fish up with this lure. We’re starting to get some hot weather now, and the bait is moving offshore now. The shad spawn is over in most places and those shad are offshore, and a lot of those spotted bass will be roaming.“It’ll just be good to have this on. Even if I’m going down the bank flipping, frogging or jigging, I can pick this up and fire it out there if I see them schooling. It’s big, it’s heavy and you can cast it a long way. It catches big ones, and it’s got three hooks so the hook-up ratio is good on it.”He matches this lure up with his signature Lew’s Hack Attack 6-10 buzz bait rod with the BB1 Pro 8.3:1 reel. “I want a fast reel with 50-pound Gamma braid,” he said.
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Next on his list of Lay Lake summertime lures is a Strike King Popping Perch in the goggle-eye color. “There’s a bluegill spawn going on right now,” Hackney said. “That’s the dominant shallow baitfish right now; there are bluegill beds everywhere. This lure just fishes good around cover: You can skip it under boat docks, and you can fish it in open water.“What makes this bait so much better than a traditional frog is its lifelike action. If you see how it’s made, you see the color is on the bottom, so it looks like it’s crippled and on its side. But the big thing about it is it walks like a Spook or a Sexy Dawg, and it’s got that concave front so it spits. You can fish it fast or you can fish it real slow. It’s also completely weedless, and a lot of those bluegill will be spawning in that water willow. And the largemouth predominantly live in and around that shallow cover.”He matches the lure with a Lew’s Super Duty wide 8.3:1 reel spooled with 65-pound Gamma braid on a 7-2 Hack Attack Speed Stick frog/swim jig rod.
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A 1/2-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Select Swim Jig paired with a Strike King Rage Craw should definitely be a big player during any summertime tournament on Lay Lake.“I would alternate between two colors: some flavor of white that resembles a shad and bluegill,” Hackney explained. “I like a 1/2-ounce swim jig this time of year because the vegetation starts to get thick. It’s not that they won’t blow up on a lighter one, but they get a heavier one better because it rides in that grass heavier, and it’ll get down there where you’re going to get the bite. And a lot of times if you throw one too light this time of year, once that water willow gets high and starts to get thick the fish will miss the jig.“The water in Lay Lake is typically clean, and I like to go with something that’s more natural in that clean water. And Lay Lake gets a lot of pressure by a lot of great fishermen. The fish get to see a swim jig, but it still catches them. It doesn’t matter. It just fits the profile, and it does what it needs to do.”Hackney said it also serves as its own follow-up lure if a strike is missed.“The other good thing about this swim jig is that if I miss one, I can just pitch it back in the hole and fish it like a flipping jig,” he said. “It’s kind of the best of both worlds.”The 4/0 Owner Jungle Flipping Hook means there’s no flex during hookset, even when used with braided line.Hackney pairs the swim jig with a Lew’s Hack Attack Speed Stick swim jig/frog rod and Lew’s Super Duty 8.3:1 reel spooled with 50-pound Gamma Torque braided line.
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Once the sun gets high, Hackney said he’d turn to a Strike King Punch Bug paired with a pegged weight ranging from 1 to 1 1/2-ounces.“Lay Lake has a lot of floating mats,” he said. “There’s just a chance to catch a giant once the sun gets up and the day gets hot, and those fish get under those mats.”As to proper weight choice, Hackney said there are two considerations: getting through the cover and triggering the bite.“You need to choose one that is heavy enough to get through the vegetation,” Hackney said. “And I want it to go through fast to trigger a bite. So in the wintertime, I want just enough weight to go through the cover; in the summertime I want a little overkill. I want it to blow through there.“Honestly, in the summertime your lure can’t go through the cover too fast. It can go through too slow, but it can’t go through too fast. I don’t want them to look at it too long. You don’t want them to think about it.”
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Rounding out his Lay Lake summertime arsenal would be a 1/2-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Select Spinnerbait in two blade colors.“I like one with nickel blades if the sun is shining, and then I like one with white blades if you get around a bunch of boats to show them something different,” Hackney explained. “That white blade is something they’re not used to seeing. They don’t see that many colored blades in general; it looks totally different in the water.“And I like white blades because of the shad in Lay Lake.”A 6-10 spinnerbait/buzzbait Lew’s Hack Attack Speed Stick, Lew’s BB1 Pro 6.5:1 reel and Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line is recommended for spinnerbait work.