Finally Gotten Thru My Thick Skull

[logan9209]

I take back everything I said about pitching and flipping from the bank on my lake. Until today,

I had always thought that pitching and flipping was for trying to get to cover like

under docks, next to stumps, next to trees or under limbs hanging out over the water,

and lay downs.

Brief history, this afternoon I was watching KVD pitching soft plastics. I had seen the

vid before, but then I would go try it out for maybe 5 to 10 minutes and quit. However,

today I realized (especially after I practiced for an hour) how crucial and beneficial

it would be for me to learn and master those techniques. There are so many areas that

previously I could only take my spinning gear (trees beside, behind, and above me).

With the pitching and maybe the flipping techniques I can take my lures to places that

I wouldn't normally be able to with my bait caster.

Like I said, I practiced for an hour (it is hot and needed to cool off) and as I was practicing

a bass tried to take my jig. Wasn't expecting it and I didn't set the hook, but 2 or 3

times he started to go after it. I didn't let him, because I need to focus on the techniques.

If I allowed myself to go for the bass, I would then be side tracked and stop practicing.

When I get cooled off some, I will set 2 buckets at different distances (15 and 25 feet) in

the yard so that I can practice without the distraction of the bass and having to take muck

off my lure every other pitch. Also, many thanks goes to those who took the time to write the

articles on pitching and flipping and helped me to realize that I can pitch and flip to

"non-traditional" areas.

[jslacker]

I tried this in my backyard and it didn't work out so well. I came back inside and watched some more vids on it and realized I'm standing on the "water" and this is the reason it wasn't working for me. How do you clear the ground/water with the tip of your rod if fishing level with the water? I noticed on the vids I watched all the guys were elevated off of the water by their boat. How would you do it from the bank?

[MaineBassFishin]

I tried this in my backyard and it didn't work out so well. I came back inside and watched some more vids on it and realized I'm standing on the "water" and this is the reason it wasn't working for me. How do you clear the ground/water with the tip of your rod if fishing level with the water? I noticed on the vids I watched all the guys were elevated off of the water by their boat. How would you do it from the bank?

stand on a Bucket or small stool?

[jslacker]

That would work for practice in the backyard but I'm not going to be standing ona bucket out fishing lol

[Kyle Mahaffey]

Try to find some place where its a little higher...I found a small mond that is like a foot higher, so I just on top of that.

[AK-Jax86]

your neighbors r gonna think u r crazy standing in your back yard standing on a bucket with a fishing rod and lure practicing in no water lol

[jrsmith_80]

I practiced while we were out camping, standing on a picnic table. Irritant have a truck, try standing in the bed of it as well. Or from a elevated porch deck.

[Long Mike]

I fish from my boat, so I practice in my back yard while standing on a metal patio end table. They neighbors on either side of me have given up on ribbing me. I would hate to practice while standing on the bank. That must be a real P.I.T.A.

[K_Mac]

I generally "fish" off my back porch, though I have lately been pitching from my driveway, yard, street, wherever the fish take me, to work on keeping my bait low to the ground without hitting it. It takes a little practice, but there is no reason that pitching can't be done from the waters edge as long as there is a little room to maneuver.

Long Mike my neighbors think my fishing in the yard is odd. I think having the neighbors wondering if I am not quite right keeps things more interesting.

[wisconsin heat]

That would work for practice in the backyard but I'm not going to be standing ona bucket out fishing lol

When pitching from the bank, all you have to do is not lower the rod so much, you need a little more flick of the wrist but It shouldn't be too hard, just takes some practice (like everything else). flipping from bank is the same but i don't really do it that much.

[logan9209]

It's easy not to hit the ground with your rod. Now they recommend using a 7'-7'6" rod for it, but I'm using a 6'6". After I wrote the OP I practiced for another 3 hours. Got so good with the 15' bucket that I moved it to the 30' range and just practiced with 25' and 30'. I actually found my self going past the 30' bucket a few times. So it can be done. My yard needs mowed and I have some weed like plants (dandelion?) all over it. If I can pitch through all of those into buckets at that distance then pitching from the bank will be easy.

Another thing about the rod tip is I don't let the rod tip drop below my knee level. I rely on the pendulum effect where I let go of the lure somewhere near chest level as I'm quickly bringing the rod to the 10 o'clock position (11 for longer distances). I, also, opted for turning my breaks off and having no tension on my spool. Out of the 4 hours I practiced I only bird's nested one time. This way I'm not only learning a new technique, but I am learning to use my thumb to control the spool. When you are dropping the 1/2 ounce jig into a bucket with very little noise then you are doing good.

As far as neighbors go......I could really care less what they think. They see me out fishing in all kind of weather and a lot of hours of the day, so they are used to me being "dedicated" as some have put it. I can't allow what other people think hinder me from being the best bass fisherman that I can be. Besides, it's far better than trying to practice in my house where there are breakable stuff..

The really cool but odd thing I found was that even though I cast and reel with my right hand (I know that some of you just groaned), I found pitching with my left hand and holding the lure with my right to be extremely natural. I also found that holding the lure just a little bit higher in comparison to the reel helped with those longer pitches while just a little lower helped with the shorter pitches.

[logan9209]

Oh, I did have one person who was walking her dog say "You know there's no fish in those buckets?". Naturally being the polite person I am I said "Yes there is!". To be great at what you do you have to sometimes take extreme measures. Anyways, I had my back to the road so other than her, I didn't notice anyone else. It was a fun experience for me and it gives me another "weapon" in my arsenal against big mouth momma and her cousin small mouth momma.

