Entry 138-1

More on Bass Fishing with Chad Brauer

More on How to Fish a Point

Editor's Note: How would you like to go fishing with one of the Strike King pros and have him coach you on how to fish different types of cover, which lures to use and which presentations to make to catch the most bass? This week as well as last week, we'll put you in the boat with Chad Brauer where he will operate the trolling motor as you stand right beside him. As we approach different types of cover, Brauer will tell you what type of lure to use and how to fish that specific kind of cover each day.

Question: Chad, when you're fishing a crankbait on these points, what size and color of Strike King crankbait do you prefer to fish and why?

Brauer: My favorite color at this time of year is either a green crawfish-colored crankbait or a brown-colored crankbait. I determine the size I'm going to use, depending on the water depth at which I'll be fishing in on the point and the size of bass I'll try and catch on that point. If my purpose for fishing the point is to try and catch a limit of
keeper-sized bass early in the day, then I'll be fishing a Series 3 Strike King crankbait in the green crawfish pattern. I'll cast that Series 3 right against the bank at a 45-degree angle and bring it back to the boat.

If I'm trying to catch bigger bass in deeper water, I'll choose the Series 5 crankbait in that same green crawfish pattern. Once again I'll throw that bigger crankbait right at the bank, reel it slower to keep it from staying on the bottom until I get it out to deeper water, then speed up the retrieve to get it down deeper. If there's wind blowing into the bank on the point, that wind will move the shad closer to the surface and closer to the shoreline, and I'll expect to catch the bass in shallow water. However, if the morning's dead calm, I'll back out away from the point more and fish the deeper side of the point, probably with a Series 5 crankbait.

If a really stout wind is blowing on that point, I'm much more likely to fish a spinner bait than a crankbait. Under these conditions and fishing a point like we're describing, I probably will fish a 1/2-ounce or even a 3/4-ounce spinner bait. The spinner bait enables me to get deep in the water quicker, it allows me to present a bait slower just off the bottom, and I can fish it really slowly from the shallow water all the way out to the deep water.

Even though I'll fish the spinner bait in the same water I'll fish the crankbait, on some days the bass will just hit the spinner bait better than they will the crankbait. On other days, you may not get a bite on a spinner bait and catch all the bass you want to take on a crankbait. This reason is why when I'm fishing points at this time of year, I'll fish each point with both types of lures.

Next: Fishing a Blow-Down

Contents:

• Part 1: More on How to Fish a Point
• Part 2: Fishing a Blow-Down
• Part 3: Even More Ideas on How to Fish a Point
• Part 4: Fishing a Rock Slide
• Part 5: More on How to Fish a Rock Slide