Day on the lake: Chad Grigsby

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Name recognition is the least of Chad Grigsby’s worries. “No, I am not related to [veteran Elite Series pro and TV show host] Shaw Grigsby,” Chad says patiently, probably for the 250th time this month. “Just this morning, a guy at a gas station saw my name on my boat and asked me where my dad has been filming his TV shows lately, what size fish he’s been catching, etc. Heck, my real dad went fishing maybe twice in his entire life! At the last ICAST fishing tackle convention, Shaw’s wife, Polly, introduced herself to me and jokingly said she’d been dying to meet Shaw’s son.” Rather than suffer an identity crisis, Grigsby takes the confusion in stride and maintains his sense of humor, even when grinding it out on a mystery lake in this month’s Day on the Lake challenge. 
<p> <b>6:29 a.m.</b> It’s 64 degrees and windy when Grigsby and I arrive at Lake B. A high in the upper 70s is forecast by afternoon. Grigsby pulls an assortment of St. Croix rods equipped with Lew’s reels from storage and arranges them on the front deck. “It’s been windy everywhere I’ve fished this year,” he laments. “They say the wind is your friend, but I’m not buying it. I like calm and sunny conditions, especially in spring!<br> <p> <b>7 HOURS LEFT</b><br> <b>6:45 a.m.</b> We launch the Ranger. Grigsby checks the lake temp: 61 degrees. “It’s the full moon, and with the water in the low 60s, the bass should either be on bed or getting ready to spawn. The lake looks fairly clear; once the sun gets higher, I should be able to spot some beds if any fish are spawning. I didn’t put any deep crankbaits in my boat, so I’m betting on a shallow bite.”<br> <b>6:55 a.m.</b> Grigsby idles into a nearby residential cove and makes his first casts of the day to boat docks with a black Venom buzzbait equipped with a generic white twin-tail trailer. A bass boils on the buzzer but doesn’t hook up. “At least I woke him up!”<br> <b>7:03 a.m.</b> Grigsby switches to a green pumpkin/chartreuse Venom Too Wackee Craw finesse worm on a spinning outfit. “This awesome hand-poured worm has craw claws molded on both ends. I’m fishing it wacky style [center hooked].” He skips the worm around and beneath docks.<br> <b>7:10 a.m.</b> Grigsby switches to a bone Strike King Sexy Dawg topwater stickbait. “This and the buzzbait are good lures for covering water around the spawn. A bedding fish will roll on a topwater even if it doesn’t strike it; then you can mark its location and sight fish for it once the sun gets higher.”<br> <b>7:14 a.m.</b> Grigsby moves to the back of the cove and skips the wacky worm around docks.
Name recognition is the least of Chad Grigsby’s worries. “No, I am not related to [veteran Elite Series pro and TV show host] Shaw Grigsby,” Chad says patiently, probably for the 250th time this month. “Just this morning, a guy at a gas station saw my name on my boat and asked me where my dad has been filming his TV shows lately, what size fish he’s been catching, etc. Heck, my real dad went fishing maybe twice in his entire life! At the last ICAST fishing tackle convention, Shaw’s wife, Polly, introduced herself to me and jokingly said she’d been dying to meet Shaw’s son.” Rather than suffer an identity crisis, Grigsby takes the confusion in stride and maintains his sense of humor, even when grinding it out on a mystery lake in this month’s Day on the Lake challenge. 

6:29 a.m. It’s 64 degrees and windy when Grigsby and I arrive at Lake B. A high in the upper 70s is forecast by afternoon. Grigsby pulls an assortment of St. Croix rods equipped with Lew’s reels from storage and arranges them on the front deck. “It’s been windy everywhere I’ve fished this year,” he laments. “They say the wind is your friend, but I’m not buying it. I like calm and sunny conditions, especially in spring!
