Sometimes, the weighting is the hardest part.

Gonzales, Louisiana tour pro Greg Hackney had a day of fishing recently that shocked the bass fishing world. His 26 pound, 8 ounce limit of bass at Tennesse's Old Hickory Lake shocked locals and amazed his fellow tour pros. Beside the tremendous weight, the fact that Hackney had struggled to catch two little fish the day before is what really raised eyebrows.

In practice, Hackney had stumbled upon a shallow flat in a creek arm that had a huge mat of dead grass on it. Using a 3/8 ounce jig, he punched through the mat of dead grass and allowed his jig to settle to the bottom of the shallow water. Time and time again, hungry bass after hungry bass would smash his lure. The table was set, Hackney would return to this area during the tournament, and he was confident the fish would cooperate.

That night, Hackney decided that a heavier jig might fall through the thick matted grass easier than the lighter 3/8 oz jig he had been using. He reasoned that the bass had been very aggressive, so a little bit larger bait should not effect their eagerness to bite. So, armed with a 5/8 ounce jig, Hackney set out on Old Hickory Lake intending to fish those mats and boat himself a nice limit. That first day did not go as planned. First, Hackney lost the first two fish to bite, a three pounder and one over five. At the tour level, every ounce matters, so you can imagine what 7 or 8 pounds can mean. By his own admission, Hackney was affected. He fished fast and the confidence he had started with began to fade. "I made a big mistake that first day, I let myself get talked into looking elsewhere. I knew the water would warm up a little as the day went on, but I wasn't willing to wait."

With only two little fish and in 122nd place. Hackney decided to wait out those fish the next day. He would fish the area longer, allowing the sun to warm the water, and he would fish a 3/8 ounce jig, because it had a slower fall as it tumbled through the grass. The result; Hackney caught a limit of fish that weighed 26 pounds -8 ounces. The bite got better as the day got warmer and the fish seemed more eager to eat the slower falling bait. The big second day for Hackney allowed him to move up 116 places in the standings, where he eventually finished in 4th place overall.

This week's fishing in the moment is a play on words. Weighting, as in changing the weight of his lure allowed Hackney to fish a bait that had a much slower fall through the water column. Waiting for the sun to warm the water, allowed Hackney's bass to turn on and become active feeders. Here lies the eternal struggle that we all must face on our day on the water. Sometimes in fishing, the weighting IS the hardest part.