By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor



The math made no sense to Chad Grigsby.

The 2017 Elite Series season was already mostly a lost cause, so he figured why add to the aggravation and frustration by making the final $8,000 entry-fee installment payment, which would’ve covered him for the season finale at Lake St. Clair with some of the money also going into the pot for the Angler of the Year Championship.

“I didn’t have a title sponsor and it didn’t make sense to fish that last one,” he said. “I figured why spend $8,000 for a chance to win $10,000 and pay $1,500 to get there and stay for the week?”

At that point, he’d logged four straight triple-digit finishes and had only finished above the money cut four times in his two Elite Series seasons. He was tired and frustrated and worried that his fishing career was nearing the end.

“The fun got squeezed out of it,” he said.

Then fate intervened.

Not long after, Grigsby received an email blast from Al Dorn, who heads up North American Branding, a Minneapolis-based marketing agency that was looking for anglers to entertain clients from the beverage industry and take them fishing. Grigsby was included on the mailing list by accident.

He responded and said he’d be available for the event, which took place along the upper Mississippi River.

Grigsby participated in the two-day event and used it as a networking opportunity. However, as he was planning to head home on the final day, he was involved in a minor automobile accident, which delayed his departure.

“I had dropped my guys off and went to load up my boat so I could then say my goodbyes and head home,” said Grigsby, who lives about two hours from where the event was held.

After trailering his boat, he was leaving the ramp area when another truck tried to turn in front of him and did damage to the passenger’s side of his truck in addition to dislodging the spare tire from his trailer and damaging the fiberglass fender.

“Instead of me getting in my truck after shaking hands and leaving, I had to stay around for another two hours to deal with the report and insurance stuff,” he added.

At that point, most of the attendees had departed except for two men from Alabama, who hadn’t caught a fish yet during their trip. Dorn asked Grigsby if he could stay until dark and take the men back out in hopes that they’d catch a few bass.

Grigsby obliged, but on the condition he could discuss with Dorn the possibility of a sponsorship for the 2018 season. The men caught their share of fish and invited Grigsby down to Birmingham, Ala., later this year to be part of a similar event at Lake Guntersville.

Later, Grigsby reconnected with Dorn and hammered out a title sponsorship deal that will see Grigsby compete out of a Mountain Dew-wrapped Ranger. He’ll also participate in promotions at various locations throughout the season, work at hospitality events and help promote DewOutfitters.com, where Mountain Dew fans can buy branded outdoor gear and apparel.

“If that woman hadn’t hit me, I’d have been home,” he said. “It wasn’t just me getting the email. I wasn’t even supposed to be there. It’s ironic how stuff happens for a reason.”

Pressure Mounted

Back when he qualified for the Elite Series following the 2015 Opens, Grigsby said he felt revitalized about starting a new chapter in his fishing career.

After struggling for two seasons and not having the broad sponsor support that he enjoyed in previous years, he’s ready to get back to what got him into the sport as a kid – fun.

“I’ve always done this because I like to have fun,” Grigsby said. “Over there, it wasn’t fun. I didn’t enjoy it. The last couple tournaments, I hated getting in the boat.”

He remembers fishing close to Ott DeFoe during one event and watching him sit down in his boat to dig out another bait and tie it on. It was the relaxed, unhurried manner in which DeFoe did it that struck Grigsby.

“That’s how I used to be,” he said. “I’m over here going 100 miles an hour like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to make the fish bite rather than figuring out what they want to bite.”

He said the burden of knowing he needed to cash a check at almost every tournament eventually got to be too much.

“It’s a lot of pressure to get to 50th place,” he said. “I never used to fish that way. I used to just fish and catch one on a shaky-head and one on a crank and one on a topwater. I was trying to get one pattern going just to get to 50th. It was all because I didn’t have a title sponsor and that’s on me.”

Time to Reboot

With a title sponsor now secured, Grigsby is anxious to pull the curtain back on the 2018 FLW Tour season. He spent 15 years on the FLW Tour prior to his Elite Series stint, so it’ll feel somewhat like a homecoming.

“At the end of last year, I didn’t know if I could fish again,” he said. “I feel reborn. We’re still trying to catch a green fish and I still have to face (Andy) Morgan and (Bryan) Thrift and (Larry) Nixon, who’s been doing it for 100 years.

“The fish don’t know if you’re 300 pounds or 20 years old. It’s one of those deals where it’s like a second chance for me and I’m going to take advantage of it.”

He knows his path to future success will be dictated by how he reacts when he encounters challenges or things don’t go his way. That’s been an issue in recent seasons.

“A lot of it was attitude,” he said. “I’d do poorly and get a bad attitude. It goes back to not having fun. Everybody has a bad one. You have to get over it and move on to the next one.”

For Grigsby, this year’s schedule is dotted with opportunities for him to shine. He’s a noted grass fisherman and with two events in Florida to start the season, he has a couple chances to build some momentum early on. Kentucky Lake, where he won in 2010, is also on the schedule this season.

“I love Okeechobee,” he said. “It’s my favorite place to go, probably because I live in Minnesota. It’s always good to get off to a good start, so having two in Florida is good. I love grass and pads and eelgrass.”

His goal this season is simple – qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup.

“I’m not shooting for AOY,” he said. “I just want to be more consistent and get back to having fun. That’s the biggest one there.If you’re not having fun, it’s worse than a job, just with longer hours.”