7 HOURS LEFT6:45 a.m. We launch the Ranger. Grigsby checks the lake temp: 61 degrees. “It’s the full moon, and with the water in the low 60s, the bass should either be on bed or getting ready to spawn. The lake looks fairly clear; once the sun gets higher, I should be able to spot some beds if any fish are spawning. I didn’t put any deep crankbaits in my boat, so I’m betting on a shallow bite.”6:55 a.m. Grigsby idles into a nearby residential cove and makes his first casts of the day to boat docks with a black Venom buzzbait equipped with a generic white twin-tail trailer. A bass boils on the buzzer but doesn’t hook up. “At least I woke him up!”7:03 a.m. Grigsby switches to a green pumpkin/chartreuse Venom Too Wackee Craw finesse worm on a spinning outfit. “This awesome hand-poured worm has craw claws molded on both ends. I’m fishing it wacky style [center hooked].” He skips the worm around and beneath docks.7:10 a.m. Grigsby switches to a bone Strike King Sexy Dawg topwater stickbait. “This and the buzzbait are good lures for covering water around the spawn. A bedding fish will roll on a topwater even if it doesn’t strike it; then you can mark its location and sight fish for it once the sun gets higher.”7:14 a.m. Grigsby moves to the back of the cove and skips the wacky worm around docks.
<b>7:18 a.m.</b> He switches to a shad colored 4-inch Keitech Swing Impact swimbait rigged on an 1/8-ounce head and catches a tiny largemouth off a moored pontoon boat. “Amazing! I didn’t know bass got this small!”<br> <b>7:23 a.m.</b> Grigsby retrieves a white 1/2-ounce Venom spinnerbait past a sunken tree.
7:18 a.m. He switches to a shad colored 4-inch Keitech Swing Impact swimbait rigged on an 1/8-ounce head and catches a tiny largemouth off a moored pontoon boat. “Amazing! I didn’t know bass got this small!”7:23 a.m. Grigsby retrieves a white 1/2-ounce Venom spinnerbait past a sunken tree.
<b>7:30 a.m.</b> He tries the buzzbait in a sheltered pocket. “This is a nice, quiet place for them to spawn in, but I’m not seeing any beds yet.”<br> <b>7:38 a.m.</b> Grigsby exits the cove, runs a ­quarter-mile uplake to a main-lake flat and pitches a 1/2-ounce black and blue Venom jig with a matching Zoom Super Chunk trailer around some stickups.
7:30 a.m. He tries the buzzbait in a sheltered pocket. “This is a nice, quiet place for them to spawn in, but I’m not seeing any beds yet.”7:38 a.m. Grigsby exits the cove, runs a ­quarter-mile uplake to a main-lake flat and pitches a 1/2-ounce black and blue Venom jig with a matching Zoom Super Chunk trailer around some stickups.
<b>7:41 a.m.</b> Grigsby flips the jig to a submerged branch on a shallow point, swings back his rod and launches his first keeper bass of the day, 3 pounds, 11 ounces, into his boat. “All right! I hopped the jig over that branch and saw the fish swim up and eat it! This is a big male, and he wasn’t on a nest. They may be staging out here around isolated pieces of cover.”<br> <p> <b>6 HOURS LEFT</b><br> <b>7:45 a.m.</b> Grigsby moves to the back of a shallow pocket to flip the jig beneath overhanging bushes. No sign of spawning beds here, either.<br> <b>7:52 a.m.</b> Grigsby is wind-drifting uplake while chunking the spinnerbait.<br> <b>7:57 a.m.</b> Grigsby pitches the jig to a shallow stickup, swings and misses. “I saw that fish flash on it; looked like a 2-pounder. He took my trailer.”
7:41 a.m. Grigsby flips the jig to a submerged branch on a shallow point, swings back his rod and launches his first keeper bass of the day, 3 pounds, 11 ounces, into his boat. “All right! I hopped the jig over that branch and saw the fish swim up and eat it! This is a big male, and he wasn’t on a nest. They may be staging out here around isolated pieces of cover.”
6 HOURS LEFT7:45 a.m. Grigsby moves to the back of a shallow pocket to flip the jig beneath overhanging bushes. No sign of spawning beds here, either.7:52 a.m. Grigsby is wind-drifting uplake while chunking the spinnerbait.7:57 a.m. Grigsby pitches the jig to a shallow stickup, swings and misses. “I saw that fish flash on it; looked like a 2-pounder. He took my trailer.”
