When pitching , how thoroughly do you fish cover?

[scaleface]

  Watching professional tournament anglers for the past few years I noticed they make a pitch , hop  the lure a  time or two , reel in and hit another spot .They get a lot of pitches in in a short amount of time , in high percentage spots. I work the  cover way more thoroughly . Bounce that bait through as much as I can and even hop it after it has cleared visible cover  . A lot of  fish come after the lure has left the cover and I often work it all the way in .Its not unusual to catch a  bass  on the last hop right at the boat . How bout you guys ?

[Bankbeater]

It depends on the type of cover, and how aggressive the bass are biting.  Fishing around logs I will work the bait a little and then bring it back in because the bass can see it easier.  If I am fishing water willows or coontail I'll bring the bait back more slowly and give it more action so the bass can find it easier.

[BigAngus752]

8 minutes ago, scaleface said:

A lot of  fish come after the lure has left the cover

I totally agree with this, or at least can attest that I've caught many, many bass in an area that looks from above like it's between the laydown and the boat.  All of our water is so stained that I can't say for sure that there wasn't another little stick-up of something that the bass was on in an area that appeared to me to be "away" from the cover.  But my impression is generally that the fish followed the lure out.  And of course I've caught fish that picked up my lure and swam it directly toward me...which results in me making funny choking sounds while reeling so hard I break my own wrist...

 

I've thought the same thing when watching the pros.  "Seriously?! One pitch to that laydown and he's moving on?!"

[flyfisher]

Tourney anglers time is of the essence so unless they found a pattern where the fish are needing baits presented slowly and thoroughly they are looking for those activities e fish, especially early in the day when trying to fill the limit.  

Me personally, I work a piece of cover pretty thoroughly but not to the point of boredom.  I can also say that if you are working a laydown and it hits near the boat, i can promise you the tree is under the boat then.  I was amazed when i got my sidescan at just how far out the majority of letdowns extend into the water.

[Mobasser]

I like to do work my baits similar to your method. I work them slower around wood cover, and have caught fish that follow the baits away from cover also

[Shimano_1]

I'll work the cover pretty quickly til I catch a cple fish and get the confidence that they're in the cover. Once I know they're there and eating what I'm throwing I'll slow way down and pick it apart. I do believe you will catch more fish consistently by covering more water than slowing way down

[Chance_Taker4]

I fished as a co angler for a handful of years and was very unsuccessful at it but when I bought my first boat I started placing decently and getting paid out. The difference for me was what this topic is all about. As a co 90% of my boaters wanted to pitch and flip as fast as the pros. Trolling motor on the highest setting if they were getting bit on the fall they would reel in and move on. For me I sit and dissect every angle of the cover. I am leaving my bait in the area for a longer period of time and working it all the way back to me. I will also make multiple casts into the same cover. For me multiple casts into the same cover and taking my time in each cover has produced bigger fish as well.

[Shimano_1]

1 hour ago, Chance_Taker4 said:

I fished as a co angler for a handful of years and was very unsuccessful at it but when I bought my first boat I started placing decently and getting paid out. The difference for me was what this topic is all about. As a co 90% of my boaters wanted to pitch and flip as fast as the pros. Trolling motor on the highest setting if they were getting bit on the fall they would reel in and move on. For me I sit and dissect every angle of the cover. I am leaving my bait in the area for a longer period of time and working it all the way back to me. I will also make multiple casts into the same cover. For me multiple casts into the same cover and taking my time in each cover has produced bigger fish as well.

I can see how this would definitely change your opinion. However,  dont you need to know they're home before you spend all that time slowing down? I have an older buddy who will soak a zoom worm around every piece of cover he comes to. Painstakingly slow. Does he catch fish? Absolutely and some good ones. I've consistently out fished him on most any water we fish by covering a lot more water than he does. Like I said...once I catch a cple I'll do exactly like you're saying and dissect it from every angle. I dont think it's as simple as either slow way down and pick it apart or burn through it with trolling motor on high. There are other factors that help me determine how I approach it.

[Michigander]

I used to fish cover pretty quickly and efficiently but that was because I didn't have shallow water anchors or a GPS anchor like SpotLock. I got an Xi5 last season and it totally changed how I fish when pitching cover. I'm finding that multiple presentations are what is triggering most of my bites now. I just couldn't do that before with the boat moving. So now its a mix of thoroughly fishing an area but still covering water. 

 

I think the reason the pros mostly go quick is because they are hitting the high percentage areas looking for highly productive areas. High percentage areas are just ones that are more likely to hold fish, they are seeking ones that actually do. 

[Catt]

When pitching , how thoroughly do you fish cover?

 

Depends on the cover; is it grass, timber, laydowns, brush etc. 

 

Is the cover isolated?

 

Until I establish a pattern I'm pretty thorough.

