Keri May, co-owner of BassResource.com. spent a day on the water with Shaw Grigsby posing questions that members from our forums submitted for Shaw to answer. Here is part 4 of a nine-part audio series where Shaw answers every single one of them! In this episode, Shaw speaks his mind about PETA - uncensored!
Keri: So this next question, by one of our. . .
Shaw Grigsby: Well, don't leave the last one.
Keri: No.
Shaw: You left it really. . .
Keri: Oh, the PETA question.
Shaw: Yeah, you left a real passionate one right there. Don't turn it into something else.
Keri: You got it. Go ahead.
Shaw: Okay.
Keri: We're back on what the sport needs the least.
Shaw: Well, I can tell you that there's one thing about that faction is that they don't, they're not based in reality, and reality and truth is not on their strong suit, you know?
Keri: Mm-hmm.
Shaw: And the bottom line is, we're here, right? And we weren't beamed in from outer space, we're here, and we're part of the environment. We're part of the system. Just like a lion is a predator and a coyote is a predator, we're predators. And you can't take one out of the system and say don't do, or things come unbalanced. And they come unbalanced considerably. And they have through legislation, they have through all kinds of things where they've protected the cormorants, and now that's one of the scourges of the environment right now, are cormorants.
They're so prolific, they have so many of them, and now, after they do so much damage for so many years, all the National Wildlife, Fishing, and Wildlife, they're all taking note. Yeah, okay. We got to do something. So they've even started shooting them in New York. They've got all these situations that they must start now controlling these animals. That's our job is to control them. Not just let it go and say hands off. That's an incorrect approach and a very not healthy approach to wildlife and fisheries.
It always needs a proactive working situation and control and management. So that's why I used to not be a hunter. They're beautiful, deer are beautiful. But at the same time, you don't control them, they get so out of whack that then people are having car crashes in them. They're running across the roads all the time, which you have that a lot. They really get to be a complete nuisance so you have to do some management.
And so the whole thing is, is we're not beamed in. We have to be a part of it or you get some major imbalances and people just don't understand that. They just like, oh, they're cute little fluffies. Well, they're pretty brutal, nasty, cute little fluffies.
Keri: That's right.
Shaw: They do a lot of things. So they don't really know and then indoctrinating the kids is a really sad situation. That whole deal is just a bad deal so I'm very anti-PETA, very anti-their-no-fishing-deal, and they put a poster up one time, a giant billboard with a dog with a hook in its mouth. You wouldn't do this to your dog. Why would you do it to a fish? And they're like, why, see, that's how dumb they are.
Keri: Crazy.
Shaw: They don't even realize that fish don't even have feelings. A bass, heck, they eat crabs and all kinds of things that pinch. They'll eat a bee off the top that'll sting and bite them. They don't have feelings in there. I've set the hook on them, and you get them stuck in the lip, and you drop your line, and they're done. They swim around like nothing is going on.
They don't know. They base it off some deal with a trout that has some feeling in the mouth or something. It's like, and there might be a couple of species that have that, but that's not what you base your deal on, and you don't lie to people, and you don't, just to get your radical agenda across. But that's what society is now.
And I'm just so anti-all of that, and I just hope that the people don't allow the squeaky wheel to take over.
It is a minority, and there's nothing better than fishing and the greatest thing about it is you can let them go and then no, nothing to it. Now when I hunt, I don't let them go. But you know what I do? I put them on the plate.
As I said, it's all, what is it? The Great One, all God's creatures are fantastic or have their place. All God's creature have their place, right next to mashed potatoes and gravy.
Keri: That's right. That's a good one. I'll have to remember that.
Shaw: Yeah.
Keri: Definitely.
Shaw: All right, now you can go to your next question.
Keri: We have those darn cormorants, too and I don't like those birds.
Shaw: They're brutal. I mean, so many things have gotten overpopulated like that, and you've got to control them. You can't just go, no, don't do that. I'm not just; I'm so sad to see that they, and I understand animal testing and stuff like that, that's a touchy subject, but I still say this world is based on people, and people matter. And people have hearts, and if it's your grandmother that's dying or your mom or your daughter that's dying of cancer or something, they can test things on animals and figure out a cure or something..
More power to them. It's more about people and they don't believe that. It's more about the animals, and I just don't agree and all. I can't even get a 100th behind any of their agenda. No, they're sicko, wackos, and don't want to have any part of them. And I think that's the biggest threat to fishing that we have. All right, now we're back to regular ones.
Keri: Is there something you did early on in your career you don't do now?
Shaw: Catch fish. Oh yeah. Yeah, we're having fun.
Keri: That's a great answer.
Shaw: That I don't do now. No, I mean, I really can't think of anything.
Keri: Oh, I can.
Shaw: What's that?
Keri: Sun protection.
Shaw: Oh yeah. Yeah, you can. That is true. I did start that, unfortunately, after probably four to five years into professional fishing, I started suiting up, so to speak. Long sleeves, long pants, and then after a few more years of long sleeves and long pants, I got into gloves, and then from gloves, I got into face mask. Because the guys in the Florida Keys and things like that, the guys would all wear them, and I actually had my mom make some, make a face mask, and I put it on, and worked good. Next thing I know, they've got all these fancy ones, pads, and buffs. Everybody makes them now. There are a ton of different Simms makes them. Everybody makes them—Sun protection. Glacier gloves does the best gloves.
