Entry 315-5

What’s New From Strike King and How to Use These Products with Denny Brauer

Part 5: The King Shad’s Baby Brother

Question: Denny, when the King Shad came to the fishing market, it was a really-big swim bait used for catching very-big bass. Now, Strike King has developed the 3-inch Baby King Shad. Why did Strike King decide to create a smaller version of the King Shad?

Brauer: The King Shad has been a tremendous bait for the last 2 to 3 years. Fishermen around the world have caught a large number of big bass on the King Shad. When a fisherman looks at the King Shad, he says, “Wow, that’s a really-big lure!” But bass eat baits as big as the King Shad and bigger. We looked at the King Shad, its action and success, and said, “Ok, we’ve got the right action, color and style of lure. Now, let’s downsize it to make a bait that’ll be more attractive to smaller bass in lakes that don’t home a large number of really-big bass.”

The Baby King Shad will produce really-big bass, but it also will produce large numbers of bass. The Baby King Shad is a finesse King Shad you can fish in clear water or in a fishery where getting a big bite by a big bass is difficult. I fish the King Shad like a jerkbait or a spinner bait, giving the Baby King Shad the same type of action. The general public often thinks of the professional angler as a tournament fisherman who always goes out to catch really-big bass. But many of our tournaments are now being won catching five bass that weigh from 1-1/2- to 3-pounds each.

This past year, we fished some very-tough bodies of water where finding big bass seemed almost impossible. I would have loved to have had the Baby King Shad to use on some of those lakes. Many times weather conditions can make finding and catching bass difficult. And we’ve fished bodies of water where a 3-pound largemouth is a monster. On these types of lakes and conditions, baits like the Baby King Shad can save the day and possibly win the tournament. I’ve competed in tournaments before where five, 2-pound largemouth bass were considered a huge limit. The Baby King Shad will put a Band-Aid over bad days of fishing and lakes that don’t home many large bass.

Question: What’s a Sexy Swimmer?

Brauer: Another new lure from Strike King, the Sexy Swimmer is a subtle type of swim bait. It’s very unobtrusive and kind of slivers its way through the water. The Sexy Swimmer has a more-wide swimming action than other baits, doesn’t have a bill and has a very-segmented body. This bait really performs well in lakes with herring populations. But anywhere you have threadfin or gizzard shad, the Sexy Swimmer will get eaten-up. This bait has a different action, gives the bass a different look and all you have to do to catch bass is cast it out and reel it in to the boat. This is a no-brainer bait. You can reel it really slowly and get a great action, or you can reel it fast and get a different action.

Question: Like many of the Strike King baits, the Sexy Swimmer comes not only in the Sexy Shad colors, but also in many of the more-natural-looking colors. When do you choose a natural color instead of the Sexy Shad color?

Brauer: In clear water, I prefer to fish the more-natural colors. In the more-dirty water, the Sexy Shad color seems to work better. If you’re fishing a clear-water lake and fishing the bait slowly, fish the more-natural colors.

Question: Of all the new Strike King lures introduced this year, which will you fish the most in your style of fishing?

Brauer: I’m most excited about the Rage Tail Smokin’ Rooster because it really compliments my style of fishing more than any other lure. But, I’ll carry all these new baits with me this year, and in certain situations, I’ll use every one of them.

Question: If you only can have one color in the Rage Tail Smokin’ Rooster, what color will you choose?

Brauer: I never will go fishing with only one color of lure. But the color I use the most probably is green pumpkin.

Contents:

• Part 1: The Rage Thumper Worm
• Part 2: The Rage Tail Smokin' Rooster
• Part 3: Hawging Up the Bass
• Part 4: The Rage Eeliminator
• Part 5: The King Shad's Baby Brother