Shyrock Uses a Jack Hammer on Texas Bass

BASS PRO TOUR competitor Fletcher Shryock loves grass fishing so much that he left his native Ohio for the shores of Lake Guntersville in Northern Alabama. It’s a big fish factory, known for its thick fields of vegetation and central to his tournament travels.

However, whenever he gets a chance early in the season he slides on over to East Texas where the true giants live. He knows that a red “trap” is deadly over the Texas greenery, but in recent years he’s turned to a vibrating jig to eke out bigger bites when it’s cold.

Not just any vibrating jig—the Evergreen Jack Hammer, usually in Fire Craw with a matching orange Gary Yamamoto Zako on the back. When the fish want something different, he’ll substitute in an all-green pumpkin version.

“I’ve fished a lot of different Chatterbaits, but this is the only one I carry since BHite put that thing on the map,” he said. “It’s super-simplified and doesn’t require much of a mental process.”

The only change or modification he makes is to trim back the skirt a bit straight out of the package. Typically, he’ll have both the 3/8 and ½ ounce versions on the deck of his boat.

In deeper and clearer water he might add the ¾ ounce. “You just want a slow and steady retrieve that comes into contact with the grass. Pick the right size so that you tick the tops of it and deflect off of it, but don’t get bogged down.”

He’ll look for the freshest, crispest grass he can find in the transition between wintering areas and the spawning grounds, following the bass inward as it warms up. Generally, this is in flat areas which “keep the heat and stay warm.” The colder the water, the slower he tends to retrieve the lure.

He wants the lure to contact the grass, but unlike a lipless crankbait where the ripping action is often what triggers the strike, he said that in this case it can be a deterrent or a negative. “Of course, if you need to rip the lure to get it free, that’s your only option, but in most cases a gentler approach will put more fish in the livewell.

“When it gets in there, don’t jerk,” he instructed. “You want to break the bait free with your rod. Just turn the handle to clear the grass and that’s what will generate reaction strikes.”

While the Jack Hammer may be a little bit pricier than some other lures in its category, the rest of your tackle need not be costly. In fact, Shryock relies heavily on a $79.99 Favorite Fishing White Bird model exclusively. It’s a seven-foot, six-inch heavy action, but it’s “really soft and parabolic.”

He initially tried heavier and stiffer rods, but kept losing lots of fish, especially good ones. “A lot of times when they engulf the lure, with a heavier rod you’ll blow their mouth open,” he said. “This is almost like a swimbait rod. You just keep reeling and let it load up.”

He pairs his preferred rod with a baitcasting reel in the 6.4:1 to 7.1:1 range, depending on how fast he wants to retrieve it, and he spools it up with 15-pound test Vicious fluorocarbon. “I do not like braid because it doesn’t stretch. That ties in with the rod. You don’t want to blow their mouth open.”

Although it’s possible to lose a jumping or surging fish when they flop around this heavy lure, Shryock said that “the best way to keep them pegged is to get them hooked right in the beginning.” That involves the right rod and line and avoiding the King Kong hook set.

He’ll still keep a lipless crank, a swim jig and a swimbait on the deck, but when he’s dialed into the grass bite, the Jackhammer is his number one tool for attacking Texas-born grass fish.

 

 

Email Pete Robbins at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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