Entry 274-1
Chad Brauer Fishes the Wake Shad, the Burner and the Bottom Dweller
Editor’s Note: Chad Brauer of Osage Beach, Missouri, is a tournament fisherman and has been for most of his life, even when in college. In the last few years Brauer has turned more of his attention to hosting the Academy Outdoors Television show, which covers both hunting and fishing. This week, we’ll find out what lures Brauer’s been fishing, why his career has changed, and what’s in the future for him.
Part 1: Here Comes the Wake
Question: Chad, we know that you’re really excited about Strike King’s new Wake Shad. Why?
Brauer: The Wake Shad is a niche bait that fits into a lot of different fishing situations. Although you can take it out of the box, start chunking and winding it and catch bass, you’ll catch more bass if you know where and when it’s most effective. First of all, you have to understand what the Wake Shad is designed to do – swim from 0- to 1-foot below the surface. The Wake Shad is a perfect large, hard bait to reel over the top of submerged grass. Because of its design, if the submerged grass is more than 1-foot deep, the hooks on the Wake Shad won’t pick up grass, unlike many-other large crankbaits.
The Wake Shad is also a productive lure to fish around docks, especially floating docks where bass will often be suspended, which makes it an excellent lure for spring and fall fishing. 
The other thing that you need to know about the Wake Shad is that it’s designed to catch big bass. It has a big profile, causing it to look like a big shad. Therefore, it’s going to take a pretty-good sized fish to try and eat it.
Question: What makes the Wake Shad different from the King Shad, which is the same-style bait that Strike King introduced last year?
Brauer: The King Shad will dive to deeper depths than the Wake Shad will. You can crank the King Shad down to depths of 4 feet or more. But the Wake Shad is designed specifically for that top 1 foot of water. The profiles of these two lures are the same, and the action you give the baits are still the same. 
But they have been both built for different purposes. Another difference in the Wake Shad and the King Shad is the speeds at which you can retrieve these two baits. The Wake Shad is really effective when you reel it right on or just under the surface, so that the bait creates a wake on the surface. And, you can work it extremely fast without it diving any deeper than about a foot. By being about to reel it fast just under the surface, you often can create a number of reaction strikes.
Question: Which color Wake Shad do you like the best and why?
Brauer: I pick my colors according to water clarity. In clear water I like the natural colors like the gizzard shad. On cloudy days, I like the white color.
Question: On what pound-test line are you fishing the Wake Shad?
Brauer: I usually fish 14-pound-test monofilament. That’s the standard line that I use for hard-plastic baits and top-water lures.
Question: What rod and reel are you using?
Brauer: I like a 7-foot, medium-heavy to medium-action rod. This type of rod allows me to have a lot of power when I’m setting the hook, especially on bigger fish and particularly when I’m fishing it around heavy cover. I need a powerful rod to move the fish so it can’t dive back in the cover. I like the Abu Garcia Revo SX 7.1:1 reel, which allows me to quickly and easily vary the speed that I’m working the bait. I think the higher-speed reel makes me more versatile.
Contents:
- Part 1: Here Comes the Wake
- Part 2: Why the New Spinner Baits are Better
- Part 3: Bet on the Big Snake
- Part 4: Bet on the Monkey for Flippin’ and Pitchin’
- Part 5: I’m a Lobster Manq
