CHAD BRAUER - COMING OF AGE

Equipment for Winning with the Wild Shiner

Editor's Note: Years of patience and perseverance have paid off for Chad Brauer this year. At the halfway point of 2004, Brauer leads the race for Angler of the Year and took third place at the Lake Guntersville BASS tournament at the end of February, 2004. With Brauer having the chance of winning this prestigious award, Strike King wanted to learn from Brauer how he's doing so well and how the tactics and techniques he's using can help your bass fishing.

QUESTION: What pound test line do you use when fishing the Wild Shiner and why?
BRAUER: Once again, water determines the line size on which I fish the Wild Shiner. At Guntersville the end of February, 2004, I was fishing 12-pound Stren Fluorocarbon. The reason I like Fluorocarbon line is because this line sinks, and a sinking line helps the Wild Shiner get a little bit deeper than a floating line will. With a Fluorocarbon line, I can fish a little bit deeper than the anglers using monofilament will. Fluorocarbon line is also much more invisible in the water than monofilament. So by using Fluorocarbon, I can use a little bit bigger and stronger line than if I'm fishing with monofilament. In extremely clear water, I may only fish 8-pound fishing line, but most of the time when I'm fishing the Wild Shiner, I'll either be using 10-pound or 12-pound fishing line.

QUESTION: What rod are you using when you're fishing the Wild Shiner?
BRAUER: I like a Daiwa top-water jerkbait rod that's 6-feet long. It's a medium-action rod. When you're fishing a jerkbait, you don't want a stiff rod that will put a lot of pressure on the bass once it takes the jerkbait. If you have a really big fish to take the bait, and you're using a stout rod, those little treble hooks can pull out of the bass' mouth. So you want to use a rod that has a lot of give to it to keep from pulling the hooks out of the fish's mouth. Also with a medium-action rod, if you have a lot of tip action, you can really work the bait better than you can with a heavier rod. When you twitch the bait, you don't want to move it very far, and a medium-action rod will allow you to give the bait action without making the bait move forward very much.

TOMORROW: WHY AND HOW TO FISH A SLACK LINE WITH THE WILD SHINER