<b>8 a.m.</b> He digs through his tackle stash to find a replacement trailer.<br> <b>8:03 a.m.</b> Grigsby resumes moving uplake while alternating between the jig and spinnerbait.<br> <b>8:10 a.m.</b> He enters another shallow pocket and pitches the jig around shoreline wood.<br> <b>8:18 a.m.</b> The wind is howling as Grigsby moves to the opposite shoreline, which is heavily shaded. Here he tries a sexy shad Strike King KVD 1.5 squarebill crankbait.<br> <b>8:22 a.m.</b> He pitches the jig to a big laydown.
8 a.m. He digs through his tackle stash to find a replacement trailer.8:03 a.m. Grigsby resumes moving uplake while alternating between the jig and spinnerbait.8:10 a.m. He enters another shallow pocket and pitches the jig around shoreline wood.8:18 a.m. The wind is howling as Grigsby moves to the opposite shoreline, which is heavily shaded. Here he tries a sexy shad Strike King KVD 1.5 squarebill crankbait.8:22 a.m. He pitches the jig to a big laydown.
<b>8:23 a.m.</b> Grigsby switches to a green pumpkin Venom Boss Hog creature, Texas-rigged with a ­1/4-ounce sinker, and flips it into the laydown. “I wanted to see if this bank was any deeper than the opposite shoreline, but it’s about the same. Immed­iate prespawn bass usually like to stage where there’s a sharp drop close to shallow water. This shoreline does have more sand, however, which they love to spawn on.”<br> <b>8:26 a.m.</b> A small bass darts off a light colored patch on the bottom as Grigsby’s boat drifts by. “That looked like a small male on a nest. It’s hard to tell with the waves and shade.”<br> <b>8:29 a.m.</b> Grigsby tries a 5-inch Keitech swimbait rigged with a weighted belly hook. “Right now, I’m just covering water with horizontal baits, then hitting isolated wood cover with a jig.”<br> <b>8:34 a.m.</b> Grigsby abandons the shaded bank and runs uplake to flip a shallow pocket with lily pads. The water here is 63 degrees.<br> <b>8:39 a.m.</b> He pitches the jig to a stickup and gets a tap, but the fish drops it. <br> <b>8:41 a.m.</b> Another tap; Grigsby swings and misses. “That fish was too small to get the lure in its mouth!”<br> <p> <b>5 HOURS LEFT</b><br> <b>8:45 a.m.</b> Grigsby catches a tiny bass on the jig. “This one’s even smaller than the dink I caught off that dock!”<br> <b>8:49 a.m.</b> Back to covering water with the spinnerbait.<br> <b>8:54 a.m.</b> He switches to a 1/4-ounce shad colored Venom swim jig with a Keitech swimbait trailer and retrieves it through scattered pads. “Pads tend to grow where the bottom is soft, so bass will spawn on their stems and root system.”
8:23 a.m. Grigsby switches to a green pumpkin Venom Boss Hog creature, Texas-rigged with a ­1/4-ounce sinker, and flips it into the laydown. “I wanted to see if this bank was any deeper than the opposite shoreline, but it’s about the same. Immed­iate prespawn bass usually like to stage where there’s a sharp drop close to shallow water. This shoreline does have more sand, however, which they love to spawn on.”8:26 a.m. A small bass darts off a light colored patch on the bottom as Grigsby’s boat drifts by. “That looked like a small male on a nest. It’s hard to tell with the waves and shade.”8:29 a.m. Grigsby tries a 5-inch Keitech swimbait rigged with a weighted belly hook. “Right now, I’m just covering water with horizontal baits, then hitting isolated wood cover with a jig.”8:34 a.m. Grigsby abandons the shaded bank and runs uplake to flip a shallow pocket with lily pads. The water here is 63 degrees.8:39 a.m. He pitches the jig to a stickup and gets a tap, but the fish drops it. 8:41 a.m. Another tap; Grigsby swings and misses. “That fish was too small to get the lure in its mouth!”
5 HOURS LEFT8:45 a.m. Grigsby catches a tiny bass on the jig. “This one’s even smaller than the dink I caught off that dock!”8:49 a.m. Back to covering water with the spinnerbait.8:54 a.m. He switches to a 1/4-ounce shad colored Venom swim jig with a Keitech swimbait trailer and retrieves it through scattered pads. “Pads tend to grow where the bottom is soft, so bass will spawn on their stems and root system.”
