Reel Chat with BRENT EHRLER

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Welcome to FLW Live Reel Chat. This week we’re joined by Brent Ehrler, the young pro out of Redlands, Calif., who won the 2006 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship on Logan Martin Lake in Alabama the first week in August. Ehrler has the distinction of being a two-time FLW Outdoors championship winner after having won the Stren Series Championship in 2004.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
With seven top-10 finishes and more than $600,000 in winnings in his short pro career, Ehrler is one of the most impressive “young guns” currently fishing in FLW Outdoors circuits. Today the champion is here to take questions from you, the fans. Let’s get started.

Q: Hey Brent, for a young angler starting out, how much can they expect to pay for entries, gas, food, motels and etc. for a years worth of FLW events? Would $25K touch it? I’m asking just to give people a sense of how well you have to do just to stay afloat. Congrats again, Brent, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
— Chris Jones (Conway, SC)
A: $25K is a good start (for the FLW Tour), but it’s not going to cover everything. But if you make one or two checks, you’ll come away with some money, so you don’t have debt on your credit card.

Q: As a Western pro, was it difficult to make the transition to fishing locations so far away from what was familiar to you, and how do you account for your championship successes so far east?
— Mark Savlin (St. Louis, MO)
A: It is very difficult adjusting to the fishing styles back East. The biggest difficulty is being able to change with the fish during practice because you don’t really have experience patterning them. That part is tough. There are things you just don’t really know – like if there is a change in the weather pattern that locals will pick up on that you won’t. So, basically, you have to go off on your own instincts. Experience is a major factor in doing well. I’ve heard the saying before that championship tournaments are harder to qualify for but easier to win, but I don’t really know. The fishing during the Stren (formerly EverStart) Championship was tough, and I’d like to think I do better in those tournaments. I don’t think, however, I’ve done anything different. I think I have just been really fortunate. Things just clicked and went the right way. I’ve been learning a ton by fishing out East, and hopefully I can start doing better next year.

Q: After already winning two championships in just a few years of top-level pro circuits, do you worry about maintaining such a high level of success?
— Robert Graney (La Crosse, WI)
A: Of course. Of course. I don’t think it’s exactly maintaining success, because I still have a lot to learn. I’ve been very fortunate with the tournaments I won, but I also want to be more consistent and be in the running at every tournament, and I’m not there yet.

Q: What gear ratio do you prefer for the reels on your flipping rods?
— Tony Karrick (Springfield, IL)
A: I prefer a 7:1 gear ratio. I actually have a reel that’s modified from a company in Japan. They change out the bearings, change the spool and change the crank, which is the biggest thing. The reel handle is carbon fiber, which makes it really sensitive, and you can actually feel the bites through the reel handle. With that modification, you can take a light reel and change it to a 7:1 gear ratio because of the larger crank. You can take up a lot of line in a short period, but still have a lighter reel that’s better for casting. It just has a lighter feel to it that I like.

Q: Are you a better fisherman at the end of this year than you were at the end of the 2005 season?
— Branson Schmidt (Spokane, WA)
A: I would like to think so, yes. I hope so at least. I actually wasn’t very happy with my decision-making this year. I got really caught up in how everyone else was catching fish and didn’t pay attention to my own instincts. But what I was happy with, I decided to concentrate more time on smaller areas. Last year I was running all over the place. And by concentrating on smaller areas, you can fish more effectively. Instead of making a five-, 10-mile run to your next area, you only make a one-mile run to your next area. And that’s one thing I told myself I was going to do when the year started. And it worked out well, for the most part. But I still made some poor decisions, and I suffered from that, especially in the last two tournaments of the FLW Tour.

