Punching Heavy Cover

[.dsaavedra.]

did a brief search and didn't come up with much, other than a few people mentioning that they punch grass to get to fish.

i'd like to know more about this technique. what gear do you use (rod, reel, line) what line, what hooks and weights, and what baits.

where do you use this technique, and in what type of cover (grass, lily pads, etc)

what exactly do you do while punching grass?

i'm not sure if my 7' M power F action st. croix avid will be able to handle punching grass.

[FD.]

Steel cable and a broomstick!

65 lb power pro and a 7-9 elite tech swimbait rod with a 7.1 to 1 reel.  I like a 1.5 oz tungsten, 5-0 ewg superline hook, and a streamlined bait like a sweet beaver or crawdaddy.

Anywhere you have topped out or matted vegetation.  Hydrilla, Maidencane or pads.  Pitch or flip into the thickest, nastiest stuff you can find.  Watch your line as it goes down.  The bite is usually on the fall.  A twitch in you line or just a tick is usually all you will notice.

[fishfordollars]

I use a MH or heavy/fast tip 7' Allstar flippin stick with a Revo SX 7:1.1.

65# Prowerpro braid(No leader)

3/4, 1oz., & 1 1/4 oz. Jig

Ole monster with a 1 oz. or larger weight.

Depends on the thickness of the mat and have on occasion had to pitch the heavy jig up in the air to get enough down force to break through.

That 7' M rod will not cut it in a lot of the grass we fish. It will end up in 2-3 pieces trying to horse one out.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Punching is just what it sounds like really. Using a heavy weight to punch/tear through matted vegetation to get your lure to bass underneath. Here in FL i punch pads, hydrilla, hyacinths, Kissimmee grass or a mix of all. Weights are always tungsten and size depends on the thickness of the cover you are punching. I use a Powell Max 766H(7' 6" Mag H/Ex F) with a Revo STX in 7:1:1 gear ratio spooled with 65lb FireLine Braid. Hooks are 4/0-5/0 Gamakatsu SuperLine EWG, BPS bobber stops and a craw type lure. Sometimes you really do have to swing the bait up in the air and crash it down on the mat in order to penetrate! Once you get a bite you have to act fast if you want to extract the fish from the cover. Set the hook hard and once the fish is hooked never give it a break or slack line.

[.dsaavedra.]

cool, thanks guys.

bassn, i saw that link earlier today, it was that article (and a recent trip on the potomac river) that got me wanting to start punching.

i've got a 7' HF swimbait rod, rated 1-4oz (with 50lb power pro) from bass pro that i'm sure will handle punching no problem. its just that that rod is very heavy and tiresom to use.... to me its really heavy but i've never used a rod of that class before (other than this one), so it might be just as heavy as the others.

thanks for the tips guys, keep em comin!  

[Bassn Blvd]

Dave, My flipping reel is about 8.5 ounces and my rod is about 7-8 ounces.

My lightest baitcasting combo is; reel 5.6 ounces and rod between 3-4 ounces.

The difference between the two is about 6-7 ounces which doesn't seem much.  The part that gets you worn out is the pitching/flipping part.  You lower back and shoulder blades will definitely need a rub down afterwards.

I can use my flipping rod as a regular worm rod all day without any aches. But if I start flipping with it, then after about 2-3 hours of straight flipping I will feel the aches the next day.  

[JellyMan]

It's an incredible techique! I was fishin with a buddy and came across a small section of pads and weeds. I had a 10' anaconda with a bullet weight on and said "he's in there watch this..." I didnt actually think I'de get hit but as soon as my worm went in those weeds... WHABAAAM!!! I caught a 7lber just joking around in some pads and weeds. They are in there man. They're in there.

