How Many Pitches/flips Do You Do In An Hour

[68camaro]

I spent some time pitching a verticle jig just off shore today into pads in local pond. It seems a technique based alot on luck, either you pitch on or by fish or not.

If this is true, to increase your odds you need to maximize number of pitches. If so, how many pitches and/or flips do you do in an hour? Do you pitch taking your time or kinda rush in increase number of pitches.

If I am all wrong in my original premise, let me know.

[bassinhole]

You're dead on. It is a numbers game. If you don't get a hit on the fall, yo yo your bait a few times, maybe play with it at the weed surface. Then pitch to a new spot. The more presentations you make the better. That is one very good use of super high speed reels 8:1 or higher. They allow for more rapid pitching/flipping thereby gaining an angler a few extra presentations a day.  They also help to sled fish across the top of the water when pulling them out of the thick stuff. 

 

Flipping/pitching is not a beginner level skill. It takes a great deal of confidence in the bait you are using and patience.  You can expect to get very few bites in a day, but the ones you do get should be on average larger than you will see with other presentations. 

[MidwestF1sh]

You're right on! Like stated above, I pitch it and let it fall till the bottom. Yo yo it quick twice then burn it back and pitch a little bit over and repeat.

[K_Mac]

Catching fish consistantly pitching is a skill that has little to do with luck. I agree it is a numbers game in the sense that keeping your bait in the stike zone is important, but that may or may not be a function of the number of pitches. Location is job one. Once you know where they are, bait selection and placement come into play. Having done that properly, if they are taking it on the initial drop, you are good to go. Maybe they want it on the second or third movement or drop though. Now speed and cadence are key. My point is, 10 pitches done well will catch more bass than many times that number done incorrectly. As bassinhole said, it is not a beginners technique. When it's right though, it is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. A big fish on a short line will test your equipment, skills and temperament. Good luck!

[68camaro]

Thanks all. I am beginner for sure, there are nice sized bass under pads along shore of my ponds, but finding them is tough. It sounds Like I just need to be more patient and stick with technique with reward of bigger, but fewer fish.

[68camaro]

Also, I pitch out about 3 - 7 feet from shore, which is end of pad edge. Sometimes I pitch past pad edge and let jig naturally swim back under rod.

This sound correct.

[Catt]

Quit fishing the vegetation & strat fishing the structure under it!

Then you'll have put the odds in your favor

[68camaro]

Quit fishing the vegetation & strat fishing the structure under it!

Then you'll have put the odds in your favor

These are small local ponds and there are not structures I can find. Its pretty shallow for several feet out, but there are no docs or trees in water. There are bushes overhanging in areas but I cannot get to these areas. I have caught nice bass with frogs and swimming jigs in the shoreline pads.

[HoosierHawgs]

These are small local ponds and there are not structures I can find. Its pretty shallow for several feet out, but there are no docs or trees in water. There are bushes overhanging in areas but I cannot get to these areas. I have caught nice bass with frogs and swimming jigs in the shoreline pads.

That's cover, as are the pads. What he is referring to as "structure" is things like shoreline and bottom contours, creek channels, bends, ect.

[WIGuide]

Although I'm sure you can catch fish pitchin/flippin from the bank I really think it's a technique more suited for fishing from a boat. Catt's advice is some you should listen to. You're getting cover confused with structure. Cover is something that will hold a fish such as vegetation, a dock, a stump a log. Structure is the makeup of the lake bottom and it generally comprised of drop offs ditches humps as well as bottom composition. What catt was referring to, is structure under the pads. See if you can find a spot that has a little ditch running through it, or find a hard spot somewhere in there. Any little irregularity has a much better chance of holding fish than just a straight flat bottom with pads

[Catt]

There is always "structure" you just don't know how to identify it!

Any slight change in bottom depth, bottom composition, changes in types of vegetation are just a few things to look for.

