Entry 360-2

Professional Bass Fisherman Chad Brauer Fights for $47,000 and Wins on the Red River in 2010

Part 2: The First Day of Chad Brauer’s Competition on the Red River – Rodent and the 4S

Question: Chad, what was your game plan for the first day of competition?

Brauer: I planned to try to fight my way back into that oxbow, and I prayed there’d be no other competitors’ boats there.

Question: What made getting into this oxbow so difficult?

Brauer: Just reaching the spot to enter the place to get into the oxbow was difficult. Once I arrived at the mouth of the creek, the creek went for about 1 mile before it dumped into the oxbow. The creek was only about 2-feet deep at the most, and I had to idle through it and put my partner on the front end of the boat to distribute the weight. There were five or six areas with trees lying across the creek. To complicate the situation even more, there was a pretty-strong current coming across the oxbow and down the lake. The most-difficult part of the entire tournament was getting into the oxbow. From the time I shut down and started idling up the creek, I usually needed 20 to 30 minutes to travel that 1-mile distance.

Question: Was there anyone else in the creek when you got there the first morning?

Brauer: No, I was number seven leaving the take-off point. I fished for about 45 minutes and never saw another boat, but then another competitor’s boat came up the creek.

Question: How did you do that first day?

Brauer: I caught five bass that weighed a total of about 16 pounds. I had to get back to the check-in by 2:00 pm, so I knew I had to leave the oxbow by 12:00 noon. When I left, the other competitor in the oxbow also left. This creek was so shallow, and the water was falling out of it so fast that we both assumed we might not be able to get out of that creek and into the main river in time to check-in. Evidently, the other competitor didn’t catch many bass.

Question: So, how many pounds of bass did you weigh-in on the first day?

Brauer: I weighed-in 16 pounds and 15 ounces of bass. There were more bass in the oxbow I could catch. The river was full of baitfish, so I didn’t have a problem getting bites. I spent less than 5 hours in that oxbow on the first day. After I left my spot, I went back to the take-off place at Port Lake and fished the rest of the day.

Question: On what baits did you catch those 16 pounds and 15 ounces of bass the first day?

Brauer: I caught two of the bass on the Strike King 4S crankbait. Both these bass were suspended off the bank, around lay-down trees. I also caught bass around old barge tie-ups and old telephone poles. This old oxbow used to be part of the river, which is why there were barge tie-ups there. Those old barge ties had about 9 feet of water at the end of them. I could run that Strike King 4S around those old barge ties and catch bass. I caught the other bass I weighed-in on the Strike King Rodent around brush and trees that had fallen into the oxbow.

Question: In what place were you at the end of the first day?

Brauer: I was in third place. But I was worried about being able to get back into that creek each day of competition. The water was dropping 6 to 10 inches a day. I was dealing with only 2 feet of water and current, so I’d be close to bottoming out my boat, if I tried to get to the oxbow the second day. I didn’t sleep easy that first night of competition. bait

Next: Chad Brauer’s Second Day of Competition on the Red River - the Rage Thumper Worm, the Rodent and the 4S Crankbait

Contents:

• Part 1: Chad Brauer's Secret Place on the Red River
• Part 2: The First Day of Chad Brauer's Competition on the Red River - Rodent and the 4S
• Part 3: Chad Brauer's Second Day of Competition on the Red River - the Rage Thumper Worm, the Rodent and the 4S Crankbait
• Part 4: Chad Brauer Tells About His Final Run on the Red River
• Part 5: Chad Brauer's Final Fight on the Red River's Skinny