Entry 156-5

Chad Brauer and How to Catch Bass at the End of December

Bitsy Bug in December

Editor’s Note: Chad Brauer of Osage Beach, Missouri one of the hottest young fishermen on the bass-fishing circuit, has been fishing almost since he’s been walking and has been taught fishing by his father, Denny Brauer. Although Chad has had the good fortune of being under the tutelage of the one of the greatest bass fishermen in our day, he has developed his own style and techniques to compete against some of the other best bass anglers in the world. This week let’s learn how Brauer catches bass at the end of December.

Question: Besides the Strike King Finesse worm, you mentioned that you like to fish the Bitsy Bug at this time of year. How, where and why do you fish the Bitsy Bug?

Brauer: I do like to fish the 1/4-ounce Bitsy Bug during December. One thing that many people do not do, that I do, is to put a trailer on the Bitsy Bug. I use either the Bitsy Bug trailer itself or the Denny Brauer Chunk. The medium Chunk causes the 1/4-ounce Bitsy Bug to fall slowly, and that’s what I want is a slow, small bait for winter fishing.

When I crawl a Bitsy Bug over a rock ledge, even a bass with a broken leg can get to it and eat the bait, especially when I’m casting on either an 8- or 10-pound-test line. Once again, fishing the bait slowly is the key to catching bass at this time of year. Remember, you’re fishing for a bass that’s wearing an overcoat, and really doesn’t want to chase a hot dog wagon down the street to get something to eat. Nor does that bass want a large buffet style meal, even if it comes right in front of him. However, if a waiter on crutches comes by him moving really slowly, with a plate full of small hors d'oeuvres that look good, smell good and the bass thinks will probably taste good, and all that bass has to do is pluck that hors d'oeuvre off the plate, than that’s what a bass will do. He can and will eat.

So I slowly drag the Bitsy Bug across the bottom, and once it reaches the bottom, I drag the bait back to the boat. If I feel a tree top or a bush under the water, I’ll pull the Bitsy Bug up and into the brush and shake it for as long as 30 seconds. I want to almost slap that bass in the face and irritate the fish into biting. I know that there are a lot of smallmouth fishermen who fish the Bitsy Bug at this time of year and are highly successful, but I don’t live in an area that has many smallmouth. We do have a lot of tournaments in areas where we have spotted bass, but at this time of year, I primarily fish at home on the Lake of the Ozarks where we do have some spotted bass, and they’ll splat the Bitsy Bug up.

Question: What’s your favorite color of Bitsy Bug to fish?

Brauer: I primarily like to fish the green-pumpkin Bitsy Bug, and I’ll usually pair it with the green-pumpkin Bitsy Chunk or the Junior Chunk. The real secret to fishing this bait is to fish it really slow and only move the bait a few inches at a time.

Contents:

• Part 1: Water Temperature Helps Your Jerkbait
• Part 2: Jigging for Wintertime Bass
• Part 3: Slow-Rolling Spinner Baits
• Part 4: Cold-Front Fishing
• Part 5: Bitsy Bug in December