Q: Let’s say you can only pick one lure to use on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Which lure would you pick and why ?
— Grant Hendricks (Georgetown , TX)
A: I would pick a plastic worm, Texas-rigged or Shaky Head. The reason for that is because there are no off-limits (periods on the FLW Tour), and there is a lot of fishing pressure on lakes on the FLW Tour. There is a lot of prefishing going on and a bunch of anglers who are spending a lot of time on the lakes. As a result, I can’t depend on a crankbait or spinnerbait during the tournament; it’s too risky. You have to rely on some sort of a worm or a jig to get strikes you normally would get on a crankbait or spinnerbait. Finesse-type presentations.

Q: Congratulations on your win. I was wondering what piers were the most productive considering the dropping water level during the tournament?
— Thomas (Riverside, AL)
A: I didn’t have a specific pier, but I preferred ones with a little shade. If there was a dock with an area (12×12 section) that was all covered, that was better than a floating dock with less shade. My bites came anywhere from 2 to 12 feet. You also had to fish the docks for a long time. I’d pretty much have to fish around the whole dock and fish every piling. You couldn’t just make five casts or miss any pilings. Sometimes I’d fish the whole dock and then come at it from a different direction, and then I’d get the bite.

Q: What did you use to win the championship?
— Danny (Fridley, MN)
A: I caught fish on two baits. One was a Shaky Head with two different actual jigheads: a True Tungsten and a Reaction Innovation. I used the True Tungsten on the smaller, 4-inch worm. And I used the Reaction Innovation on the larger worms. That’s what I used to fish the docks and brush piles. For fishing the banks, I was throwing a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 because I felt like there was a lot of fish shallow in that 4- to 5-foot range.

Q: How do you know when a fish is biting your lure and it is not you bumping into a rock or vegetation?
— Philip (Tipp, OH)
A: I pay attention to two things: I like to keep my finger on the line and also keep constant eye contact with where my line goes in the water. When a fish bites, if you watch your line, it will literally jump. If it’s hitting rocks or vegetation, it will move more slowly. When your line jumps that much, you can tell. It’ll move a good six inches, and you’ll usually be able to feel that as well. A bite usually happens one of two ways: You either feel the bite, or you get that mushy feel as the fish swims away with your bait. But a lot of it is experience as well. I like to stay stationary so I always know that I’m moving the line and that the line isn’t moving because of the boat.

Q: Brent, I first want to say congrats with your championship win. I know this is the million-dollar question, but how do pros break down the lake they are fishing so quickly? You guys fish such a variety of lakes, and I am curious to know what goes through your mind when first arriving at a lake.
— Chris (Dayton, TN)
A: It is very overwhelming at times. I try to get as much research done as I can before I arrive at the lake. I do a lot of “Googling” to try and get information. I’ll also try to get in contact with someone who knows the lake, even if it’s a friend of a friend. I want to know colors of baits that work, areas that are notorious for winning tournaments, etc. I try to find places where I can catch a lot of fish and also areas where I can catch bigger fish. And a lot of the times, those are two different areas. So, I try to get Internet and local information as best I can. You definitely need a map, and I look at every map I can find before I get there. I also get map chips for my graph, which helps as well with knowing where the humps and ridges are.

Q: What is harder to deal with, being so far from home: the fishing aspect of it or being away from family, friends, familiar places etc.?
— Jack (Yucaipa, CA)
A: It’s a combination of the stress of wanting to do well in tournaments and being away from family and friends. As soon as you get stressed out, you immediately start missing friends and family even more.

Q: Concerning fishing knowledge, what helps you more: reading or actual on-the-water practice?
— Justin Poland (Moody, AL)
A: Actual on-the-water practice. There is nothing better than an immediate result. There is nothing more important than what is going on that day and that hour.

Q: Congratulations champ! How do you feel about the new FLW Series Western Division, and how can a Southern co-angler prepare for Clear Lake and the California Delta?
— Kenneth Shaw (Caledonia, MS)
A: Oh man, it’s so exciting. It’s going to give so many more people opportunities to fish. If I wasn’t fishing the FLW Tour again, I’d be going crazy with the new Western Division. It’s going to help those fishermen who don’t necessarily have the time to fish out East. It’s just awesome.For co-anglers, I’d bring a Roboworm and a drop-shot, and a drop-shot, and a drop-shot. It’s that simple.