[Deleted account]

STOP INTERRUPTING ME YOU STUPID BASS!!!...CAN'T YOU SEE I'M PRACTICING!!!

[J Francho]

I tried this in my backyard and it didn't work out so well. I came back inside and watched some more vids on it and realized I'm standing on the "water" and this is the reason it wasn't working for me. How do you clear the ground/water with the tip of your rod if fishing level with the water? I noticed on the vids I watched all the guys were elevated off of the water by their boat. How would you do it from the bank?

Use less line out.

Flip, pitch, and flip-punch:

[islandbass]

I tried this in my backyard and it didn't work out so well. I came back inside and watched some more vids on it and realized I'm standing on the "water" and this is the reason it wasn't working for me. How do you clear the ground/water with the tip of your rod if fishing level with the water? I noticed on the vids I watched all the guys were elevated off of the water by their boat. How would you do it from the bank?

stand on a Bucket or small stool?

If you know you're going to be fishing from the shore, it makes absolutely no sense to practice on a stool. Why, because you won't have that extra elevation in the real world.

As someone who fishes from the shore 99.99999% of the time, I can tell you the mechanics are no different for pitching or flipping. I do it all the time. All you need is a little more practice. Also, starting a slightly shorter length of line can help and when not going directly from pitch to another non stop, I have found that it actually helps to be holding your lure with your opposite hand at or just below hip height. Bam, nuff said... Now get it done.

[MaineBassFishin]

If you know you're going to be fishing from the shore, it makes absolutely no sense to practice on a stool. Why, because you won't have that extra elevation in the real world.

As someone who fishes from the shore 99.99999% of the time, I can tell you the mechanics are no different for pitching or flipping. I do it all the time. All you need is a little more practice. Also, starting a slightly shorter length of line can help and when not going directly from pitch to another non stop, I have found that it actually helps to be holding your lure with your opposite hand at or just below hip height. Bam, nuff said... Now get it done.

I misread the part about fishing from shore calm down...

[jkarol24]

That would work for practice in the backyard but I'm not going to be standing ona bucket out fishing lol

Ha my neighbor caught me once flipping and pitching to the trees in my yard. He thinks im crazy...

[new2BC4bass]

Use less line out.

Flip, pitch, and flip-punch:

I tried to play the video you provided, but it says it is private.

[jslacker]

X2

[slonezp]

I fish from my boat, so I practice in my back yard while standing on a metal patio end table. They neighbors on either side of me have given up on ribbing me. I would hate to practice while standing on the bank. That must be a real P.I.T.A.

And all this time I thought you were a man

[new2BC4bass]

I thought turning your brakes off and minimizing spool tension was the correct way. Thanks for the other tips. I practiced it last spring off my rear porch deck using my grandson's 6' MH Lightning/Daiwa Procaster. It was fun, but I've never used the technique on the water. Of course I realize the combo would be a normal person's last choice, but I had just gotten the reel back from cleaning...it had never been spooled...the combo was a gift to my grandson...and I wanted to see how the reel performed. I have to say that I was impressed by it. Got the reel on closeout for something like $30. Feels solid. I actually like how it palms.

Back on topic. I forget what the longest distance I got with it, but I know I was consistently getting 30' after a little practice. However, I didn't practice enough to get the accuracy you are getting. Will have to see what my Zillion 7'6" Flip and Pitch rod with TD-Z 103HL Type R can do.

[logan9209]

Yeah, I really need to get a 7' or 7'6 rod for flipping. I'm sure I can get more distance with a little less effort. To show you that not all reels are created equal, my pinnacle reel ($40) doesn't like it when I have the mag brakes off. Heck, I have to cast with it all the way up. My Quantum Lite reel is loving the brakes at 2 when casting and 0 when flipping. I don't get it really. The pinnacle has 7 bearings where the quantum has only 2.

I'm no where close to being accurate yet, but I do get it within 6" in any direction of my target. Another problem I am having is that I only get a silent entry into the water maybe 15% of the time. But, I think with less than one day of practicing I am doing pretty good. I just have to remember to keep it up while figuring out how to stay cool (temp wise).

Also, I think the action of the rod makes a lot of difference. My quantum lite tip doesn't bend a whole lot, but my skakespeare rod does. So, I'm thinking that the less flexible the rod tip is the less likely you are to throw a birds nest when flipping. I could be way off based but that's just from my observation.

Since this afternoon, I am wondering if flipping soft plastics in my lake would be better than jigs. My lake is ate up with weeds and I'm not sure a jig would be a good choice. I need to cut down the skirt a little so that might make a difference. Sorry, I'm getting into a whole different topic.

[logan9209]

Oh, and slonezp, your reply has completely went over my head......

[slonezp]

Oh, and slonezp, your reply has completely went over my head......

A poor attempt to poke fun at long mike

I practice in my back yard while standing on a metal patio end table.

I should lay off the Makers Mark

[Lund Explorer]

So how tall are these buckets?

For your next step, you may want to consider using paper plates. As another part of flipping/pitching is for the bait to enter the water without a lot of splash, it will give you the chance to chance to practice laying your lure onto "surface" rather than dropping it into a bucket that could be 24" or so above your target. You can also reduce the size of your target which will increase accuracy.

I couldn't find the video, but I can remember several pros talking about practice pitching into a coffee cup. Here's a clip of a guy doing just that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0DV1NaG-Hw