Heavy weight, really any good flippin plastic creature, worm, or jig, baitcaster with good drag, 7" and up mh or hvy rod to really get out front to work the bait, 40lb and up braided or 14lb up flouro line, and patience

[Koop]

lol bait barn is sold out of the punching weights  ;D

[Bassn Blvd]

It's an incredible techique! I was fishin with a buddy and came across a small section of pads and weeds. I had a 10' anaconda with a bullet weight on and said "he's in there watch this..." I didnt actually think I'de get hit but as soon as my worm went in those weeds... WHABAAAM!!! I caught a 7lber just joking around in some pads and weeds. They are in there man. They're in there.

Heavy weight, really any good flippin plastic creature, worm, or jig, baitcaster with good drag, 7" and up mh or hvy rod to really get out front to work the bait, 40lb and up braided or 14lb up flouro line, and patience

It's a waste of money buying flouro for punching through  the thick stuff.  

#1- There is so much sht hanging from underneath the plants like roots, grass and muck that the fish aren't going to see your line.

#2. most of the bites you get are going to be reaction bites.

And #14 mono isn't gonna cut it.  Like I said, if you're gonna use mono and be serious about this type of fishing then use #30-#40 mono.

[fishinflip415]

Mono and floro for punching? I've heard it for flipping but nothing under 50lb braid for punching and out here on the cal delta nothing under 65lb. This is not a technique to be using whimpy gear or ur gonna get heart broke. If ur gonna do it and be successful u need to get urself a 7 1/2ft-8ft rod atleast mag heavy. Perferably a 7:1 gear ratio reel with the drag locked down.  Only TUNGSTEN weights and straight shank flipping hooks with a bait keeper. If u use EWG hooks ur gonna loose fish because with that big weight above is going to block the hook from hooking into the fishes skin.  The biggens love being tucked under those mats so u have to be prepared or like I said before u might just watch ur personal best break u off......! 8-)

[Catt]

Grass flipping tips

Maintain contact with your lure at all times, allow the lure to free-fall unrestricted, but without letting slack form in the line; follow your lures down with your rod tip.

Pay close attention to the depth you're flipping, any sudden change in the amount of line you're using could mean you've been bit. For instance, if you're flipping 6 feet of water and the lure suddenly stops at the 3 depth, it's possible a bass has taken the bait. If you're flipping 3 feet of water and 6 feet of line sinks beneath the mat, chances are good a bass is traveling with the bait. This is extremely true on the initial flip and no line movement maybe noticed.

Strikes will sometimes so subtle with no line movement that they can go unnoticed if you feel is a spongy sensation, as if the line suddenly got heavy set the hook.

Flipping matted cover requires compact lures which means worms with no curl tails that can wrap grass stems. Craw worms or creature baits are excellent choices, for worms use straight tails or paddle tails, for jigs any will work but obviously not football heads. In grass shorter is better than longer, I stay 6 or less.

Weights vary according to density of the vegetation, bottom contact is critical

Keep it vertical with flips approximately 8 to 10 feet away max, the farther away the better the odds of hanging in the grass.

Equipment is personal with many opting for high speed reels for taking up line faster while I opt for lower speeds and more power since I don't have that much line out to start with. I use my rod to move line since it will do it faster than any reel.  

Line size varies according to density of the vegetation; I'll use 15# Big Game in sparse grass and 50# braid in matted.

[Willzx225]

I just recently got back from the Potomac myself and had my first true experience with mat flippin.  I had done a bunch of research before I went and here was my set up.

7'6" MH Shimano Crucial flipping stick (actually was probably a little too light for this application)

7.1 Revo STX

80lb Power Pro (recommended by a local friend who had broken 65 more than once)

1 3/8oz and 1 3/4 oz Penetrator weights -depending on tides and location.

Zoom Grass Craw or Gambler BB Cricket- streamline bait

5/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus (had the 4/0 BMF hooks but no BMF barbs and it was more trouble than it was worth since I didn't loose any fish on the WGP in two days - roughly 40 fish)

Another key to remember when punching mats is when you get a bite, do not drop your rod and give the fish slack.  That heavy weight will often cause the fish to drop your bait since it does not feel natural to them.  

