The Game Plan with Denny Brauer for His Lake Champlain
Win in Mid-July
Going for the Win
Editor’s
Note: Last week, Denny Brauer told us how he planned
to fish the 2006 CITGO Bass Elite Series’ tournament
on Lake Champlain. We talked with Brauer after the first
day of practice, and much like a pool shooter who calls
a shot, Brauer accurately predicted how he would fish,
where he would find the fish, and how he would catch
them to win this $100,000 tournament. Four days after
we talked to Brauer, he executed the plan he’d
laid out for us. Not only did he win the $100,000 first
prize, he also passed the $2 million mark in tournament
winnings, which moved him into first place as the No.
1 bass angler to win the most money on the Bassmaster
circuit. This week, Brauer will take us day-by-day through
the tournament and show us how he executed the plan
he’d laid out for the tournament won one of the
biggest events of his life. We’ll not only see
the strategy of a champion, but we’ll also witness
the mindset of a winner.
Question: What were you thinking on the morning of
the last day of the tournament?
Brauer: There was no doubt in my mind that I was going
to catch a limit of bass. But I didn’t know where
I would get a 14- or a 25-pound bag. In a tournament,
you never know until you catch them how big the bass
will be. I felt that I was going to get the quality
bites to win the tournament. The question was, could
I connect with those bites and put those quality bass
in the boat? Remember, every day of the tournament I
was catching a good size limit of bass and getting plenty
of bites. I knew if I lost this tournament, someone
would have to catch more big fish than I was. I also
felt like I’d learned my area very well. I understood
where the bigger fish were holding, and what effect
the wind was having on moving the fish. I felt I knew
my area and how to fish it as well as I could possibly
know it. I also understood that dead-sticking the jig
was the tactic that could win the tournament for me.
I felt like I knew where I could find the better bass
every hour of the tournament day. I told my son, Chad,
and my grandson before I left the room, “I need
to catch my biggest stringer of bass today to win.”
I felt like I could do that because I wasn’t going
to worry about saving bass on that spot. I was through
managing my fish so they would hold up throughout every
day of the tournament. Today was the day to try to catch
every bass in my key spots. I wouldn’t be wasting
a lot of time going to my backup areas. I planned to
lock-down and only fish the places where I assumed big
bass were holding.
Question: What happened the first part of the morning?
I’m sure you had a camera boat with you. Did you
have any spectator boats?
Brauer: Yes, we had a couple of spectator boats follow
us, but it wasn’t an issue.
Question: What happened when you pulled up on your
spot the last day?
Brauer: Within 10 minutes, I’d caught my first
bass, which weighed 4 pounds, a great way to start the
final day of the major event. About 10 minutes later,
I caught a second 4 pounder. To catch two 4 pounders
in the first 20 minutes of a major tournament gave me
a real adrenaline rush. My next fish weighed only 2-1/2-pounds.
I decided instead of continuing to pound that spot,
I would let it rest for a while. I had another little
place that I could go to and catch a couple of keeper
bass. I ran to that spot and caught a 2-1/2- and a 2-pounder.
It was only 7:30 am.
Question: Denny, when you decided to let your primary
spot rest, were you not concerned that another competitor
might come there and start fishing it?
Brauer: As a tournament angler, you’re always
concerned that another competitor will come and fish
your spot. The only two competitors in my area were
Terry Butcher and Tommy Biffle, both my friends. Both
these fellas knew where I was fishing and realized I
had a chance to win. They had better spots in their
minds that they felt they could fish and win also. I
wasn’t really concerned about someone fishing
my primary spot. Even if somebody did, I felt like I
could fish behind another competitor with my dead-sticking-a-jig
tactic. From what I’ve learned about my area,
I also thought I would catch my bigger fish later in
the day.
Question: Did you feel that dead-sticking a jig was
a tactic nobody else was using and that it would allow
you to fish behind the other competitors and catch the
bass they weren’t catching?
Brauer: There were two elements to the tactic I used
that worked for me. I was flipping further back into
cover than most of the other anglers. I wasn’t
worried about other anglers going to my spots and catching
fish I wanted to catch. The other reason I was confident
was that I had two, 4 pounders in the live well and
two, 2 pounders. I know that in many tournaments like
this, if you just catch a limit, oftentimes you can
win if you’re only 1-1/2-pounds back from first
place. When I caught my fifth bass in the first hour,
I had about 15 pounds of bass in my live well. I didn’t
know at that time, but that limit would have won the
tournament. As soon as I caught my limit, I returned
to that patch of reeds to try to catch bigger bass.
On my next pass down at 50 yards of reeds, I caught
a 5 pounder. I culled one of my 2-pound fish. Then I
had the 5-pounder, two, 4-pounders, and the 2-1/2-pounder.
