Entry 183-4

The Secrets of Mr. Flippin’ and Pitchin’

Part 4: Fishing Tubes

Editor’s Note: Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Missouri, one of the top professional bass fishermen in the nation, has been professional bass fishing for over 20 years. When we ask Denny, why he’s able to win so much and be so successful, he explains that, "I like to fish to win. I don’t fish for second place, and I don’t fish for the points required to make the Bassmasters Classic. I fish to win every tournament I enter." We’ll find out this week, how and why Brauer fishes to win.

Question: What’s your favorite color of tube to fish in mats?

Brauer: I like dark-colored jigs. Red neon is my favorite, and black with a blue tail is another favorite. I always fish dark colors when I’m fishing dark tubes in mats.

Question: Once the bass takes the tube, how do you get it out of the mat without losing the fish?

Brauer: Many fishermen lose big bass they catch in mats because they don’t understand that to land bass, you may have to go to the fish rather than bringing the fish to you. I always like to have a push pole in the boat with me so that my partner can push the boat with the push pole through the mat. Then when you get to the hole where the bass are struggling in the mat, you may have to use the push pole to push some of the mat away so you can get the bass up through the hole since most big bass want to blow skyward when they feel hooks, often when they blow up through the mats, you can keep your rod-tip high, the bass on top of the grass and the bass coming toward you. Many times, you may have to drag an 8- or a 9-pound bass all the way across the mat and into either the net or your hand to get it into the boat. That’s the reason why you need that heavy 60-pound-test line to give you the power to pull the fish.

Question: When you’re setting the hook on a bass in those thick mats, are you pulling straight up to set the hook or sideways like you’ll set a crankbait?

Brauer: Anytime I’m fishing a single-hook bait and trying to drive that hook into the bass’s mouth, I always use a straight-up hook set, pulling the rod tip straight up, hard and fast. Once I set the hook, I keep my rod tip high to get the bass to come up through the mats so I don’t have to go down into the grass to get it. You have to try and get the bass up through the same hole through which the tube has fallen. If the bass comes up in a different hole than the hole you’ve dropped the lure through, you’re in about as much trouble as the bass.

You need to keep pressure on the fish’s jaw and keep it coming straight up out of the hole as soon as you strike it. If the bass won’t come up through the hole, and you keep putting heavy pressure on it, you’ll probably tear the hook through the fish’s mouth before you can land it. So, you have to be able to understand when to put pressure to get the bass out of the hole and when to put pressure on the line. If you can’t get the bass through the hole that the lure’s fallen in, then you’ll have to go to the fish. Always keep a little pressure on the bass as you go to it.

Many times, if a bass is really fighting hard, it will get a lot of grass over its eyes and quit fighting as much as you go to it. It may get balled-up in the grass and just lay there until you get to it. Sometimes, the bass will be easy to land. If the bass gets balled-up in the grass, and you go to it, it will be much easier to land and not lose than if you try to drag the bass to you. Vegetation is a little more forgiving than a brush pile. Getting a bass out of cover is easiest when you set the hook quickly and turn the bass’s head up toward the surface before it has a chance to move in any other direction. If you whack the bass and set the hook hard, as soon as the bass takes the bait, your odds of pulling that bass through the cover and landing it are the greatest.

If you’ve ever watched a bass in heavy cover take a lure, most of the time, the fish will turn its head up to take the lure as it falls. So, if you set the hook as quickly as you feel the bite, the fish has already got his head positioned in the right place to come out of the hole the same way it came into the hole. That’s why if you’ve ever seen me set the hook on TV or in a tournament, you’ll see that many times, as soon as I set the hook, the bass comes flying out of the water. I’m trying to set the hook quick enough to get the bass up and out of the water before it turns its head in another direction. When a bass eats a bait, its mouth is already closed, so you don’t have to let it turn its head to get a better hook set. Anytime you’re fishing a Strike King tube, especially in heavy cover, the instant you feel the bite, set the hook and try to snatch the bass out of the water.

Next: Bet on the Diamonds

Contents:

• Part 1: Why Flippin’ and Pitchin’
• Part 2: The Jigging Spoon
• Part 3: The Wintertime Baits
• Part 4: Fishing Tubes
• Part 5: Bet on the Diamonds