Do a google search for structure bassresource

[gulfcaptain]

I agree with Catt, just pitching to endless areas of vegetation you will catch a few.  Look for something that stands out.  Something different then the rest.  Edges of two different types of vegetation come together.  A spot where the pads don't go out as far, a point, shade line, wood and pads.  I do a lot of pitching into ponds filled with grass, but I target the areas that I feel hold the best chance of connecting.  And I do  a lot of pitching, a couple hops of the bait and then may drop it 2ft into the next spot.  There is always some kind of structure and if you can find the stucture and cover together those are going to be your high productive areas.  Also if it's clear enough, look at what is around where the pads grow after they die off.  See if you can see anything under the water which you can take a mental note of and target that area when they grow the next year.

[Catch and Grease]

Alot.

But you do still need to aim, anglers that are good at flipping and pitching know which little nooks and crannys are more likely to hold a bass, they might stop and pick one spot apart but the next spot only make one pitch/flip then hit a different spot

[Catt]

Another mistake I see my students make is when they catch one they never make follow up cast to the exact same spot!

Two weeks ago I caught 11 in a row casting to an area about 12' in diameter.

[J Francho]

Whether you pitch, flip, roll cast, side arm, chuck and duck, or whatever cast you use… it matters little unless your bait is in the strike zone of a biting fish. What Catt and others are saying is "learn to read the water." There's always structure- it's the bottom of the lake. There's always bottom composition. Sometimes there's cover. Shoreline vegetation can give you clues to structure and composition. So can the "edges" of submersed vegetation. Pads like soft bottom. When they stop, figure out why. Too deep? Well, that's a drop off, or structure. Or, is the bottom hard? That's a change in bottom composition. Look for smaller structural features. Shoreline had a stand of trees, then dips a bit and has mucky shrubs? I'll bet there's a small channel under the water there, formed when rain water flows in. Think of it in this frame of mind, and you'll be better at finding bass.

[stkbassn]

If this pond isn't filled with super tight-lipped fish then why bother with all of that mess? Why not chuck a spinnerbait, topwater, wakebait, and have fun?

[F14A-B]

bassinhole said: You can expect to get very few bites in a day, but the ones you do get should be on average larger than you will see with other presentations.

I would disagree with this, fish of all types & sizes bury up in hydrilla. I've also had 40 fish day in central Florida flipping.. Hydrilla also opens up a good deal, gotta get thru it though. July in Florida it's plenty thick on top but still opens up underneath.. 85% of my strikes occurred on the initial drop or splashdown. In a boat, I'd say average can be 3 to 4 flips per minute.. With pitching, maybe 1 to 2 per minute, there are many types of cover where what I just said is null & void. Example: recently flooded bushes on the lake or picnic tables at the beach area.. Lotsa variables on how many flips or pitches per minute/ per hour. Flipping & pitching is really a casting technique, when you use these methods & how finely honed your fish locating methods are will better determine your end results. ( not necessarily how many flips )

Best of skill..( not luck )

[Fishes in trees]

IMO - measuring casts per hour is a meaningless statistic  Too many variables to make it meaningful, without a lot more information.   Focus your attention on evaluating the current situation, what ever that might be and trying to make the best cast possible in that instant.  Fish it until you're done.  Then do it again.  Fish the moment, not the memory.   You can evaluate what the fish are doing, but you can't "dictate". . . . . . Sorry, went zen for a moment . . . .

 

When I'm out fishing, I only get to go once a week, sometimes I find myself thinking too much . . . That is a perfect moment to pause and pop a top.  Current favorite is Founders All Day IPA.

[Catch and Grease]

If this pond isn't filled with super tight-lipped fish then why bother with all of that mess? Why not chuck a spinnerbait, topwater, wakebait, and have fun?

Flipping and pithing is one of the most fun ways to catch largemouth IMO ...

[stkbassn]

Flipping and pithing is one of the most fun ways to catch largemouth IMO ...[/quote

To each his own, nothing wrong with it.

[Glenn]

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

 

[scaleface]

When I'm pitching I generally work the worm / jig  way past the visible cover . I'll often hop it all the way back in . 

[68camaro]

Wow, thanks all for the great info on differences between "structure" and "cover", I had no idea, plus the hints to flippin/pitchiin. Drinks are on me at my house

[Catt]

Instead of looking at a body of water from the surface down angler who consistently catch look at it from the bottom up!

[Bankbeater]

I don't have a clue how many pitches or flips I make in an hour.  I worry more about where I should pitch and flip.