There was a patch of reeds where I’d lost a big
fish earlier that week. I decided to go back to that
area and let my primary spot rest again. I went to that
other patch of reeds and caught four bass quickly, none
of which would have improved my bag weight. I went back
to my primary reed patch. On my first pass down that
patch of reeds, I caught another 5 pounder. At the end
of the reeds, I turned around to make another pass.
In less than 10 minutes, I caught another 5 pounder.
I caught all my five big fish in my key area. I caught
several more 3-1/2-pounders and another 4 pounder that
I released because they wouldn’t have helped the
total weight of my stringer. I didn’t think anyone
was going to beat my catch for the day. Since the lake
was starting to get rough, I left my area early, just
in case I had any problems on the 40-mile run back to
the launch site. I took a slow ride in to keep from
beating up my fish and my back.
Question: Denny, when did you feel like you won the
tournament?
Brauer: I really felt like I had the tournament won
after I caught two 4 pounders in the first 30 minutes
of the last day of the tournament. I felt like I’d
caught enough 3- to 3-1/2-pound bass off this spot.
If I could just put three of those 3 pounders in the
boat, I would have a good chance to win. When I caught
that first 5-pound fish, I felt like I was home-free.
When I caught the second 5-pounder, I decided that anyone
who could beat me would need a monster stringer. When
I caught that last 5 pounder, I realized that someone
might catch five, 5-pounders out of Lake Champlain in
a day, but the odds would really be against them. That
would be such an outrageous stringer that I really felt
like I had it won with the bass I had.
Question: What time did you catch your last 5-pounder?
Brauer: It was probably 12:00 noon.
Question: When you started the run to the launch site,
were you worried about your boat breaking down and your
fish dying?
Brauer: That’s always on every angler’s
mind when you have a large stringer of bass in your
boat. Any little noise in the engine or boat becomes
a point of concern. That’s the reason I left early.
I didn’t want to take any chance of being late
for the weigh-in. Normally, I’ll stay in a spot
and try to catch every ounce of bass possible before
I leave to weigh in. I felt that my chances of a storm
blowing in, having boat problems or having some type
of unforeseen tragedy between my fishing spot and the
takeout point were much greater than my ability to improve
my stringer by a few ounces.
Question: What was your final weight on the last day?
Brauer: I had 23 pounds and 4 ounces for five fish on
that last day of the tournament, which is a huge stringer
for fishing up north.
Question: Denny, what does this win mean to you personally?
Brauer: This win really means a lot. It’s been
a couple of years since I’ve won a major tournament.
Winning a tournament gets harder every year. Physically,
the older you get, the more fatigued you get during
a tournament, especially when you’re fishing tournaments
back-to-back. When you go to an area like Lake Champlain
where you can practice for 15 hours, you can get physically
whipped. I think this win means an awful lot to my sponsors,
and it adds credibility to my resume when I win a tournament.
All my tournament wins are special. Someone asked me
yesterday if this was my biggest win. I’ll have
to say that my Bassmaster’s Classic win was the
biggest I ever had, however, this Lake Champlain win
was still very special.
Question: What does it mean to you to climb back to
the leader board in all-time money winnings on the Bassmaster’s
Circuit?
Brauer: That title really means a lot. That’s
a very-special honor that only one person can have.
A good friend of mine, Larry Nixon, held that title
for years. I took it over from him. That made the title
even more special. Then another friend, Kevin VanDam,
took that title from me. I felt it was really neat that
an angler as classy as Kevin could hold that title,
and I knew he wouldn’t give it up easily. Kevin’s
a great competitor, he fishes hard, and he earned that
title. I’m not through fishing yet. I’m
57-years old, and I think I have some fishing left in
me.
Question: What did Kevin VanDam say to you when he
realized you’d taken the title of all-time money
winner?
Brauer: Kevin came up and congratulated me. I wouldn’t
have expected anything less from him. Kevin and I are
really-good friends. We both have mutual respect for
the other’s ability. For several years, I had
almost a $300,000 to $400,000 lead. To see Kevin overtake
that lead and win the title was really neat. I think
the competition between Kevin and me for this title
will be a lot of fun. I hope this turns out to be a
personal volleyball game between the two of us. There’s
no doubt in my mind that eventually Kevin will take
this title and hold it for many years. Kevin has many
more years to participate in this sport than I do, and
he’s a great fisherman. I know it’s just
a matter of time before Kevin takes the title of top-money
winner and holds it for many years. So, I plan to have
some fun with the title as long as I have it.
Question: How long can you continue to compete, Denny?
Brauer: I really don’t know. I’m still having
fun competing in bass tournaments. I think my body,
more than my mind, will tell me when it’s time
to give it up. I realize that there are other things
to do in life besides fish for bass. My wife has things
she wants to do in her life. For many years, my career
has been the focus of our family. Before long, it’s
going to be time for her career to be the focus. Also,
my life needs to be about my grandkids and other things.
I really don’t know when I’ll give up tournament
bass fishing. It could be several years away, or, it
could be only one or two years away. I know I’ve
had a great ride, a wonderful career and a great profession.
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