Hackney's winning day

We expected Greg Hackney to start his day up the Washita River, but he decided to make a detour on the lower end of the lake. While waiting for Hackney, we noticed Jordan Lee was having a good morning, so we decided to watch him for a few minutes.

It’s not often a young professional gets that kind of attention outside of the top three anglers. But it looked Lee could be a factor. When we pulled up on him he was trying to dig a fish out of the bushes. The fish got off, though.

And Chad Morganthaler glides past, giving Lee some words of encouragement before moving on.

But a few casts later, Lee would hook up again.

Lee would battle the fish out of the bushes.

Get it to the side of the boat,

Where it was flipped over the gunwales.

Lee would examine the fish, then measure it.

And determine it was keeper.

This would be his limit fish and at the time, it would be put him near the lead of the event, well above Hackney.

Lee and the photog crew would need to move on; one looking for bigger fish and the other looking for an angler who had yet to fish the area where he had built solid weights in three days.

We would find Hackney about 15 to 20 miles away in Mineral Wells.

He was digging into the bushes in the back of the creek and had caught two small keepers after two hours of fishing.

The brown part of the bushes shows the definite water line and illustrates just how far the water had fallen during the event.

Hackney would take his trademark flipping and pitching with a big jig to what was left in the water.

On Thursday, he had used this area to cull a couple of times and reach the 20-pound mark that had shot him well into contention.

That day he had fished the area late, right before check in. And on Friday, he was unable to get back to the area in time to fish it again.

The back of the creek was calm, creating a mirror image of the action.

But only when Hackney wasn’t tucked back into the cover.

He spent most of the morning working where a forester would typically go. And every once in a while, he would set the hook.

But the thick stuff would often provide some help to the fish. Lost fish became a big part of the story line for the whole field on Championship Sunday.

In about the third hour of the day, Hackney would hook up with his third keeper.

It was obvious early on that the fish was a good one.

And even more obvious as the fish came over the side.

The next few photos show the fish as it makes its trip from water to in the boat.

And during the progression is seems as if the fish grows with every frame.

And gets longer.

The Bassmaster Live audience got a good look as well.

The fish would wind up being his largest of the day. At the time his three fish weighed over 7 pounds.

And it changed Hackney’s demeanor almost immediately.

He joked with a nearby boat that he “almost got mad” when the boat got too close to the bush the fish was on.

He admired the fish, proclaiming it to be a 3-pounder.

But was quickly called on that, creating a little fun between Hackney and gallery. For the record, the fish was 4-pounds plus.

During the next 15 minutes, a shower of rain came through as a storm pushed across most of the lake, but just dropped sprinkles on Hackney.

He would take a break to refill on sunflower seeds.

Watch a local fisherman catch a fish in front of him.

Happy that it was of a size that couldn’t help him.

Then he would pick up and drive deeper into the creek.

He would dig even deeper into the cover.

And at one time we got to see him make one of few casts that didn’t include a jig.

But by midday, the creek had served up all it was going to and Hackney decided to head north to the Washita River.

And again, the photog crew lost him for about an hour while they saved a stranded colleague and took equipment to get Brandon Card, who was having a career day, on Bassmaster Live.

Like earlier, he was digging into the cover. But in the time he was out of sight. He had finished his limit. Adding a couple of 3-pounders to his livewell.

This fish would tip us off to what we had missed. Look closely in the green bush and you will see the bass coming over the top.

The fish would come over the bushes and not look too big.

But as it got closer the fish seemed to grow some shoulders.

And when Hackney pinned it against his leg and the bottom side of the fish flared. It was obvious this was a decent keeper.

It was even more obvious when the culling process started.

And like when the fish come into the boat, the started looking bigger with each frame.

This was definitely a 2-pound class fish and it was his smallest. We knew then Hackney had at least 14 pounds, probably more.

He would cull again, but just gain ounces.

With every fish, it was basically a hook set and a largemouth taking a air ride to the boat.

One of the spectator’s dog seemed to be looking for his own fish.

Hackney would lose a fish that never got airborne. It just came to the top and wallowed and appeared to be in the 4- to 5-pound range. He actually lost two fish of that caliber on that stretch. While it bothered him greatly, there was a moment when he adopted a “can-you-believe-this” face and kept on working

His work in the thick stuff created a few hang ups.

And it really wasn’t that peaceful as a constant stream of traffic drove past him.

But Hackney would stay focused on covering every bush and every limb.

Every once in a while he would mix in a smaller fish.

They would provide a splash.

Appear to be close to being a keeper.

But barely gain a look from Hackney.

And then he’d repeat the process.

Often never looking at the fish before sending it on its way.

After a couple of those we quizzed Hackney on the fish he had in his boat. He told us he had, “a 4, three 3 1/2s and a 2 1/2.” We knew then that Hackney had put together a special day, and probably had over 17 pounds.

Hackney, though, never knew how close he was, cutting his trip back to the last minute. He finished the day with 17 pounds, 15 ounces and an Elite Championship.