<b>9:06 a.m.</b> So far, the pads haven’t panned out, but Grigsby remains optimistic. He runs farther uplake to a sprawling field of water lilies, which he patiently probes with the jig and creature.<br> <b>9:28 a.m.</b> Grigsby rockets downlake to the back of a short tributary arm, where he tries the spinnerbait around scattered pads.
9:06 a.m. So far, the pads haven’t panned out, but Grigsby remains optimistic. He runs farther uplake to a sprawling field of water lilies, which he patiently probes with the jig and creature.9:28 a.m. Grigsby rockets downlake to the back of a short tributary arm, where he tries the spinnerbait around scattered pads.
<b>9:30 a.m.</b> Grigsby pitches the jig to a light spot on the bottom and catches keeper No. 2, 2 pounds, 2 ounces. “I never saw the fish — just the light spot. I bet he just started fanning out that bed.”<br> <b>9:38 a.m.</b> Grigsby combs a long point at the mouth of the creek arm with the spinnerbait.<br> <b>9:40 a.m.</b> He catches a small fish on the wacky worm.<br> <b>9:43 a.m.</b> Grigsby makes a short hop downlake to a channel-swing bank, where he alternates between the jig and spinnerbait.
9:30 a.m. Grigsby pitches the jig to a light spot on the bottom and catches keeper No. 2, 2 pounds, 2 ounces. “I never saw the fish — just the light spot. I bet he just started fanning out that bed.”9:38 a.m. Grigsby combs a long point at the mouth of the creek arm with the spinnerbait.9:40 a.m. He catches a small fish on the wacky worm.9:43 a.m. Grigsby makes a short hop downlake to a channel-swing bank, where he alternates between the jig and spinnerbait.
<b>4 HOURS LEFT</b><br> <b>9:45 a.m.</b> Grigsby casts the jig to a submerged log on a clay point and sets the hook in a good fish. He works it closer and swings aboard keeper No. 3, 3 pounds, 14 ounces.
4 HOURS LEFT9:45 a.m. Grigsby casts the jig to a submerged log on a clay point and sets the hook in a good fish. He works it closer and swings aboard keeper No. 3, 3 pounds, 14 ounces.
“That point is a great staging spot! It’s just a short swim away from a calm, sunny spawning pocket.”
“That point is a great staging spot! It’s just a short swim away from a calm, sunny spawning pocket.”
<b>10 a.m.</b> “I have to do some housecleaning,” Grigsby says as he returns several unused rods to the Ranger’s storage locker. What’s his take on the day so far? “The biggest three of my four keepers were staging around isolated wood close to spawning areas; I’ve only caught one fish, my smallest keeper, on a bed. Rather than spend my remaining time poking around shallow water looking for spawners, I’m going to mainly keep moving down the banks, covering water with the spinnerbait and swimbait and hitting laydowns with the jig.”<br> <b>10:13 a.m.</b> Grigsby moves a half-mile uplake to a big cove with pads and laydown wood. He tries the wacky worm around a stickup.<br> <b>10:19 a.m.</b> He bags a short fish off a submerged log on the wacky worm.<br> <b>10:32 a.m.</b> Grigsby retrieves the swim jig through the pads. “They just aren’t in these pads yet.”<br> <b>10:39 a.m.</b> Grigsby moves to a steep bank lined with pads and overhanging bushes and flips the jig around the cover. <br> <p> <b>3 HOURS LEFT</b><br> <b>10:45 a.m.</b> Grigsby exits the tributary and returns to the main lake, where he retrieves the squarebill parallel to a retaining wall. It bangs enticingly off submerged rocks, but there are no takers.<br> <b>10:49 a.m.</b> He tries the spinnerbait along the wall without success.<br> <b>11:05 a.m.</b> Grigsby makes a blistering run downlake to fish a series of docks in a cove. Here, he catches three small bass on the wacky worm and jig. “The big girls just aren’t on these docks.”
