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Shaw Grigsby has won nine B.A.S.S. tournaments. Eight of them involved the always-jovial Florida pro catching bass from spawning beds.

And while the son of a former University of Florida sociology professor seems to sport a perpetual smile beneath his mustache, it turns out bass are far more moody – and believe it or not – he chooses what type of rod and reel he uses based on the personality of each bedding bass he encounters.

“The very first thing I do when I see a bass on a bed is study its personality. Is it super skittish? Does it swim way off? Does it stay put? – Those are questions you should ask as you try to analyze your chances of that fish biting – and subsequently, what lure you cast first,” says Grigsby.

“In the old days, people thought you had to finesse fish for spawners and be really stealthy with a spinning reel and smaller lures – but that’s certainly not always necessary – some fish are super aggressive and will choke a small creature bait tied to 65-pound braid the first time you cast it in there,” he grins. “If I can get away with it, I’d much rather use a baitcasting reel simply because I can land that fish faster.”

As fishing pressure becomes more intense however – things change.

“You can tell that on the first day of practice, the bass haven’t seen a lot of baits, and they’re way more likely to eat a lure on the first cast – but as the week wears on – and everybody has pounded on them, they spook easier, and that’s when you have to break out the spinning reel with 8-pound fluorocarbon or 20-pound braided Seaguar line,” says Grigsby.

“Sometimes I’ll throw straight braid with no leader, and the thing about it is, 20 pound Seaguar braid on a larger-spooled size 30 Quantum Smoke spinning reel, behaves as smooth as 10 pound line, but has the true strength of 20,” he explains.

“Sure, we’d all rather winch one in quick on baitcasting equipment, but when they’re not biting aggressively and you have to use spinning tackle, there’s zero reason to fear catching a giant with lighter tackle – the whole key is to be patient – and let them run as long as you need to,” says Grigsby. “You wind some line in – you let ‘em run – you wind some line in – and you let ‘em run – just like catching a tuna in saltwater.”

“I remember catching a giant bass from a bed with 8-pound monofilament on a spinning reel when I won at Sam Rayburn years ago – and I just had to let it swim way out into the middle of the cove to finally tire itself out. It was about seven minutes after I hooked it, before I could finally land it. But that’s okay – you just have to be patient,” he emphasizes.

Be it spinning or baitcasting, Shaw will have ample opportunities to cast at bedding bass during the Bassmaster Elite on the St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires and Wheels. “We had such a warm winter, there’s bass on beds from Jacksonville to the south shore of Lake George,” grinned Grigsby.

Day 2 is underway on the St.Johns River, as expected Florida did not disappoint. Edwin Evers weighed in a 9-13 giant and holds the big fish lead. Here are a few videos from the docks this morning. Changing conditions today will make sight fishing tougher. Remember this is Florida and one cast can be a game changer.

Brandon Lester leads after round 1 of the St.Johns River Elite Series. Changing conditions could make things interesting on day 2. Here are a few videos from after the weigh in today.

Surrounded by humid and competitive-rich air prior to blast-off, Jacob Powroznik sat calmly cleaning his polarized sunglasses in the pre-dawn darkness of 6:30 a.m. on Northeast Florida’s St. Johns River.

A brand new Bassmaster Elite Series Season was about to begin, and even dogs, women, and children who lined the dock, seemed to know the day ahead would be centered on spawning bass.

“It’s no secret a lot of us are about to run 35 minutes and crowd into that famous spawning flat on Lake George. And while we all have great equipment, the guys that will catch ‘em the best are the ones that can slow down and stay mentally focused,” says Powroznik.

“Proof of what I’m saying is in the results of guys like Dean Rojas and Alton Jones – they seem to catch them every time we come to Florida, because they know that even though they maybe surrounded by a crowd of other great anglers, if they put their mental blinders on, keep their heads down, and keep lookin’ for five good catchable bass – eventually they’ll catch what they need. And that’s just it – you only need 5 – and you have all day to get ‘em,” explains Powroznik.

Rojas and Jones are for sure among the best spawning bass anglers in the game, but Powroznik has also proven himself as one of the very best at the visually oriented technique too – and he proved it with his 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series victory on Toledo Bend that centered on bedding fish.

The good-hearted Virginia pro offers these tips for anglers interested in improving their sight fishing skills.

What To Look For: “On lakes with lots of vegetation, you’re looking for holes in the thick grass – and then light spots on the bottom of the lake below those holes in the grass,” says Powroznik. “In Florida, where the water is so dark or tannic colored, like tea-colored, the beds on the bottom look sort of gold or orange.”

Quality Sunglasses and the Right Colored Lenses: “Buy quality sunglasses, and if you can possibly afford it, buy two pair – one with green mirror lenses for bright sunny days – and on cloudy days, I wear a lens color that Costa makes called “sunrise” – that particular lens is a game changer to seeing bedding fish on cloudy days or under low light really early in the morning,” says Powroznik.

Supersticks and Power-Poles: “Hydraulic Power-Poles are shallow water anchors that you see on the back of every pro’s boat – and they have absolutely revolutionized the way we’re able to fish for bedding bass by allowing us to keep the boat positioned exactly where we want in relation to the bass,” says Powroznik. “And by using a Superstick push pole to move along a shallow area, I can avoid using the trolling motor, which will spook a lot of bass.”

Tackle for Bedding Fish: “I use spinning tackle if bass are super finicky and I need to cast lighter lures, but around thick cover, and for the most part, I’ll pitch Texas-rigged plastics on a 7’ 6” Smoke rod, with 65-pound Hi Seas braid spooled on a really fast 8.1:1 Quantum Smoke reel. You need all the speed you can get in the fraction of a second you have to close the deal when a bedding fish finally commits to eat your lure.”