Entry 270-2
Fishing the New 2009 Strike King Lures with Denny Brauer
Editor’s Note: Lure manufacturers like Strike King continually bring new lure products, colors and designs to the market every year. Fisheries research indicates that a bass isn’t nearly as likely to strike a lure the third time it sees the lure as the bass is the first time it sees the lure. The more often the bass sees the same lure, the less likely it is to strike that lure. To continue to produce new lures that tantalize the bass’ taste buds, Strike King relies heavily on pro fishermen like Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Missouri. Brauer has fished most of Strike King’s new 2009 products for more than a year on the BASS Elite Series. This week, he’ll tell us which lures he’s fished, and how and why to fish them to catch big bass.
Part 2: The Space Monkey – Is It Really a Monkey, and What about the Anaconda?
Question: Denny, what is a Space Monkey?
Brauer: The Space Monkey is a creature bait unique from any other creature bait on the market. It’s a combination of several successful baits. The back legs resemble the Rage Craw, and it has two additional smaller side appendages with the action of a Rage Craw. The real secret to the Space Monkey is the legs are positioned differently from the legs on most creature baits, giving you a totally-different action.
It’s a more-subtle presentation than the Rage Craw, and the legs don’t kick as violently. Too, it doesn’t have an elongated look like most creature baits. I prefer to use the Rage Craw as a drop bait for suspended bass holding in cover. Because it’s compact, the Rage Craw can move through heavy cover, and it produces a lot of action as it drops through a tiny hole.
The Space Monkey also can be fished as a jig trailer to give the jig a completely-new look. 
Not only are there tentacles kicking on the back side of the jig, but there are two arms that reach outside the skirt strands and kick to give it action. My favorite way to fish the Space Monkey is to Texas rig it like I’d fish a worm.
You also can Carolina rig the Space Monkey because the lure’s designed to plane-off in the water as you drag it behind a Carolina rig. This bait is ranked right up there with a lizard as far as being effective on a Carolina rig. However, the Space Monkey has a different look from the lizard, which causes bass to bite it more readily. Too, I like the name of the Space Monkey. You can’t forget a name like the Space Monkey. And, when you say Space Monkey, there’s only one lure tied to this name. When you say lizard, there’s a million-different types of lizards associated with that name.
To test the power of the Space Monkey, I gave one to another fisherman on a tournament practice day. 
I fished with several soft-plastic lures with a lot of wiggle action similar to the Space Monkey. The angler using the Space Monkey caught five bass to the one bass I caught. The difference in our success wasn’t simply angling skill. The Space Monkey allowed the other fisherman to be more successful, proving that it will perform even in competitive fishing conditions.
I like the new line of soft-plastic lures created by Strike King because each lure is unique and produces a different type of pressure wave the bass can feel and interpret. None of these new lures look or feel the same to bass. On any given day, any lure may catch bass. But on tough days, when the bass don’t want to bite any bait you’re fishing, the Space Monkey gives you a different bait to present to the bass that will turn on the bass bite.
Question: Denny, will you flip, pitch or Carolina rig the Space Monkey?
Brauer: I’ll fish it all three ways. However, I probably won’t drag it on the bottom like I will a traditional Texas-rigged plastic worm.When you have a fish on the bottom, you can’t beat the new Strike King Anaconda.
Question: On what pound-test line will you fish the Anaconda?
Brauer: That depends on water clarity and the density of the cover. I probably won’t fish it on anything less than 15-pound-test line. If I’ll be Texas rigging the Anaconda, I’ll probably drop down to 10-pound-test line. Remember, I’m a big fan of fluorocarbon line. So, I can fish a heavier line with a smaller diameter than monofilament line when I’m flipping and pitching.
