Something To Flip Over

Use of a long rod and heavy line to gently drop the very weedless offering into tiny openings within the heavy cover is termed flippin'. With an underhand swing, the angler can cast into cover that's impossible to fish with conventional methods. He can maneuver his boat in the heavy cover and sneak to within a few feet of the bass that is secluded in the dense habitat. When a largemouth grabs the bait, the stout rod will provide the leverage needed to hoist it out of the weeds before an entanglement occurs. Flippin' is hard work, but it is also extremely productive. Anglers tire easily when using the heavy bait and long rod if they are not in decent physical shape. The exercise does get you away from the crowds that simply cast the edge of a weed mass. Bass will usually escape that kind of pressure by moving further back into the thick of it. Bass in the heavy cover won't chase a bait far. They are not aggressive as would be feeders moving over a flat with sparse cover. These bass make their home in the thick aquatic undergrowth. The flippin' method has been around for years, but it was not practiced significantly until a couple of California professional anglers won several national bass tournaments with that technique. Dee Thomas and Dave Gliebe were so successful in east-for-cash events they provided the inspiration and incentive for anglers throughout the country to try the new system. Now, many professional and novice fishermen employ the technique and equipment under the appropriate conditions. Heavy aquatic vegetation and brush are indicative of great potential for largemouth bass. The denser the cover, the better for most fisheries. Lily pads, bullrushes, reeds, saw-grass, etc., all have the ability to become thick masses of seemingly impenetrable cover. Bass will burrow far under such thick growth to find protection from their predators above, ample shade from the sun's rays and food. They can easily ambush prey from their positions deep in the vegetation and they enjoy forage such as frogs, freshwater shrimp, panfish, minnows, eels, crayfish and other items from the weed menu. With the abundance of food in the vegetation-infested areas, there is little doubt why so many bass congregate here most of their life. Such a refuge is enviable to us anglers. But we can sneak up on these secluded bass haunts and coax a few (or many) fish to strike. The paddle, push pole or more commonly, the electric motor with weedless prop, can be used to get near some of the lake's biggest bass. The most inaccessible places often yield the most largemouth also because many anglers are lazy. They won't put forth the effort needed to find a bass concentration. When bass set up home in the thick weeds, they lose some of their wariness. Sounds that would spook a deep water concentration have little effect on those that are weed-bound. The angler can get amazingly close to a fish buried in the dense cover. I have run my trolling motor into reeds and, once the motor was shut off, caught bass within a foot of where the propeller had gnawed a stalk. It is still to the angler's advantage to keep unnatural sounds to a minimum when moving the boat about the heavy cover. 
Technique: Flippin' consists of lowering a bait into holes in dense vegetation. The method is very efficient at presenting the lure to weed-bound largemouth, since very little time is required to replace the bait into another pocket. The lure is seldom out of productive water, as it might be when using the conventional casting method. The angler, standing near the trolling motor controls, jigs the bait up and down in an attempt to arouse the interest of a nearby bass. Ten feet of line is stripped off the reel to allow adequate flip coverage. If right handed, the left hand will control the line and the right will handle the rod. The left hand should grasp the line between the reel and the first line guide and pull the lure to within five feet of the rod tip. The right hand will then move the rod tip to swing the bait toward the pocket within the vegetation. As the lure approaches its target, the left hand releases its grasp on the additional line, allowing the bait to free-fall into the bass home. With practice, you'll learn to release the line at the right time in order for the lure to land perfectly on target. Allow the bait to drop to the bottom before moving it. Jig it several times and hang on to the rod tight. The reel drag should be tightened to eliminate any hint of a drag. When the lure has settled to the bottom and you feel the tell tale tap you'll have to be ready for a battle. If there is no response to the offering, grab the line in your left hand and pick up the bait, again to within a few feet of the rod tip. When manipulating the rod in heavy cover, excess line from the tip will become tangled easily. This can be very frustrating. As you pull the line in, let it fall on the casting platform of the boat. It will be out of the way of the heavy cover that surrounds the craft. As you move from cover in four feet of water to other cover in seven, a few feet of additional line will have to be pulled from the reel for continued optimal operation. As you place the lure in pockets further or closer to the boat, the amount of line out may require adjustment also. It is a fairly easy technique in which to become proficient.
The fish may sock the lure hard or stop it and just hold on. It may mouth it or run with the morsel. When a bass grabs the bait simply set the hook quickly and haul it over the gunnel. Equipment most flippin' advocates prefer to use rods that are at least seven feet long and have plenty of backbone. Special-made rods, called pitch-in' or flippin' rods, are designed for maximum leverage and power in the rugged terrain to which it's exposed. Conventional rods of shorter lengths will suffice, but they do have disadvantages in both the presentation of a bait and in the retrieve of a catch. A stout butt with backbone and a flexible tip to quickly set the hook are specific requirements for these types of rods. When the bass is close and green, his initial power surge will snap rods not up to the task of hauling out the fish. The bass will quickly bury itself in the nearby dense jungle, never to be seen if its head can't be powered upward immediately. While any type reel can be used, most flip-pin' pros use the baitcasting variety. Positive drag and thumb control are the advantages to such equipment. A line that won't twist during a power surge that pulls out a tightened drag may be important to the baitcasting flippers that are successful on trophy bass.
