Denny Brauer – Preparing the Tournament
Day 5: Pattern Fishing vs. Small Fishing
Editor’s
Note: If Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Missouri, was a
chess master, he’d be one of the best in the world.
Tournament bass fishing is much like a game of chess
in that you have to lay out a battle strategy first
with plenty of options, so that you can react and move
properly, depending on your opponent’s plan. Over
the years, Brauer has proved he knows how to play the
game. In mid-July 2006, Denny Brauer passed the $2 million
mark in earnings for tournament fishing on the Bassmaster’s
tournament circuit. The only other angler to achieve
this goal is Kevin VanDam, who’s also a Strike
King
pro. No one ever can doubt that these two anglers know
how to find and catch bass anywhere in the country,
under any water and weather conditions and against the
toughest competition in the nation. As most athletic
coaches know, preparation is the key to winning. This
week, we’ll talk with Brauer about how he prepares
to fish the Lake Champlain tournament, and what he does
to win.
Question: What do you mean by pattern fishing?
Brauer: If during practice I determine that the bass
are holding on willow trees, bushes or boat docks, then,
instead of fishing specific spots, I’ll fish the
areas where I find that type of cover. I’ll also
keep going to new water that has that type of cover
every day of the tournament. Instead of fishing a spot
or a series of spots, I’ll be fishing a pattern
by going to the type of cover that I’ve decided
the bass want to hold to on that day. For instance,
if I have
to fish for smallmouth bass up here on Lake Champlain,
and I’ve decided that the smallmouth are holding
on points, every day I may run different points until
I find the ones that are holding the largest concentration
of bass.
Question: Denny, how many spots will you have prior
to a tournament that you believe you can go to and catch
bass, including bad weather spots?
Brauer: I’ve fished some tournaments where I haven’t
had any spots where I’ve known I can catch bass
all three practice days. I haven’t figured out
what I consider a starting spot. I may catch only one
fish here or there, and I don’t get a spot that
will continue to produce a good number of fish established.
I may use the first day of the tournament as a practice
day because I know that I haven’t found a pattern
that will work to win that tournament. I’ve had
practices where every day I’m finding good schools
of bass, and perhaps by the time practice is over, I’ll
have 10-different spots that I can rotate through each
day of the tournament and consistently catch enough
bass to win or do well. It’s rare that you find
those 10 spots that will consistently produce every
day of a four-day tournament. My style of fishing is
basically pattern fishing rather than spot fishing.
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