Over the past two seasons the word has gradually leaked out about pros fishing small crankbaits in shallow water. The reason it has leaked is because this technique works, and because with increasing fishing pressure, the pros are using it more. But Denny Brauer?

Though the king of flipping and pitching says he wishes he "could do that every tournament," in some tournaments he doesn't even get the big sticks out of the rod locker. "I do whatever I think I have to do to win, whether that's cranking deep, spinnerbaiting or whatever," Brauer says.

He says his second-favorite ways to fish are throwing spinnerbaits and casting squarebilled crankbaits -- Strike King Series 1 and Series 4 baits -- to shallow cover. Here's how he approaches the latter.

When and How

"Fall is a good period for these baits, but I've also done well with them on tidal water during the summer," Brauer says.

One example he gave is fishing laydown logs in tidal areas. "In low-tide situations, when the fish are pulled out of the weeds, fish these baits on isolated pieces of cover," he says.

Another good time to fish these baits are in crowds. "When everyone is flipping or throwing spinnerbaits, those little squarebills are dynamite. There aren't many guys working crankbaits through those places."

Brauer advises crawling these baits "over branches and different targets," with one exception: fishing around boat docks. "When I feel that the fish are suspended under the docks, squarebills are perfect," he says. Cast toward the back of the dock, and "right when you get it past the end of the dock, pause and let it float up. You'll be surprised at how many fish can't stand that."

Stiff Rod, Heavy Line

Though many pros favor whippy fiberglass rods for crankbait fishing, Brauer likes to fish these small crankbaits on a spinnerbait rod.

"I use a 7-foot Daiwa spinnerbait rod because I have more control of the bait that way," he says. "It's more sensitive as far as feeling what the bait is doing down there. It also gives me more leverage over the fish, to get it out of the cover.

"If you go with a regular cranking rod, there's so much slap in it you can't do that finesse casting in cover," Brauer notes. "It's fine for open water, but for fishing around targets I like something I can be more accurate with. I'm comfortable with that rod," he adds.

He also uses 20-pound-test line. "When I'm fishing that way, around cover, the lightest I'll use is 15," he says.

"A lot of my presentations are by pitching," he adds. Consider that for a second: pitching a light crankbait on a spinnerbait rod with 20-pound test -- isn't that difficult? "With the Series 4s it isn't hard, but with the Series 1 it gets a little harder," Brauer says. "But with some of the places I'm putting those baits, you almost have to (pitch) to get that type of accuracy."

Good Hooks Mandatory

"Make sure you have good, heavy hooks on those baits," Brauer says. "You don't have to change the hooks on the Series 4, and you really don't have to on the Series 1 but make sure they're not getting over-flexed. After you catch a few, check and see. You might have to change the hooks. If you straighten the hooks back out with pliers, you can only get by with that so many times."

Changing hooks means replacing them with two trebles of the same size. "You can't use hooks that are too big because they'll overpower the action of the bait," he says.



Strike King
Photo: Strike King

Brauer likes the Strike King Series 1 (pictured) and Series 4 baits for shallow cranking.