Entry 58-1

Chad Brauer's Favorite Lures

Chad Brauer's Favorite Lures

Editor's Note: Chad Brauer of Osage Beach, Missouri, son of fishing pro Denny Brauer, has grown up in a fishing family and has fished professionally for more than six years. Brauer has made a name for himself on the professional bass-fishing circuit, finishing in the top-10 in many tournaments, and has competed in the BASS Masters Classic.

Question: What is your number-one lure?

Brauer: The Strike King 3X Lizard, a 6-inch plastic lizard in the shape of a lizard like the ones I've fished since I started fishing. One of the biggest reasons I'm excited about this lure is because I've started guiding at my home. One of the ways we catch fish on guide trips at the Lake of the Ozarks, especially for fairly inexperienced fishermen, is Carolina rigs off long points, for spotted bass. I have the clients cast a Carolina rig, and then I drag them with the boat.

One of the biggest problems I've faced in guiding is keeping lizards rigged-up. When we get into schools of spots and catch them fairly rapidly, I'll have to unhook a fish and then re-string a lizard and re-rig. With the Strike King 3X Lizard, I almost eliminate a whole step. I'll still be unhooking fish for the clients, but I won't have to re-rig baits because they'll hold up a little bit longer. You can catch 20 to 30 fish on one Strike King 3X Lizard, which is more than you will typically catch out of a school.

The 3X Lizard eliminates a big hassle in tournament fishing. When I get into situations like post-spawn, and I'm Carolina rigging on pea-gravel secondary points, where the fish have backed off their spawning areas, I try to look for ways to maximize efficiency on the water and better utilize my time. Two or three fish will start bunching-up on one point before summertime. Instead of having to waste time to re-rig a lizard worn out by a 4 or a 5-pounder, you straighten the lizard up on the hook and get the lizard right back out there so it can catch more fish. You may be getting yourself two or three more casts in a day on a point rather than wasting time re-rigging the old-soft-plastic lizards. This 3X Lizard will save you a little time on that point.

Question: How many plastic lizards do you go through on a normal guide trip with regular plastic lizards -- not the Strike King 3X Lizards?

Brauer: Well, the answer to that question depends on how well I'm doing as a guide. On average, I'll say I use a minimum of 10 plastic lizards per fisherman on a half-day trip. You go through a certain amount of plastic lizards just fishing through brush piles. Then those plastic lizards get worn out and won't stay up on the hooks anymore. With the 3X Lizard, I've gone on several guide trips and just used one lizard per fishermen. At the most, you may use two or three, depending on how well you catch the bass. I've gone on some bass-fishing trips where we've caught 40 to 50 fish and only have used a couple of 3X Lizards. Often the only reason I've changed the bait is the client has started to loose confidence in it because it's scraped down the sides. Sometimes I'll switch the lure up to make the angler feel good about it.

Question: So the 3X Lizard is saving you time and money, and also catches more fish?

Brauer: Yes. Fishing with 3X Lizards definitely saves time and money in the long run. Instead of having to buy bulk bags of 100 lizards and go through them in a week, I'll go through maybe 10. So, I'm saving money as a guide. Too, I'm trying to maximize my efficiency and minimize my expenses.

Question: What can people expect with you as their guide?

Brauer: I like to have a preliminary conversation with the folks to find out what they want to work on or learn. I'll show them how I like to find fish, which is a huge question to which most people want to know the answer. We go over different techniques, like casting or using various lures. I'll give them ideas on how to catch more fish, passing on what I have learned as a pro. I also go over information you can learn at a bass-techniques seminar or a sports show. With some people, hands-on experience is a greater learning tool. The cost for a one-person 8-hour day to fish with me is $750, and for a two-person 8-hour day, it's $1,000.




 

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