Fishing Techniques - Flippin' for Bass Part 2

Flippin, just the name conjures up visions of big bass on short lines in heavy cover, mano a mano battles of epic proportions that add that large kicker that you need to significantly upgrade your tournament limit. Yes boys and girls, flippin is the way to really put some big bass in the livewell, whether you fish tournaments or just fish for fun and want to catch some of the largest bass of your life!

I took a small Tupperware container and screwed it to the front rail of my boat, I put some water in it and added a little attractant to it then after several casts I could just dip the jig and keep on fishing, without wasting time to stop, pick up the bottle of juice, open the bottle of juice,squirt some on my jig, close the bottle, put it down and make another cast. Maybe that scenario only takes 20 seconds, but, during the course of a tournament it can cost you 25 or 30 minutes,time you could use to catch that six pound kicker that would have jumped you from twelfth to first place.

Tournament fishing is not always won by the best fishermen, but by a good fisherman that understands time management, who does not waste any time during the day. He has his day planned out, his rods rigged and ready, spares for each rod neatly stored within easy reach, his movements are all done efficently, no time is wasted. He maximizes his fishing time and probably spends one to two more hours fishing than most of the other anglers in the tournament. Flippin is a method that maximizes your fishing time on the water. There is no other method that keeps your lure in the "premium strike zone" like flippin. Your lure is flipped to the center of a bush, allowed to flutter down to the bottom, bounced up and down a couple of times, then the lure is picked up out of the bush and flipped to the next bush. When you cast a lure to a bush forty feet away, your lure is only in the strike zone for ten percent of the cast, the rest of the time the lure is traveling through barren water.

Wasted time!! When the fishing is hot, and the fish are biting most lures thrown at them, casting and retrieving is a very effective method of locating active fish. But, when fishing is slow, flippin is the most efficient way of finding some biters and putting them in the boat!

Hopefully you have done some practice and are comfortable with the art of flippin a jig into a small spot, and having the lure make no noise upon entering the water. This is done by not releasing the line entirely when the jig is flipped, but using the left hand to control the lines forward momentum by swinging the left hand in as the line goes out towards the target, then using the left hand to stop the lure just as it reaches the target.

By stopping the jig one inch from the surface, it enters the water without a sound, and without a splash. In the beginning just try to hit the target you are aiming for, then as you gain accuracy and confidence, start stopping the lure for a quiet as well as a accurate presentation. At first all this may seem awkward, but with practice it becomes second nature and is done without thinking.

Now that we know how, lets get to the where of flippin. I live in Southern California and the predominant cover is rocks on steep banks, we don't have many lakes with bullrushes because the water goes up and down so much. We have a few lakes with reeds ( bullrushes), because the water level is more stable. Bullrushes are tall skinny, dark green plants, about the size of a pencil that grow thickly at the waters edge down to a depth of about five feet. Bass can be found almost anywhere these plants are, along the face where the plants end and open water begins, especially in pockets in the rushes, where they start, where they end, and little openings back in the rushes. Rushes being in shallow water are best when the water is stained to slightly muddy.

If there is a breeze I drift downwind using the trolling motor as little as possible. As I drift by I flip the lure into pockets, along the face and next to points sticking out of the weeds. Also where dead weeds pile up in pockets a heavy jig (1 oz) can be cast on top of the weed pile and it will sink down through the pile to the bottom, when it hits the bottom, bounce it up and down a few times, let it sit for ten seconds, then lift it up and flip it to another spot. Always keep track of where and how bass hit the lure. Is it while the lure is sinking, while you are bouncing it or while it is sitting motionless on the bottom? Is it in pockets, open or covered with dead reeds, on the reed face or reed points? How deep? Shaded side or sunny side? Finding similarities to the strikes you get can clue you in to a pattern. Let's say most of the strikes you are getting are on reed points, on the shady side in four feet of water. This shows us a pattern the bass are using, ( one of several ) but once you are clued in to a pattern, all you have to do is keep looking for places that match the places you are catching your fish in and pass right by the 90% of the unproductive water that holds few fish anyway and concentrate on the 10% of the water that is holding 90% of the fish today.

Tomorrow the pattern usually changes, so make hay while the sun shines. Remember: Finding fishing patterns is what separates the 10% of fishermen who catch 90% of the fish from the 90% of the fishermen who settle for the 10% that's left!