Keri: Those the type you have on now?
Shaw: Yeah, these are called Doctor Shade.
Keri: Okay.
Shaw: But it's Doctor Shade, but they're from Glacier Glove.
Keri: Okay.
Shaw: Same company, and they make a lot of really cool stuff, and they save me in practice days. They make a fleece-lined booty, little neoprene booty that's fleece-lined for cold weather. You can't get cold toes, and I'm like, oh, I love these things, so they're not just sun protection, they can be for cold and all the rest as a Glacier Glove would expect.
Keri: Now, was it some, just, something happened to make you think, okay, I've got to start taking better care of myself in the sun?
Shaw: It just, it was, it kept getting to the point where you'd come in, and you'd have a burnt spot here, or you'd keep having to re-apply sunscreen and do all this stuff just to keep from getting fried all the time, and so you just cover up, and you know that covering up is better.
And then my dad got me when I was a young kid, 12, 11, 12, 13, 14, and we would work outside. He'd always wear a long-sleeved shirt, and I'm like, dad, it's hot; I don't want to wear a long-sleeved shirt, but you wear a cotton long sleeved-shirt, and it's actually cooler. You'd sweat a little bit, and then you'd have evaporative cooling.
It would actually be cooler than not having one, and I learned that at a young age. I still would go out fishing and be in a pair of shorts, and that's it. I mean, I wouldn't have socks, or shoes. Burn the top of your feet, your ears, and your lips. Burn everything there was on you; no matter how much of a tan you got, you still were getting fried, especially in the Florida sun. And it didn't take long.
So, it just got to the point where I knew I had to do something about it, and then a lot of buddies in fishing were getting cancers cut off and having issues, and so it was one of those things that, yeah, I think I need to pay attention.
And I go every year for a skin check, and one of the best skin cancer specialists in the nation that's right there in town, in Gainesville, and he's phenomenal, so he keeps on top of it.
Keri: And the buff you're wearing on your head, you can get those at Dick's Sporting Goods, you can get them. . .
Shaw: This is actually a giveaway. I'm not even sure that they're selling them or doing anything. It's one of those little promotional items. And how good is that?
Keri: Yeah, exactly.
Shaw: They're like 22 bucks everywhere else. Yeah, 22 to 24 or whatever, depending on the model. These are great. Now I don't know if this is a Buff Brand. It's, probably a Buff lookalike kind of deal.
Keri: So where'd you get yours at?
Shaw: This one, I'm just going to use my Dick's Sporting Good one for now because as long as it's good, I'm going to keep going. The Buff brands you can get online.
Buff and Pads is another one. And there are just so many of them that are made nowadays. Me, I love this style that you can just pull up over the back of your hat. It kind of holds your hat on protects your ears and protects everything except my nose.
I've had guys put it over their nose, so they fish with it covering everything. So it's just your sunglasses are exposed, and that's it. I just find that it fogs up your glasses doing that.
So I heavily coat my nose and cheeks with sunscreen and then put it on.
Keri: What SPF do you use?
Shaw: I use whatever there are right next to you. Turn it over. It's in that little hole right under my lawn chair.
Keri: Oh, there you go.
Shaw: It's 45 or something.
Keri: 40, okay.
Shaw: It's a kid, which is hard to get off, and that type of deal. And the same doctor recommended that.
So I've been using it for many, many years. There are a lot of good ones on the market. There's that Australian deal that Bill Dance talks about, turns blue in the sun. I'm trying to remember what the name of it is. There's just a bunch of them that have the right ingredients now that do a great job of protecting you.
Keri: I think many people don't think about wearing protective clothing because they think it's going to be hot.
Shaw: It's not. That's the biggest misconception that it's hot. It's not. In the summertime heat, I'll wear these facemasks and long-sleeved shirts. Now the big thing is, you don't put on a nylon long-sleeve shirt, you know?
Nylon doesn't absorb anything, so it's one of those things where you'd just be dripping underneath it, and you won't be comfortable.
Any type of cotton shirt is phenomenal. Just make sure you can't see through it when you hold it up. Because if you can see through it, the sun's going through it, and it's not doing you any good.
So you don't want it extremely lightweight, you don't want it heavy weight, or you're just real hot too. So you want a light cotton shirt, and it'll wick away moisture, and if it gets wet from sweating, it keeps you cool. If you have any breeze, it's just phenomenal, and so, yeah.
Keri: A lot of clothing now comes with the little SPF label.
Shaw: Right. And now a lot of those SPF labels, if you look, are going to have some nylon, there'll be nylon type materials, and they're suitable for sun, and they don't necessarily are not the best for feel. Okay?
It'll actually feel good on you, but they're still going to let your sweat run down your body instead of it being absorbed and allowing that natural evaporative cooling to happen. So any time you evaporate water, it has an extreme cooling aspect to it, so if you put your hand in the water, bring it out, and go from there, you can feel how cool it gets real quick. That's evaporative cooling, so if you lose that, then I don't know what you're gaining.
I kind of like cotton. I've worn some of the other ones. They're fine, but I really do like cotton and just make it enough of a tight enough weave that you're not going to get all the sun exposure. How you feel when you come off the water after wearing a face mask is astonishing. I mean, it's just, there's none of this burnt red face, and people used to call it wind burn and all that. It's none of that; it's like you've been indoors all day, and it's great.
