During spring, summer, fall, and winter there are prime times to
do two of the hottest techniques on the tournament trail, and
walk away with a nice bag. These two techniques are called flipping
and pitching they can produce huge bass when done at certain
times. Some nice size keeper bass have been caught using this
during tournaments across the United States and Canada
Countless
lures can be used when flipping and pitching. One of the top
producing lures for this technique is a flipping jig.
There are many different styles and colors of flipping jigs out
on the market from black and blue, orange and brown, even sour
apple. A trailer is a great additive when flipping with a jig.
A trailer will give the bait a completely different look and profile.
There is
a bunch of different plastic trailers out on the market,
they are supposed to resemble a crawfish, and you can even use
a tube bait
for a trailer. I like to use scent on my trailers even
if
they already have salt in them. When the winter and cold
water months come try flipping a jig with a pork trailer, the
pork will give
the bait a slower fall rate, and give the bass more time
to take in the bait. Uncle Josh and Strike King make a good pork
trailer made for jigs. When picking a trailer I like to match
the trailer to
the skirt of the jig.
Another versatile bass catching bait is a
tube bait rigged Texas Style, using this bait often produces a reaction
strike due to
the bait's erratic action.
Rigging the tube Texas Style will make the bait virtually weedless
causing less hang-ups in thick cover. When the cover is not so
thick try Tex-posing
the hook in the bait, this will help the hook penetrate the bass's
mouth more easily. When you Tex-pose, you should insert the hook
as normal but
instead of resting the hook inside the bait instead bring it all the
way through then insert the tip back into the bait. I like to
use natural
colors that mostly imitate crawfish, or even shad. Crawfish can
sometimes blend in with the bottom color of the lake so try to match
the tube color
with the bottom color.
To give the bass something new to look at
then just a plain tube, try one of the many "thing" baits
out on the market. You can even take a piece of Alka-seltzer and
shove it up inside the tube. Many
people will
even take a cotton ball, soak it in their favorite attractant,
and put that in the tube. If the fish are very sluggish and not moving
around a lot, scent will be a big plus, because the bass will hang
on to your
bait longer and this gives you more time to set the hook.
I also like
to pitch and flip straight tail worms and even cigar shaped baits.
The baits I prefer when doing this are the baits by
Gary Yamamoto
Custom
Baits, these baits are loaded with salt. The salt content will
give you a few more seconds to set the hook. With the four inch
Senko, I
prefer a
3/0 or 4/0 hook. I also like to use Bear Paws Custom Baits Slick
Stick. These baits are loaded with scent and you can even get them
in custom
colors to match the situation that you may be faced with. I rig
both Cut Tail worms the Senko and the Slick Sticks Texas weedless.
The
key is to
balance out the hook with the plastic to give the bait a vertical
fall. In some cases, I prefer the Cut Tail worms by Gary Yamamoto
Custom Baits,
this bait falls pretty much like the Senko, but with a little
more tail action. This technique is for pitching lay downs and
brush. In
some cases when I get into the thick stuff I will Texas rig
these baits.
One of the newer pitching methods on the tournament
trail is pitching spinnerbaits and crankbaits into thick cover. When
pitching a spinnerbait
you want
to pick out a bait with a high quality steel ball bearing swivel.
A few companies that make baits with these kinds of swivels are
Terminator and
Strike King. I prefer the Terminator baits due to the titanium
wire.
This will make the bait more durable. When you pitch with a crankbait
pick
out a bait that sinks or even suspends, it will help you not
get hung up by replacing the stock hooks with some weedless trebles.
Using these
different
techniques will give the bass a different bait to look at.
When
flipping, most people will use a seven and a half foot heavy action
rod and twenty to thirty pound plus monofilament. This
is necessary
when flipping and pitching due to the chances that you might
get hung up. With the
seven and a half foot rod, it gives you enough advantage to
get even then biggest bass out of the thickest of cover.
When you flip,
you should let at least fifteen feet of line out and grab the line
nearest to your reel with your fingertips,
and swing
the
bait back with the rod tip. Try not to let the bait splash
into
the water (in case
the fish are spooky). When doing this shake the rod then
raise, and lower your rod tip to give the bait enough action to entice
the bass.
When pitching many people use a seven and a half
heavy action rod. When picking out a pitching rod be sure to get
a rod
with a soft
tip, a soft
tip is
mandatory to shoot the lure out. You should let enough
line out so that the lure is even with the reel on a tight line.
Many
people hold
the lure
in their non-casting hand. Then you point the tip at
about eleven o'clock to the sky. Next, you should roll your wrist
down making
the
rod tip go
down to about 10 o'clock. Then with a quick snap, you raise
your rod tip letting go of the lure and sending it flying
to your
target. Be
sure to
keep the lure close to the water so that when its reaches
its target it does not make a big splash. You should then
let
the lure
sink to
the bottom
on a semi-slack line; this is when the fish will most
likely
hit
the lure. You must be a line watcher. Last, shake your
rod tip, raise, and
lower the bait, just like when you are flipping.
Just a little point when pitching, try to keep your tricep
flush against your body and your forearm should be out
in front of
your body making
a 90-degree angle. When doing this your tricep should
be relaxed against your side. When doing this right you will
gain more
accuracy and the
bait will
not make a big splash. Then once the bait hits the
water the arm you made the flip with will move up once the bait
hits the
water.
Follow the baits fall by slowly moving your arm back
to your side.
To get this right when practicing try strapping your
tricep to your body so that doing this becomes more
natural. Another
thing
you might
want
to try is to use different hands to flip and pitch,
doing this and finding the right hand will give more added
accuracy. Also
doing
this on a boat is
an additive because there will be obstructions in
your way so you will need to switch hands.
This concludes
flipping and pitching. Doing some of the things I said should help
you when the fish are
back
in the cover
and hard
to get.
Give flipping
and pitching a try, I am sure you will be pleasantly
surprised!
Tight Lines and Good Fishing!
Steven Narup
If you have any questions you can email me at:
Sdnbassman_TeamExtreme@hotmail.com
