Entry 226-1

Fishing the New 2008 Lures with Denny Brauer

Part 1: Bass Prefer a Cup of Coffee, Too

Question: Denny, why did Strike King develop a coffee-scented tube?

Brauer: The Coffee Tube is actually impregnated with coffee grounds. The bass like the coffee flavor, which makes them hang onto the tube longer than they do tubes with no flavor. Any advantage fishermen can have to get a better hook set and catch more bass is worthwhile. The Coffee Tube doesn’t help the pros as much as it does the novice anglers. Generally, a pro can practically feel a bass breathe on a lure, which lets him know it’s time to set the hook. Many weekend fishermen who don’t have the same sensitivity the pros have need to be able to feel a stronger bite to get a better hook set. The longer the bass has the tube in its mouth, the more likely the fisherman is to feel or see the strike.

Let me retract what I just said about pro fishermen not needing to use the Coffee Tube. On windy, rough-water and rainy days, when feeling the bite can even be difficult for a pro, the Coffee Tube will definitely give us an advantage. When the wind’s moving or the rain’s beating on my rod tip and/or I’m bouncing up and down on the front end of a boat as we often are in tournaments, having a bass hold onto the Coffee Tube longer than normal gives me an advantage over the competition. The Coffee Tube can help anglers get and feel more strikes on the line.

The research and testing I’ve done this year with the Coffee Tube has been very positive. One of my favorite ways to fish is flipping-and-pitching, using tubes and jigs. The Coffee Tube probably will be the only tube I fish with this year. I’ll probably replace all my old tubes with the Coffee Tube because it gives me that much of an advantage.

Question: How will you use the tube?

Brauer: I generally fish in large amounts of heavy cover, so I’ll use the regular Flip-N-Tube I helped design in the Coffee Tube version. The Coffee Tube Flip-N-Tube probably will be my No.1 go-to bait. I bet on the tube and the jig during tournament season. When we’re in smallmouth waters, I’ll downsize and fish a 3-1/2-inch tube with a jighead inside it. I’ll fish the smaller tube on light line with spinning tackle and probably 8-pound-test line. I let the fishery dictate what size tube I’ll fish. For the majority of the tournaments this season, I’ll fish the Flip-N-Tube. When the tournament circuit travels to New York, where we’ll encounter numbers of smallmouth, I’ll probably downsize to the smaller Coffee Tube to catch smallmouth.

Question: What kind of jighead will you use for flipping or dragging the bottom for smallmouth?

Brauer: I prefer a 1/4- or a 3/8-ounce jighead in my tube most of the time. If I find current, like at Lake Erie, I’ll fish the tube on an open hook with a 1/2-ounce jighead. When I use the Flip-N-Tube in thick grass, I’ll use either a No. 4/0 or a No. 5/0 Mustad flipping hook with a 1/4- to a 1-1/2-ounce Tru tungsten sinker in front of the bait. In flipping situations, I rig the Coffee Tube Texas style so it will penetrate the cover. When I rig my baits this way, I’ll catch larger numbers of fish.

Question: Will you use the Football Head Jig this season?

Brauer: I’ll possibly use the Football Head Jig on Lake Erie because one of the primary baitfish has a big head. The Coffee Tube, with Strike King’s new Coffee Jig inside it, produces the same profile as this baitfish.

Next: Let’s Play Football

Contents:

• Part 1: Bass Prefer a Cup of Coffee, Too
• Part 2: Let’s Play Football
• Part 3: A Raging Brauer
• Part 4: Chunk It
• Part 5: What About the Rage Toad?