How to flip / pitch / cast like a pro

[livemusic]

I have never mastered flipping and pitching. Haven't tried much. But I will now! I do a little flip now and then but mostly cast and I am pretty good at casting. Couple days ago, I witnessed the most incredible display of accuracy I have ever seen. I can't imagine anyone being better than my friend. We finally went fishing together. It was horrendously windy, lake wind advisory in effect, gusts to 35mph. Just a bad day on the water. And cast after cast, this guy put his lure, whatever it was, smack dab into the obvious target. He said he used to practice pitching to a coffee can and I believe him because his bait ended up going right into a spot the size of a coffee can. We were fishing a Cypress tree filled lake and there are obvious targets you want your bait to land. Generally, you want your lure to hit right at the tree trunk. And there will be limbs and stumps and such that create pockets that you can see... there is the target!

Time after time, perfect flip/pitch/cast. To flip/pitch, you pretty much have to stand, and he did. He put his bait into places that blew my mind time and time, unreal! I mean under limbs and such, way back into a tangle of limbs. He also did a lot of casting, and it was ALWAYS underhand or kind of side arm. Never an overhead cast. I take it he does this because he keeps the bait low to the water. And with every single cast, his lure hit the water with barely a ripple. He did this with his thumb. I finally asked him how in the world did you get this good and about his equipment. His rods and reels were nothing special far as I could tell. Maybe 7' rods. All bait casting reels. He said he took all the breaks out of his reels. I guess he has a magic thumb. I still can't believe what I witnessed.

Does anyone know how high the deck of a bassboat sits above water? If you are going to practice, it would need to be at that height.

I will try and get with this friend again and have him give me some instruction! He's hard to catch; until then, any pointers?

I have several baitcasting rigs, including a Cashion 7'6" fast, medium heavy rod and a Lew's reel, a Tournament Pro Speed Spool TP1SHL. I bought this for fishing frogs in cover, and also to learn flipping. I have 60lb braid on it now.

Does anyone flip/pitch using a spinning rig?

Thanks for any insight. My casting is pretty darn accurate, but I love the flip/pitch, and also with my casting, my bait hits the water too hard. Gotta get better at this, I fish lakes with lots of cover above water these days.

[00 mod]

Easiest way to practice. Get a milk crate to stand on and pitch until you are tired at least 3 days a week!

Jeff

[buzzed bait]

yeah a milk crate or a bucket or something of that height to stand on.  i find that an overhead cast for me is just wild and inaccurate and leads to more backlashes than i care to admit.  the sidearm, roll cast with a smooth momentum is my most accurate method for casting.  i am not the world's best caster, believe me, i just know the overhead cast is not my best form.

[K_Mac]

Livemusic I had a similar experience a number of years ago. I thought I knew how to pitch until I fished with a guy who grew up fishing a river system. It was  a very humbling experience. Since then we have spent countless hours fishing together. I am much better now, but I will never be as good as he is getting a bait to nearly impossible spots.

Like throwing darts or shooting a gun, focus is the key. Laser-like focus on the exact spot is key. Too often we throw to an area. This won't work. I know that sounds a simplistic, but it is the most important component IMO. 

Being able to generate enough speed to get to your spot while keeping the bait close to the water takes a lot of practice. It is not a simple movement. Most of the power is generated by your wrist. Dropping the rod tip, and follow though, and spool control take time to learn. 

Spend as much time with your friend as you can, and do what he does! Good luck.

 

[roadwarrior]

A lot of practice will improve your skills dramatically, but there is still a certain degree of talent that some guys have and some don't. You can practice free-throws everyday for the rest of your life and still never be considered for a slot in the NBA.

 

[livemusic]

16 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

A lot of practice will improve your skills dramatically, but there is still a certain degree of talent that some guys have and some don't. You can practice free-throws everyday for the rest of your life and still never be considered for a slot in the NBA.

 

This is definitely true, it is a hand-eye coordination movement and this friend has got it in spades. No wonder this guy catches a lot of fish. His amazing ability that windy day included plastics t-rigged, chatterbait and even a crankbait. Amazing.

Anyone know if the flip/pitch technique can be done with spinning rig? Seems that with baitcast, the thumb on the reel would give much more control. (EDIT: I found some info on flipping with spinning rig after a google search. Yes, it can be done.)

[WRB]

There are lots of vedio's on this topic to get you started with the correct mechanics.

Practice creates muscle memory and hand eye coordination needed to be able replete the casting motion without thinking about it.

First mechanics, second accuracy. Get the casting technique down before trying for accuracy. Start with a hula hoop, then down size to a bucket before trying a coffee can or cup.

Tom

[Catt]

Setup an obstacle course with targets at varying distances & varying size targets.

[FloridaFishinFool]

 

I was curious about which current professional bass fisherman, or fishermen were considered the best at flipping and pitching. I obviously think Denny Brauer is one of the best of all time, and KVD right there with him. But, I also thought Tommy Biffle was one of the best pitchers I had noticed over the years of watching him fish.

So I did a google search for best pitchers out there and I found an old 2009 article where the pro's themselves were asked who they thought was the best at it, and over and over Andy Morgan was chosen as the best flipping/pitcher with Tommy Biffle a close second along a few others chosen fewer times than these guys were.

 

[HookdUP]

You how to get good at anything? Practice - Kobe Bryant 

[PitchinJigz]

19 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Zen master... one of the greatest ever! Denny Brauer!

 

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but isn't Rick Clunn the "zen master?"

[HookdUP]

does clunn have a jig that won me first place last week with 24lbs? I think not . 

[PitchinJigz]

57 minutes ago, HookdUP said:

does clunn have a jig that won me first place last week with 24lbs? I think not .