Have fun learning that technique.  It is like no other bite.  I love the fact that when you get a bite you never know how big it is or if you will ever see the fish.  ;D

[bocabasser]

Steel cable and a broomstick!

65 lb power pro and a 7-9 elite tech swimbait rod with a 7.1 to 1 reel. I like a 1.5 oz tungsten, 5-0 ewg superline hook, and a streamlined bait like a sweet beaver or crawdaddy.

Anywhere you have topped out or matted vegetation. Hydrilla, Maidencane or pads. Pitch or flip into the thickest, nastiest stuff you can find. Watch your line as it goes down. The bite is usually on the fall. A twitch in you line or just a tick is usually all you will notice.

exactly. the only difference between lee and i, is i always start with the lightest weight possible. i start wih a 3/8 ounce tungsten then i move up to 1/2 and then 1oz. depending on what i am flipping. i peg my weights as well. i also use a smaller hook like a 3/0 ewg gama. another tip is to keep your thumb on the spool when letting the bait drop. once you have penetrated the slop, slowly lower your bait down using your thumb on the spool as control. i like to flip paca craws. i have the most confidence in that bait. when the slop is super thick, i will flip a gambler bb cricket. it goes through the slop easier.

[TheHammer84]

7' Loomis IMX Heavy

7:1 Curado 200E7

65 lb Fireline Tracer Braid

3/4+ ounce Jigs (NO FOOTBALL HEADS)

Like mentioned earlier, do this for a while and your shoulder and back muscles are going to get a serious workout, but if you're catching fish, the quality of bass you pull out is usually worth it.

[.dsaavedra.]

Mono and floro for punching? I've heard it for flipping but nothing under 50lb braid for punching and out here on the cal delta nothing under 65lb. This is not a technique to be using whimpy gear or ur gonna get heart broke. If ur gonna do it and be successful u need to get urself a 7 1/2ft-8ft rod atleast mag heavy. Perferably a 7:1 gear ratio reel with the drag locked down. Only TUNGSTEN weights and straight shank flipping hooks with a bait keeper. If u use EWG hooks ur gonna loose fish because with that big weight above is going to block the hook from hooking into the fishes skin. The biggens love being tucked under those mats so u have to be prepared or like I said before u might just watch ur personal best break u off......! 8-)

this is a good point. its something i overlooked, but makes perfect sense now!

great tips guys, thanks!  

[Bankbeater]

I've found that after you think that you're all the way through, you're usually not. I've had to raise the bait and drop it down 2 or 3 times to punch all of the way through.

[bassnleo]

Don't forget to use a snell knot, makes a world of difference.

Also don't try the punch skirt idea, it dosen't work 8-)

[Catt]

A percentage of the bass you do catch will bury you up so fast you will not even know what happened so when you set hook do it with authority and move that bass to the surface as fast as possible.

Tackle: you don't need a broom stick but you don't want a buggy whip either; I will not tell you what rod, reel, or line to use but keep in mind you will be moving the weight of the bass plus the weight of a large amount of grass said bass will be tangled in.

The main objective is to keep the jig in contact with the bottom at all times, something most anglers fishing grass fail to do. When the jig stops falling many anglers believe they have reached bottom, but from an underwater view with scuba gear the jig has only settled on the thick base stems of the grass. After making a pitch I will strip about 2 or 3 arms lengths of line letting the jig fall near straight down; then I will shake the jig to make sure it has not stop on the grass stems.

Once I get bite I'll quickly kick or toss a buoy marker over board, fish in grass flats tend to school up so when you catch one there is usually more. Circle the buoy in increasing diameters & depths working (I once caught nine 6 lb + bass in an area the size of your living room). You may work 70 yards or 700 yards to locate the fish but when you do hang on!

Punching is used when fishing any matted vegetation

Fishing matted cover requires compact lures which means worms with no curl tails that can wrap grass stems. Craw worms or creature baits are excellent choices, for worms use straight tails or paddle tails, for jigs any will work but obviously not football heads. In grass shorter is better than longer, I stay 6 or less.