10 a.m. “I have to do some housecleaning,” Grigsby says as he returns several unused rods to the Ranger’s storage locker. What’s his take on the day so far? “The biggest three of my four keepers were staging around isolated wood close to spawning areas; I’ve only caught one fish, my smallest keeper, on a bed. Rather than spend my remaining time poking around shallow water looking for spawners, I’m going to mainly keep moving down the banks, covering water with the spinnerbait and swimbait and hitting laydowns with the jig.”10:13 a.m. Grigsby moves a half-mile uplake to a big cove with pads and laydown wood. He tries the wacky worm around a stickup.10:19 a.m. He bags a short fish off a submerged log on the wacky worm.10:32 a.m. Grigsby retrieves the swim jig through the pads. “They just aren’t in these pads yet.”10:39 a.m. Grigsby moves to a steep bank lined with pads and overhanging bushes and flips the jig around the cover.
3 HOURS LEFT10:45 a.m. Grigsby exits the tributary and returns to the main lake, where he retrieves the squarebill parallel to a retaining wall. It bangs enticingly off submerged rocks, but there are no takers.10:49 a.m. He tries the spinnerbait along the wall without success.11:05 a.m. Grigsby makes a blistering run downlake to fish a series of docks in a cove. Here, he catches three small bass on the wacky worm and jig. “The big girls just aren’t on these docks.”
<b>11:22 a.m.</b> Patient probing of the docks has failed to yield a keeper bass, so Grigsby begins wind-drifting uplake along a long stretch of bank littered with scattered laydowns.<br> <b>11:32 a.m.</b> Grigsby makes a color adjustment to his Venom jig presentation, switching from black and blue to green pumpkin and blue with a green pumpkin trailer. “This color is a little more subtle.”<br> <p> <b>2 HOURS LEFT</b><br> <b>11:45 a.m.</b> Grigsby hasn’t had a tap on his replacement jig. He switches back to a black and blue trailer and continues hitting wood cover.<br> <b>12:07 p.m.</b> He’s moved into a cove with a long mud point, which he hits with the swimbait and jig.<br> <b>12:14 p.m.</b> Grigsby retrieves the swimbait around a boathouse and catches a nonkeeper.<br> <b>12:19 p.m.</b> Grigsby fishes his way out of the cove with the jig and swimbait. <br> <b>12:23 p.m.</b> Grigsby rigs a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm on a 1/4-ounce shaky head, drags it across a point at the mouth of the cove and catches an 11-inch bass. “Believe it or not, I’ve caught 8-pounders on this setup!”<br> <b>12:31 p.m.</b> Grigsby combs the windblown point with the spinnerbait and jig.<br> <b>12:39 p.m.</b> He moves to a steep channel bank and tries the shaky head and jig.<br> <p> <b>1 HOUR LEFT</b><br> <b>12:45 p.m.</b> Grigsby races uplake to hit a channel bank with the jig and spinnerbait. “I just need one 10-pounder to finish out my limit!”<br> <b>12:53 p.m.</b> The bank terminates in a point; the water here is murky from wave action. Grigsby retrieves the spinnerbait across the structure.
11:22 a.m. Patient probing of the docks has failed to yield a keeper bass, so Grigsby begins wind-drifting uplake along a long stretch of bank littered with scattered laydowns.11:32 a.m. Grigsby makes a color adjustment to his Venom jig presentation, switching from black and blue to green pumpkin and blue with a green pumpkin trailer. “This color is a little more subtle.”
2 HOURS LEFT11:45 a.m. Grigsby hasn’t had a tap on his replacement jig. He switches back to a black and blue trailer and continues hitting wood cover.12:07 p.m. He’s moved into a cove with a long mud point, which he hits with the swimbait and jig.12:14 p.m. Grigsby retrieves the swimbait around a boathouse and catches a nonkeeper.12:19 p.m. Grigsby fishes his way out of the cove with the jig and swimbait. 12:23 p.m. Grigsby rigs a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm on a 1/4-ounce shaky head, drags it across a point at the mouth of the cove and catches an 11-inch bass. “Believe it or not, I’ve caught 8-pounders on this setup!”12:31 p.m. Grigsby combs the windblown point with the spinnerbait and jig.12:39 p.m. He moves to a steep channel bank and tries the shaky head and jig.
