Entry 264-5
Fishing Isn’t Just About Tournaments with Chad Brauer
Editor’s Note: Becoming a professional fisherman means many things to different people. Most believe that a professional fisherman is someone who only fishes on the BASS Elite Series or the top division of the FLW. However, there are many-more jobs in the fishing industry than just being a tournament fisherman, and Chad Brauer has found a way to still compete as a tournament pro and have another career as a different type of professional angler. Brauer is the host of Academy Outdoors TV show, which airs on Fox Sports Net (FSN) Southwest and FSN SO.
Day 5: Why and How Sexy Shad Works to Produce Bass
Question: Chad, the world of bass fishing has been spun on its ear with the Sexy Shad color. Right now, Strike King’s putting that Sexy Shad color on crankbaits, spoons and even spinner baits and swim baits. What’s the scoop on Sexy Shad? Is this just hype, or is it truly a revolutionary color? Why is this color so hot in the fishing-tackle industry right now?
Brauer: The fishing-tackle industry produces many new baits and colors based on what’s working for the tournament pros. When you’ve got a fisherman like Kevin VanDam using baits like the Series 5 and the Red Eye Shad in that color pattern and winning a number of tournaments, the fishing-tackle industry and the fishermen have to sit up and take notice. I don’t believe there’s been a lure color that has won more tournaments in a shorter period than various Strike King lures in the Sexy Shad color. When VanDam has found bass and has locked into a color catching bass for him, he’s hard for anyone to beat. 
When VanDam finds a color he has a lot of confidence in, he’ll be in the money. Sexy Shad has definitely put VanDam at the top of the leader board this year and last year.
What most people don’t know is the Sexy Shad color is the color a lot of professional fishermen have been hand-painting their lures for several years and not telling anybody about what they’re doing. So, when Strike King came out with a production bait that had that color pattern on it, the average fisherman could begin to catch bass with a color that the pros had been using for a couple of years without anyone knowing what they were doing. The Sexy Shad color matches a lot of baitfish in lakes and rivers all over the country. Normally the colors you most often use with crankbaits, spinner baits and other bass lures are white, gray and chartreuse-colored lures.
The Sexy Shad color is a combination of all three, which makes it a very-versatile color on any lure. Sexy Shad color fits into a lot of different types of water clarity and regions throughout the country. So, bass fishermen can buy Sexy Shad colored lures and feel confident fishing those lures in muddy water, stained water and even clear water. 
The Sexy Shad color is to many lures what the black-and-blue color is for me on a jig. It’s a color that can be used in a variety of situations, water and weather conditions and throughout a large region of the country. This is what makes the Sexy Shad a very-productive color for a lot of fishermen throughout the world.
Question: How does Sexy Shad fit into your arsenal?
Brauer: For me, you can’t beat the Sexy Shad color on the Series 5 crankbait or in the Red Eye Shad. Any time fishing conditions call for a deep-diving crankbait or a lipless crankbait, you can’t go wrong with a Series 5 crankbait or a Red Eye Shad in the Sexy Shad color pattern. Any time the bass are keyed-in and feeding on baitfish, the Sexy Shad is hard to beat. I prefer to fish it over grass and in any water where I can see from 12- to 24-inches deep. When I’m fishing crankbaits of any kind, that’s the water clarity I like to use for fishing crankbaits.
Question: You’re primarily a flipper and a pitcher. When are you using Sexy Shad crankbaits?
Brauer: Any time I’m fishing in lakes with a lot of vegetation and mostly during the pre-spawn and the hot summer months. 
I really like the Sexy Shad with the Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait when the bass first move up to shallow water and move into the grass because I can cover a lot of water with it in a very-short time. Then during the summer months, when you’re often fishing deep ledges or deep grass, then the Strike King Series 5 often becomes my No. 1 bait. The Series 5 and the Red Eye Shad are my search baits. When I’m trying to locate a school of fish, I can cover a lot of water quickly with these two baits in this color. Once I find the bass schooled-up, then I’ll slow down my fishing and start using a jig or a Carolina rig to milk that spot for every bass I can get off it.
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
