Entry 184-2

Denny Brauer On What’s New

Part 2: What Makes the Strike Shad Special?

Question: When and why do you fish the Strike Shad?

Brauer: In really-cold water, everyone knows that you’ll want to fish a crankbait with a very-tight wiggle. But one of the problems with fishing the tight-wiggling, light crankbaits is they’re very hard to cast. On those kinds of lures, you usually will have to fish them on spinning tackle with 6- or 8-pound-test line. They’re great for casting along riprap or rocky banks. You usually fish these baits when the water temperature is 60 degrees or colder. This bait actually works better when the water is 50 degrees or colder. When the big, wide-wobbling crankbaits won’t catch bass in cold water, the Strike Shad will.

Question: Where will you be fishing this lure, Denny?

Brauer: My favorite place is riprap and rocky banks. The Strike Shad isn’t a cover-fishing crankbait for me. It’s more of an open-water rocky-bank lure.

Question: When you don’t know what type retrieve is best for this lure, what three retrieves will you try?

Brauer: Because the water’s cold, I won’t be burning this crankbait and winding it as fast as I can. I prefer a steady, slow retrieve, and every once in a while, I’ll hesitate the retrieve and then let the bait fall just a little. If I don’t get a bite using this tactic, I may use a slow retrieve, rip the bait, stop it, let it fall and then rip it again. Or, I may use a very-slow, stop-and-go retrieve.

At this time of year, when the weather’s cold, a lake will have a lot of dying and lethargic shad. This bait moves really slowly, so it’s easy for the bass to catch and eat it. This lure doesn’t intimidate bass. The bass can swim up to it, follow it and eat it without having to swim very far. The Strike Shad’s also a draw bait. That’s the reason why I like to fish it around riprap and rocky cover, especially in clear lakes. A bass can see that bait moving slowly through the water, approach the bait without spooking it and easily take the bait.

At this time of year, on warming days, when bass are pulling up from deep water to pick up the heat they find on riprap and rocky banks, this lure will be deadly effective. Oftentimes, in late January throughout the month of February and even in March in some parts of the country, you’ll get these freaky warming trends where you may have a day or two of really-warm weather. Those are the days when rocky banks and the Strike Shad can really pay off for you.

Next: The King Shad

Contents:

• Part 1: It’s Not Just the Jig
• Part 2: What Makes the Stealth Shad Special?
• Part 3: The King Shad
• Part 4: The Premier Plus 3/16-oz. Spinnerbait
• Part 5: Flat Ain’t Bad