1 HOUR LEFT12:45 p.m. Grigsby races uplake to hit a channel bank with the jig and spinnerbait. “I just need one 10-pounder to finish out my limit!”12:53 p.m. The bank terminates in a point; the water here is murky from wave action. Grigsby retrieves the spinnerbait across the structure.
<b>1:01 p.m.</b> Grigsby catches his fifth keeper, 2 pounds, 5 ounces, off the point on the spinnerbait. <br> <b>1:05 p.m.</b> Still pounding the point with the spinnerbait. “There’s a ton of shad here; they’re following the spinnerbait on every cast.”<br> <b>1:11 p.m.</b> He hops the jig around a submerged log on the point.<br> <b>1:20 p.m.</b> Grigsby rounds the point and continues along a channel bank with the jig and spinnerbait.<br> <b>1:37 p.m.</b> With minutes remaining, Grigsby has run downlake to hit another windblown point with the spinnerbait.<br> <b>1:45 p.m.</b> Grigsby’s time is up. He’s had a good day on Lake B, boating five keepers with a total weight of 14 pounds, 12 ounces. <p> <b>THE DAY IN PERSPECTIVE</b><br> 
“I have no complaints about my performance today,” Grigsby told Bassmaster. “I determined pretty quickly that there are very few bass spawning yet; four of my five keepers were staging on the main lake on or near wood cover. If I were to fish here tomorrow, I’d keep hitting that main-lake wood, especially on points. But knowing that things can change very quickly this time of year, I’d also spend some time in shallow water looking for cruising and bedding fish once the sun got high.”<br> <p> <b>WHERE AND WHEN CHAD GRIGSBY CAUGHT HIS KEEPER BASS</b><br> 3 pounds, 11 ounces; 1/2-ounce black and blue Venom jig with matching Zoom Super Chunk trailer; branch on shallow point; 7:41 a.m.<br> 2 pounds, 2 ounces; same lure as No. 1; spawning bed; 9:30 a.m.<br> 3 pounds, 14 ounces; same lure as No. 1; submerged log on clay point; 9:45 a.m.<br> 2 pounds, 12 ounces; 1/2-ounce white Venom spinnerbait; main-lake bank; 9:53 a.m.<br> 2 pounds, 5 ounces; same lure as No. 4; main-lake point; 1:01 p.m.<br> TOTAL: 14 POUNDS, 12 OUNCES
1:01 p.m. Grigsby catches his fifth keeper, 2 pounds, 5 ounces, off the point on the spinnerbait. 1:05 p.m. Still pounding the point with the spinnerbait. “There’s a ton of shad here; they’re following the spinnerbait on every cast.”1:11 p.m. He hops the jig around a submerged log on the point.1:20 p.m. Grigsby rounds the point and continues along a channel bank with the jig and spinnerbait.1:37 p.m. With minutes remaining, Grigsby has run downlake to hit another windblown point with the spinnerbait.1:45 p.m. Grigsby’s time is up. He’s had a good day on Lake B, boating five keepers with a total weight of 14 pounds, 12 ounces.

THE DAY IN PERSPECTIVE

“I have no complaints about my performance today,” Grigsby told Bassmaster. “I determined pretty quickly that there are very few bass spawning yet; four of my five keepers were staging on the main lake on or near wood cover. If I were to fish here tomorrow, I’d keep hitting that main-lake wood, especially on points. But knowing that things can change very quickly this time of year, I’d also spend some time in shallow water looking for cruising and bedding fish once the sun got high.”
WHERE AND WHEN CHAD GRIGSBY CAUGHT HIS KEEPER BASS
3 pounds, 11 ounces; 1/2-ounce black and blue Venom jig with matching Zoom Super Chunk trailer; branch on shallow point; 7:41 a.m.
2 pounds, 2 ounces; same lure as No. 1; spawning bed; 9:30 a.m.
3 pounds, 14 ounces; same lure as No. 1; submerged log on clay point; 9:45 a.m.
2 pounds, 12 ounces; 1/2-ounce white Venom spinnerbait; main-lake bank; 9:53 a.m.
2 pounds, 5 ounces; same lure as No. 4; main-lake point; 1:01 p.m.
TOTAL: 14 POUNDS, 12 OUNCES