Entry 264-2

Fishing Isn’t Just About Tournaments with Chad Brauer

Day 2: I’m Still a Jig Man

Question: Chad, what’s your favorite new Strike King lure?

Brauer: I like them all, but the bait I depend on the most and have depended on my entire life is a Strike King jig. Remember, I grew up fishing behind my dad, Denny Brauer, and who better to teach me how to fish a jig than Denny Brauer? He not only taught me how to fish it, he taught me when and where to fish it. Over the last year, at several of the tournaments I’ve fished, the Strike King jig has been the lure that has produced the most fish for me.

Many bass fishermen believe you have to be versatile, and I do too. But there are certain baits that all of us build confidence in and feel like we can fish better than any other baits in the tackle box. For me, that is and has always been the Strike King jig. My favorite is the Strike King Premier Pro Model jig. I rely heavily on that jig because more often than not, when I go to a lake, a cold front will move in, especially during the

pre-spawn. That’s when the jig can really pay off. The other lure that’s been a big money producer for me ever since it’s been introduced is the King Shad.

Question: Chad, what’s your No.1 jig color?

Brauer: For me, it has always been and probably will always be black-and-blue - probably the most-versatile color for all water clarities and at all times of the year. But close behind it, I have to pick the brown-and green-pumpkin jig colors.

Question: When you’re flipping or pitching a jig, what pound-test line are you using?

Brauer: For me, line size is determined by water clarity and the type of cover where I’m flipping or pitching my jig. If I’m flipping into grass, I’m always using 50-pound-test braided line. If I’m flipping around docks, stumps, logs, rocks or any other cover than vegetation, I’ll usually use 20- to 25-pound-test fluorocarbon line.

Question: What rod and reel are you fishing?

Brauer: For flipping and pitching, I usually rely on an old Daiwa rod PDS, which was designed close to 20-years ago and is still being produced by Daiwa. It’s still my go-to rod. I feel extremely comfortable using it, and I use a Daiwa TDX reel with it. I started using this rod-and-reel system for flipping and pitching after I got out of college, and I’ve got confidence in this set up and still use it today. Daiwa still produces this rod and reel today, and there’s a very-good reason its still on the market. It still does the job it was designed to do as effectively or more effectively than any other rod-and-reel combination.

Question: What’s the secret to getting a bite on the Strike King jig?

Brauer: The real key to getting a bite on a jig, if you’re flipping and pitching, is the way you present the jig to the bass. There are two factors that trigger bass to bite the Strike King jig when you flip it or pitch it. You’ve got to pitch or flip the jig to the primary spot in the cover where you think the bass are holding. You want the jig to enter the cover in a spot where something will fall into that cover. You want the jig to land in that right spot without making a lot of splash, noise and spooking the bass.

Question: How do you get a 1/2- or a 3/4-ounce jig to enter the water quietly with very-little splash?

Brauer: When you’re making a flip or a pitch, you’ve got to keep the jig close to the water just before it enters the water. The closer the jig is to the water when you stop the cast, the smaller the splash will be when the jig touches the water, and the quieter and more subtle your presentation will be. If you keep that jig close to the water, and your jig doesn’t fall more than 1 to 1/2-inch from the surface to the water when you stop the jig, you’ve got a really-quiet presentation that’s far less likely to spook the bass than if you stop the jig and it falls from 1 to 1/2-foot above the water.

If you release the jig on the upswing of a flip or a pitch, and that jig falls high above the surface, you get a much-more noisy presentation. Sometimes you may have to flip or pitch over a branch or over some weeds to get into the hole in which you want to flip or pitch. But if you take your time and concentrate on keeping that jig as low as you can to get it to the water, then when you stop the cast, the jig will sneak into the water instead of jumping into the water.

Next: Fly ‘Em High on the King Shad

Contents:

• Part 1: It Ain’t Just About Tournaments
• Part 2: I’m Still a Jig Man
• Part 3: Fly ‘Em High on the King Shad
• Part 4: Strike King’s Best Sleeper Bait
• Part 5: Why and How Sexy Shad Works to Produce Bass