MADISON, Wis. — One angler dominates the pro bass tour while the other commands respect on the walleye circuit. And these two formidable forces have become one to own the lead in the Fishing Doubles competition of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games.

The team of BASS all-time winning money winner Denny Brauer and Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) veteran Mike Gofron of Illinois posted a leading score of 21 pounds, 3 ounces in a catch divided between three each of walleye and largemouth bass.

The contest kicked off Friday and concludes Saturday on the Madison Chain of Lakes.

Alabama BASS pro Gerald Swindle and PWT touring pro Dan Plautz of Wisconsin are close behind the leaders with 19-3. BASS legend Rick Clunn of Missouri and Colorado PWT pro Ron Seelhoff are third with 16-3.

	Denny Brauer

"We played each other's strengths," said Missouri's Brauer. "I feel confident we can catch 15 pounds tomorrow."

The anglers are allowed to score a total of six fish consisting of three apiece of each species. The emerging strategy has been to target the more abundant largemouth early in the day while leaving the remainder of the day open to walleye fishing.

"The bass are everywhere so that makes the walleyes the most important part of the game," said Brauer. "I struggled early on my end this morning. We had fish nipping at our baits but couldn't get them to stay on."

That changed by late morning when a front raked across the area, delivering a cold downpour followed by partly cloudy, clearing skies.

"The weather messed us up some but we ended up getting what we needed to do," added Brauer. "I didn't want to keep anything weighing less than four pounds. There are plenty of 2 ½ pounders out there and it makes it tough to decide what to throw back and what to keep."

What he means is that culling of fish is prohibited by the rules. At the time of the catch, the choice must be made between releasing the fish and counting it toward the three fish maximum per species.

"What I want to do tomorrow is get my act together and give Mike more time for the walleyes," added Brauer, winner of $1.6 million on the CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail presented by Busch Beer.

With an abundance of aquatic vegetation on all the lakes, flipping and pitching jigs and soft plastics has materialized as the predominant pattern. That is a good thing for the walleye side of the equation, considering the flipping and pitching pattern is a specialty technique involving close-range presentations to specific targets. The payoff is covering a great deal of territory in a short amount of time.

Such an approach landed the biggest catch of the day for Brauer, a largemouth weighing 4-15.

Trolling with crankbaits is the most consistent strategy for catching the walleyes with Gofron claiming he's on the verge of locking in on a solid strategy.

	Walleye are an important part of the Freshwater Doubles event, as only three bass and three walleye can be weighed in.

"It was a matter of finding the right contour line and matching it with depth and trolling speed," he noted. "I think we're there. We had time to refine the pattern along the way."

The chemistry between Swindle and Plautz could prove to be a challenge for the leaders. Swindle, the newly crowned CITGO BASS Angler of the Year, busted a monster walleye early in the competition.

"It just kept pulling and pulling until it busted off at the surface. I was totally bummed."

The pair struggled early to catch largemouth after being plagued consistently with 2 pounders.

"I was getting nervous about it and told Dan I was going to give it up at 11:30," added Swindle.

And that marked the beginning of the turnaround. Plautz landed a 4-5 walleye and Swindle followed suit with another 4 pounder. With the walleye quota filled, the duo returned to bass fishing.

With time running out, Swindle scored a 3-pound largemouth to complete the day.

Swindle has dialed into the bass by casting and flipping a Texas-rigged 5-inch Zoom Z-Nail worm to grassy points.

The 34-year-old angler also speculated that the team might switch approaches tomorrow in an effort to leverage their good fortune with the walleye bite.

"Everybody, including us, has started fishing for bass before switching to the walleyes. We might do the opposite. The largemouth are everywhere. They can be caught. But we also feel good about the walleye."

He might be on to something. In the high stakes world of competitive fishing, calculated risks can pay off handsomely, regardless of the species.