Line: The line used in flippin' should be a premium quality, abrasion-resistant monofila-ment testing 20 to 30 pound break strength. It should be low stretch and tough enough to survive the constant interaction with heavy weed growth. The heavy line will help to prevent breakoffs that may occur as you set the hook with vigor. The shock over four to 10 feet of line is significant, and the line must be up to the task. 
Lures: The most popular flippin' baits are plastic worms, rigged Texas-style. The Fishin' Worm Salty Flipper is a 10-inch plastic wiggler designed expressly for flippers. In heavy cover, the two side wings can be removed to ease penetration of the target area. The bullet sinker is usually pegged for this vertical fishing. A heavy hook that won't straighten easily is used and the size may vary from 3/0 to 6/0. Trophy bass in tight quarters can produce enormous power that will over stress a lightweight hook. The slip sinker preferred by many flippin' pros is the 1/2 ounce version, but often a lighter (3/8 ounce) or heavier (3/4 ounce) model may be required. The size of weight will depend on the cover being penetrated and the flippin' angler's success at working the lure properly. The sinker is pegged with a toothpick so that it won't wander away from the Salty Flipper. The oil used to mask human scent and to attract fish is beneficial to the worm-flippin' man also. The slippery worms will more easily drop through the heavy thicket, whether you're fishing bullrushes or other vegetation masses. Worms that become dry will cling to the cover and loose sinkers will cause hangups. Avoid both. The size of the Salty Flipper can vary, depending on the density of the cover. By pinching off a segment or two, the length can be reduced, which will help the curl tail flutter as the bait descends. The stock model, though, may be ideal for most situations. Thin curl-tail worms often wrap around the stalks of bull-rushes and other emergent aquatic vegetation and then tear when pulled free. Too soft a texture could result in the hook penetrating the worm prematurely and becoming hung. Worm colors preferred by many are black, grape, chocolate brown or purple. These colors or a combination cast a more pronounced silhouette in the subdued lighting that is prevalent in the jungles. The bass will be close, though, and won't have to take too much time to inspect the offering. Movement is the key to the success of any bait flipped into heavy cover. Jig-and-eels work well under such circumstances. The jig heads leading the pork or rubber trailer into the bad habitat is usually equipped with an effective weed guard. 
Top Locations: The technique of flippin' works best in extremely heavy cover. Shallow areas of lakes with very little nearby deep structure are ideal for the method. Such waters are sometimes weedy on their perimeter and barren in the middle or deeper areas. Bass will be located in the weed cover on these lakes pretty much year around. On other waters, the shoreline vegetation may harbor concentrations primarily in the spring and fall, and briefly during summer. Vegetation that becomes matted up or knocked over to form a dense jungle of sorts is ideal structure to flip. If the area appears impenetrable, this is prime habitat for the largemouth. Try the thickest cover first and then work the more sparse aquatic terrain. When two or three types of vegetation coexist, try the denser variety initially, then work the area where they intersect. Establish a pattern as quickly as possible, so you can move on to a series of potentially productive spots. The flippin' technique is most successful in off-color waters, those stained naturally or by rain runoff. Bass are easier to approach in the murky surroundings. The entrances to tributaries often are excellent spots to find good water color and hungry largemouth. Fish the shady side of any cover that you come across. That's where bass will try to hide. Likewise, they'll move further inside a weed mass during a pounding wind. They don't like to be jostled about by wave action. Some turbulence is acceptable and will help mask the angler's approach.  Emergent vegetation is a particularly productive flippin' area. The taller and thicker the weed growth, the better. Thick clumps often grow in fairly deep water hundreds of yards off a shoreline. They are hardy and provide valuable protection to the fish using them. They normally grow in sandy soil. Clean bottoms are preferred to the ones covered with silt and other dying nutrients. Values of pH are most often ideal in such areas and any vegetation will keep it that way. Spawning activity can take place in these areas, which will also attract those bass living in the depths. Most weed masses will have their thickest stands near shore. Shallower water promotes this characteristic. Anglers should try all depths of the cover and not pass by even those weeds in 18 inches of water. They often hold bass. Weed and brush points and pockets within a mass of cover often are used by bass to ambush their forage. A drop in depth within the thicket is another excellent structure that often holds fish. Fish the cuts into the cover for maximum action. Lily pads, hydrilla, reeds and most other forms of aquatic vegetation have concentrations of bass awaiting the flippin' angler. The action is always exciting, and especially so when you hook a lunker.