Entry 153-5

Denny Brauer on November Bassing

Yes, I’m Cranking

Editor’s Note: Denny Brauer has been fishing in professional bass tournaments since 1980. A twelve-time winner in Bassmasters tournaments, Brauer was named Angler of the Year in 1987 and holds the money winnings record on the Bassmasters’ circuit. Brauer also won the FLW Tour Angler of the Year in 1998 and is the first angler to be featured on the Wheaties cereal box.

Question: Most fishermen primarily use crankbaits in the fall. Do you use crankbaits at this time of year?

Brauer: Yes, I do. I like the square bill crankbait that Strike King makes, which is similar to the Series 4S. I like to fish crankbaits around wood targets. If the fishing is tough, I’ll drop down in size to a Series 1 crankbait in shad colors.

Question: How are you fishing isolated wood targets with the crankbait?

Brauer: I primarily use a steady retrieve. When I get the crankbait close to the wood, I use a stop-and-start type technique. All I have to do is throw the crankbait and use a medium retrieve; the bass will eat it up.

Question: What’s your favorite color of crankbait?

Brauer: I like the shad colors. I usually throw crankbaits on 20-pound-test line, unless I’m fishing the Series 1, in which case I’ll downsize my line to either 14- or 17-pound-test line.

Question: Do you use the crankbait in any other way at this time of year?

Brauer: Not really. The crankbait is a no-brainer type of lure. I can cast it out, reel it in and catch fish. However, there’s always an exception, and in this case, it’s that if you want to catch more fish on a crankbait, then put your crankbait in places where other fishermen won’t put theirs.

Question: What kind of places do you mean?

Brauer: When I put a crankbait in a treetop, I’m giving the bass a lure that they’re not unaccustomed to seeing. In treetops, bass are used to seeing jigs, spinner baits and buzzbaits. When I look at a treetop, I decide where my crankbait needs to be and then I determine the path it needs to follow. Next, I’ll make my cast and manipulate the crankbait with my rod tip. I’ll adjust the speed and depth of the crankbait by how fast I reel. Once in awhile I have to stop reeling, let the bait float over a limb or a stick and then start my retrieve again. Once I get the crankbait over the branch, I crank it back down to the depth it needs to be. When it hits another limb, I let it float up and crank it down again. This type of fishing doesn’t take a lot of practice. I have to concentrate on my lure, be conscious of what it’s doing and know how to make it walk through that treetop.

Question: How do you keep your crankbait from getting hung-up?

Brauer: I fish Strike King crankbaits, and they deflect off of cover. Because of the buoyancy of the bait, I don’t have to have a high degree of skill to work the crankbait through thick cover. I use a steady retrieve that’s right for the depth of water I’m fishing.

Question: When your crankbait hits a limb or log, do you stop it, let it float over the wood and then crank it back down?

Brauer: Not exactly. I watch the crankbait as it comes through the water. As it gets ready to hit a log or limb, I slow down my retrieve, let the bait float up, bring it over the log or limb and start my steady retrieve again. If I continue to use a steady retrieve when I see the log or limb coming up, the crankbait will dive. If I slow down my retrieve, the crankbait will float up, swim over the log and crank back down again.

Question: Why do most people choose not to throw crankbaits into treetops?

Brauer: Most people don’t have the casting ability to put the crankbait in the spot it needs to be in to bring it through the treetop. They throw it into an area that’s close to, but not exactly, where it needs to be. The secret to putting the crankbait in the treetop is to use a pitching technique. I can pitch crankbaits more accurately than I can cast them. I’ll pitch a crankbait under-handed as if I’m fishing a jig.

Most people don’t associate the word finesse fishing with crankbait fishing. However, I’m pitching the crankbait into pockets, holes and downed trees. Then I bring the bait slowly and deliberately through the limbs and sticks to give the bass a different type of bait. This is one of the secrets for catching bass out of treetops in November.

Denny Brauer on November Bassing

Yes, I’m Cranking

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