Q: Brent, coming from the West, where swimbait fishing has had its home, have you brought that on the road, and when do you usually fish that type of bait?
— Doug (Portland, OR)
A: I caught a couple of fish on Kentucky Lake on swimbaits this year. But the only reason I used it was because my roommate, Gabe Bolivar, told me it was working really well. It was one of those things where they only wanted that type of bait if it was cold and rainy. I also caught a good limit on the first day at Lake Okeechobee. But I’m not fishing big swimbaits. One that I use is called a Triple Trout. And at Kentucky Lake I used a Castaic Platnimum, and they’re both roughly around 6 inches. They don’t float, they sink slowly, and they have three joints, which actually makes them swim like a fish.

Q: What is the best advice that you can give to someone who is just starting to bass fish in club tournaments with hopes of going to the next level?
— Greg (Waukesha, WI)
A: That’s exactly how I started out. The next step I did was fish the pro-am circuit as an amateur. I’d suggest going to the Stren Series or the BFL series as a co-angler. I’d fish those until you feel comfortable enough to move up.

Q: Brent, first of all, congratulations! How would you catch suspended fish about 10 to 15 feet deep in 40 feet of water with tons of bait all through it?
— Scott F. (San Diego, CA)
A: I know the real popular thing to do in that area is to use light line (5 pounds) and a weightless curl-tail worm or a 2- to 3-inch Senko. You can only cast your line 40 feet, but it’s effective because it’s a good finesse presentation.

Q: What is the best way you’ve found to get the sponsors’ attention other than winning?
— Tony (Petersburg, IL)
A: Sponsorships happen in a couple of different ways. However, it has to start with tournament success unless you work directly for a company. But there is a lot more to it than that. Promoting companies in certain ways is important — getting good advertising for them — bringing people by to look at products, etc. You have to look at a sponsorship as a job. You work for them.

Q: Hey, Brent, how does it feel knowing that you came out on top of the world?
— Mike Walsh Jr. (Burley, ID)
A: It was crazy. Looking back on it, it happened so fast. I can’t tell you how many dreams I’ve had since this happened where I showed up at the ramp late, didn’t have a limit and all of those things. Then I wake up and I’m like, “Whew, it’s over.” But I know this is going to be happening for years, waking up in the middle of the night after dreaming I didn’t catch them. (Laughs)

Q: Is it true you caught some of your fish on a new color of shaky worm?
— Kenneth Shaw (Caledonia, MS)
A: Yes. It’s an exclusive color to Marks Outdoors — a fishing and hunting store in Birmingham, Ala. A manager, who I met earlier this year, gave me a pack of new-colored worms and said, “Try it.” But I didn’t try it until day two of the championship. I kept using it, and they just kept biting it. It’s made by Net Bait. It was just one of those things that just kind of worked out. One side is green-pumpkin, and the other side was June bug.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Brent, thanks for your time and for joining us today on FLW Live Reel Chat. Congratulations on a tremendous season, and good luck next year.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
One question was lost during the Reel Chat. The question and Brent’s answer follows this message.

Q: So many guys fish other tours. Have you given any thought to fishing more than just one? Is it even possible?
— Tom (Phoenix, AZ)
A: I have. Next year there is a scheduling conflict between BASS and FLW Outdoors. I really like the direction FLW Outdoors is going. So I’m thinking of fishing the FLW Tour and the Western Division of the FLW Series. I’m not 100-percent certain right now, but that’s what I’m thinking. But as of right now, I haven’t really fished more than six tournaments at the bigger tour levels. But I’m really excited about the Western Division opening up in the FLW Series, and I’d really like to give that a try.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Thanks, fishing fans and Brent Ehrler, for joining us for the latest installment of FLW Outdoors Live Reel Chat. Join us again soon for a live discussion with another compelling pro.