MADISON, Wis. — It's been a long time since professional bass angler Denny Brauer seriously attempted to troll for walleyes, but the familiar feeling didn't go away Friday in the first round of the Freshwater Doubles fishing competition at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.
Brauer, the 1998 CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion from Camdenton, Mo., and all-time BASS money-winner, teamed up with Mike Gofron of Antioch, Ill., the second-ranked money winner on the Professional Walleye Trail, to catch 21 pounds, 2 ounces, of walleye and largemouth bass and take the lead in the two-day tournament.
The duo had the big bass of the day, a 4-15 largemouth caught by Brauer on a Strike King jig. They also trolled crankbaits for the walleyes, working a ridge about 20 feet deep while targeting similar structure about half that deep for the bass.
Unlike southern waters he regularly fishes on the bass circuit, Brauer said this week in practice it was obvious the bigger bass would be found in deeper water instead of skinny shoreline areas he is accustomed to fishing. That meant he had to mentally switch gears for deeper techniques as well as the trolling, which brought back memories of when he lived in Nebraska before moving to Camdenton, Mo.
"I did a lot of trolling for walleye and white bass in my younger days with a ski boat, which is all we had to fish from then," he said. "I really didn't do much because with a guy like Mike at the controls, I was more like a deckhand. I just pretty much sat back and fished while he did the work, and he's super at it."
Six teams of pros, one each from the BASS and PWT circuits, fish together and can weigh in three largemouth or smallmouth bass and three walleye, with the heaviest total catch winning the gold medal. Anglers can fish on the Madison Chain of Lakes, which includes Mendota and Monona lakes and several other smaller fisheries connected by canals. Varying size limits for the walleyes and a "no culling" rule for bass add to the strategy, considering that anglers must decide whether to release a fish or put it in the livewell and keep it since no bass can be released once they're retained.
Gerald Swindle of Hayden, Ala., the reigning CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year, was paired with 2003 PWT champion Dave Plautz of Muskego, Wis., and was second in the standings with 19-3. Two big walleye weighing more than 3 pounds sent Swindle into orbit.
"I was screaming so much when we caught those two fish I lost my voice," he said. "I started to think someone was going to come tell us to leave the lake, I was yelling so much."
The combination of BASS and PWT pros obviously presents some planning and strategizing, but Swindle's southern twang and affinity for a quick-witted quip left Plautz scratching his head at times.
"There definitely was a communications gap between us," Plautz said, grinning broadly. "I mean, he said some things that I still don't understand."
Four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., and leading PWT money-winner Dan Seelhoff of Burlington, Colo., were third with 16-3, anchored by Seelhoff's 4-7 walleye that took big fish honors. Clunn is a noted analyst of the outdoors and local conditions and Seelhoff said it didn't take long for his partner to get the hang of things.
"This trolling thing isn't easy to catch on to, but Rick did it pretty quickly," he said.
That cross-combination of knowledge among the anglers proved to be beneficial and was proof to Brauer the walleye pros could take their game to the bass circuits and do well.
"There are some huge similarities between the two (fishing styles) in regards to structure, finding fish, using your electronics and the weather conditions that affect the fish," he said. "I think a good walleye pro could come bass fishing and do well. There would be a learning curve, obviously, but they spend a tremendous amount of time learning about and using their electronics in deeper water. Bass guys do the opposite."
The tournament wraps up Saturday with the final weigh-in at 4 p.m.
Admission to the Great Outdoor Games is free. The Games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC from July 14 through July 19.
Day One Standings
1. Denny Brauer/Mike Gofron - 21 pounds, 2 ounces
2. Gerald Swindle/Dan Plautz - 19-3
3. Rick Clunn/Ron Seelhoff - 16-3
4. Mike Iaconelli/Bill Ortiz - 11-10
5. Gary Klein/Perry Good - 9-13
6. Shaw Grigsby/Gary Parsons - 7-12
