Top Bass Fisherman Denny Brauer Tells How He Picks the Lures He Fishes Year-Round
Denny Brauer Tells How He Chooses Which Crankbaits to Fish for Bass
 Editor’s Note: Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Missouri, one of the most-successful tournament bass fishermen in the world today, has earned over $2 million in tournament winnings from fishing BASS and other tournament circuits. Although there are many great flippers on the BASS circuit, Brauer is known as one of the all-time best. “I flip because I want to fish spots most bass fishermen won’t fish,” Brauer says. “I fish to win every tournament I enter, and fishing thick cover with big baits gives me the greatest odds to catch big bass and win tournaments.” But Brauer also flips tubes, creature baits and many other types of lures to catch bass. To become a better flipper, we asked Brauer to tell us how he decides when and what lures to flip.
Question: Denny, how do you choose which crankbait you’ll fish on any given day?
Brauer: I use basically the same formula I use for picking flipping and pitching baits. There are warm-water crankbaits and cold-water crankbaits. One of the key factors that separate these two kinds of crankbaits is the amount of water each type of lure displaces. The other factor is the depth of water in which the bass are holding. This may surprise some people, but in the cold wintertime, my favorite crankbait is the Strike King Series 3. The Series 3 gives you a subtle presentation, and that lure is exactly the right size for catching wintertime bass. When you’re dealing with cold water, many times you also will be dealing with clear water. So, when it comes to color, I’ll pretty-much stay with the shad patterns of crankbaits. Once we get into the spring run-off when the lake starts to dirty-up, I’ll choose the square-billed crankbaits, like the Series 1 and the Series 4S. The Series 4S is without a doubt my favorite early-spring crankbait. I beef-up the size of tackle on which I fish it. This bait has big hooks, so you can land bigger bass that may be holding in heavy cover when you fish the Series 4S. 
When bass get into their summertime mode, I prefer a Series 5 or Series 6 or the new Series 6XD. I tested this new crankbait last year, and the Series 6XD is the most-awesome, deep-diving crankbait I’ve ever fished. When the fall rolls around, I’ll go back to the Series 4S crankbait. I like that square-billed crankbait, and I prefer to fish it down the sides of logs lying in the water or  around boat docks. Now, anytime you get advice like this, whoever’s giving the advice is telling you how they’ll fish, and how they choose lures in a certain section of the country. The patterns I’ve given you for flipping and pitching yesterday and for choosing crankbaits today are the lures I fish at these times of year in the Midwest because that’s where I live. If I’m fishing a lake with vegetation, instead of fishing the Series 3 in the wintertime, I’ll fish the Red Eye Shad. I’ll also use the Red Eye Shad for fishing in the fall when the bass are schooling on shad. So, anytime you get this type of advice from any fisherman, make sure you understand the types of lakes he fishes and the choices he makes based on those kinds of lakes and the type of cover found in those lakes. Bass fishing is much like selling shoes. Not all shoes fit all feet at the same time and in the same way.
Tomorrow: Finesse Fishing – A Style Denny Brauer Doesn’t Enjoy
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