[Mobasser]

Some guys get under a lot of pressure in tournaments. They may not even know they're moving too quick. I like to take a little more time. If I don't get bit pitching at one spot, so what? Move onto the next one

There used to be a guy who fished early B. A. S. S. events named John Powell. He was sponsored by Creme tackle. He fished a plastic worm most of the time, about as fast as it could be fished. Cast to a good looking spot, hop the worm once or twice, then make another cast to a new spot closeby.  He was always and only looking for the fastest biting bass. If he didn't get a strike in one or two hops, he quickly moved on. He did well fishing this way. But, if you don't have to fish this fast, it may be better to work the spots over more carsfully. That's what's worked for me.

[scaleface]

I watched Keith Combs just awhile ago, pitching at a  line of woody cover in this cove .  Probably would have taken me five minutes to go through it  , he did it in one minute . Pros sure am dum .?

[the reel ess]

I think they slow it down in colder water. I'm either in the kayak or with my buddy in his boat. Either way, I'm usually moving and only get a couple pitches at best. 90% of the time, the fish will bite on the drop near the target. But if it's very calm or it's a pattern that's working, I'll fish it longer.

 

The guide I fished with in FL told me to pitch it in, bump it twice and if there was nothing on it, pull out and pitch to another spot. But I've had bass bite the jig as I reeled it back.

[JediAmoeba]

All the pros are going fast until one of them kicks butt in a tournament by picking apart each piece of cover...and then you will see a whole bunch of the others follow suit.  

[928JLH]

Depends if it's a fun fishing or tournament day. Fun fishing I'll definitely make more casts and thoroughly work cover more. Tournament I'm covering water quickly. More casts more bass for a reaction bite.

[Log Catcher]

I like to spend time working cover and working it most of the way back to the boat. There have been times I found out the fish were holding further off the bank than normal like this. I have caught fish reeling the bait back in.

[DitchPanda]

Im a bank bound guy..because of this I'm not able to get to a lot of cover so I'm very thorough and really milk a good looking piece for all its worth..can't tell you how many times I've caught a good one after working the same little area for 20 or 30 minutes

[Mobasser]

Some of the better bass anglers I've known in my lifetime slowed down when they worked heavy cover areas. They may have started with a faster bait, but worked thick cover thourougly, before moving on, especially thick cover areas close by deeper water. These spots always warrant some extra time spent. Also, the follow up pitch or cast, is always good too. It seems like slowing down in general is hard for lots of bass anglers anymore.

[scaleface]

On 2/8/2020 at 7:36 AM, BigAngus752 said:

 

I've thought the same thing when watching the pros.  "Seriously?! One pitch to that laydown and he's moving on?!"

 Thats what I'm getting at . I see them all the time barely hit a good looking spot that has more than one  area  for a bass to be hiding . Pitch the lure in , hop it once or twice , lift it and hit the next spot , leaving the piece of cover largely untouched .  Only time I do  that is when the wind is blowing me by .

[Tony johnson]

I fish on a bass tracker 16ft alum boat... since I don't have spot lock yet I tend to fish cover pretty quick esp if there is any wind... once I find them I will even drop my anchor to really work a area or just make a few passes through the area

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Flip it in, give it a dangle, move and repeat

[RemyL]

The couple pros I watch seem to work fast until they find a spot or bait that is working then slow down and work that. They're looking for the active fish and the right bait for those fish. Most of them talk about how they have baits they use that rarely catch fish but seem to get attention. They work those fast to see if the fish are active then come back with something else until they get real bites. But until they are getting actively biting fish they move fast. They don't really clarify why but like folks said, I think it's a time and pressure thing. They HAVE to catch fish, so if a spot isn't producing, move. Wasting half an hour picking it apart and trying four baits could cost you a lot of money compared to moving on down the water and finding a spot where the fish are awake and eating.

[RHuff]

I usually flip right in the heart of the cover first and then in front of it, behind it, to the left of it, then to the right of it lol

[Sam]

As stated above, it depends.

 

Sometimes I will pitch and flip to a target 20 to 25 times because I just believe there is a bass somewhere in the target area.

 

Other times I say "screw it" and just move on after five casts to a target.

 

Too many variables involved to have one overall pattern for every situation: Wind, water color, water temperature, cold front moved through yesterday, sunny or cloudy, type of structure, its depth, my attitude at the time, and the type of bait I am throwing all play a role in how many times I throw to a specific target within a target.

 

It takes time on the water to figure out an answer to your question.

[813basstard]

Time is the biggest factor. A lot will get 5 bites quickly and then come back and really dissect. 
Many pros will like 1 log or 1 rock or limb etc on a spot. They’ll hit it, nothing, leave, come back hours later and hit it once more. Then they repeat this if needed sometimes on multiple spots.