Entry 58-2

Chad Brauer's Favorite Lures

The Series 3 Crankbait

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's another one of your favorite lures?

Brauer: I really like the new green-crawfish Strike King Series 3 crankbait. This color is one that always catches bass during the spring on lakes in my area of the nation, like the Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock, Grand Lake, Bull Shoals and others. Now we have it in the size and color we're accustomed to catching bass on, and that green crankbait seems to pay off in bass.

I primarily use the Series 3 crankbait in the early spring, March and April, when the fish are moving up in the pre-spawn, and in those similar situations where I may fish a jig as well; for instance, I'll fish a Series 3 crankbait right after a cold front, when two or three warm days occur consecutively. Typically then you'll be fishing rocky areas, like a 45-degree chunk-rock bank, parallel on the bluff or closer to the spawn on pea gravel banks. You won't see beds or anything, since the time is just before that stage.

The bass are basically feeding on crawfish, and I target those fish at that time of the year. I've always had great success with a green crawfish-patterned crankbait, usually a smaller crankbait. The Series 3 crankbait fits the size and the depth I like to target, basically 2- to 6-feet deep. A lot of times I won't be burning the crankbait, but I will be getting it quick enough to get it to the bottom. Then I'll use a lot of stop-and-go retrieves, because the fish aren't real aggressive.

I feel anytime you fish a crawfish-pattern crankbait, you're better off using a stop-and-go retrieve because this action is how crawdads actually move. They give two little jerks, moving backwards as they are spooked out of rocks before they start to fall and suspend for a second. The fish get accustomed to this movement. This green crawfish color isn't a color we've had in the past, and in early spring it seems to always produce for me in several parts of the country.

For more information, you can contact Chad Brauer by e-mailing him at: chad@lakeozaaark.com or visiting his website at www.brauerbass.com.
 

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