Back to Back Championships

Bill Braswell and Dan Dannenmueller won the Crappie Masters "Angler Team of the Year" title for the second consecutive year in 2012.

When you fish a tournament trail that hits 10 different waterways in nine states, earning an "Angler Team of the Year" title calls for serious consistency. Now think about doing the same thing two years in a row.

That's exactly what the Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits team of Bill Braswell and Dan Dannenmueller have accomplished, winning the Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters points race in 2011 and 2012. to put the points race in better perspective, in 2012 more than 300 teams participated in Crappie Masters tournaments.

Like many competitive crappie anglers, Braswell and Dannenmueller favor spider rigging for tournament fishing because they can cover a lot of water, keep several baits in the water at one time and effectively pattern the fish as they go. With a large part of the field is using the same general strategy in several events, finishing close enough to the top of the standings to accumulate and maintain a points lead becomes extra challenging.

"The keys to our back-to-back wins were consistency, teamwork and our spider rigging efficiency," Dannenmueller said.