If you’re a bass angler, you probably already know that bass are a versatile species of fish, and they can be caught at almost any depth – from 1 foot to 100 feet. That’s why it’s essential to have a wide variety of tips, tricks, and techniques in your tackle box so you can learn how to snag more lunkers in almost any condition.

In a new Lucky Tackle Box demo video from Erik Thue, a bass angler from up north, he covers a great shallow water technique that you can use during the spring and summer, when vegetation is high: Flipping & Pitching! In Erik’s video, he demonstrates how to “Flip & Pitch” with a Gambler Flappy Daddy soft plastic lure, teamed up with a MUSTAD tungsten weight kit.

But first, let’s dive into the “Flip & Pitch” two-part technique:

What Is Flipping?

In Flipping, you gather about an arm’s length of extra line in your non-dominant hand. Then, you use the momentum of the bait and the swing of the rod to guide your line and lure into heavy cover, shallow target areas that are close in proximity.

What Is Pitching?

In Pitching – which is probably the more popular option – you hold the bait in your hand and point the rod towards your target zone. Then, you drop the bait and allow its momentum to pull line off the reel and carry the bait to the target location.

For many bass anglers, “Flipping & Pitching” is a two-part technique that’s essential to master, as it allows you to get up close and personal to the bass in the strike zone, and cover a lot of water with minimal casts. That’s also what makes it a perfect tool for bank fishing, as well as fishing from a boat.

Here are the top five takeaways from Erik’s video:

  • The Lure: Gambler Flappy Daddy plastic with a lively crayfish pattern
  • The Rig: 6’6” heavy action rod, 12 lb. mono line, MUSTAD weight kit
    • NOTE: A heavy action rod is essential, so you don’t snap it while you’re pulling a pig out from thick cover!
  • When: Spring/summer season when water vegetation is high
  • Where: Heavy cover areas around docks, grass, and timber
  • How: Get deep down into the zone, then jig, jig, rest, and repeat

As always, it’s essential to remember that practice makes perfect. Becoming a great angler doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t get a bite on the first couple of tries! Be patient and practice, practice, practice. By following Erik’s “Flipping & Pitching” tips and unique rigging set-up, you’ll catch a bigger bass in no time.

We hope you enjoyed Erik’s “Flipping & Pitching” video! If you’re curious about a specific fishing technique, let us know in the comments below. Remember – nobody works harder to help you fish better.

Tight lines out there, angler!

+++

Flipping 101: Erik Thue Video Transcription

Welcome back. Erik Thue with Lucky Tackle Box. Today, we’re going to be talking about one of my favorite techniques, flipping. Flipping is a great shallow water technique. It’s something that can be utilized all season long. We are going to be fishing the Gambler Flappy Daddy teamed up with a Mustad tungsten weight grip kit. We’re going to go into the when, the where, and how, but first let’s dive into rigging.

Today, with the type of cover we are fishing, we’re going to be fishing a 12-pound monofilament on a 6’6” heavy action rod. This is going to allow for me to still keep a really good action to the bait, but as well to be able to still pull some of these pigs out of the heavy cover.

We’re going to take our 12-pound monofilament and we’re going to first take the pegging system from our weight kit. The peg system is on an individual piece of wire on a little holder here. We take the 12-pound monofilament. Once we hit the monofilament, you give it just a slight pull and the monofilament is actually going to slide all the way through, as you can see. We’re going to take our peg and we’re going to slide it up the line because we’re going to come back to that and adjust that later on.

The next component is the 5/8 ounce tungsten weight. We’re going to slide that on and you’re going to see how that will join to our peg. That will follow up with that Mustad ticky-tack sharp hook. I’m going to use a Palomar knot because it’s super small and extremely strong. Alrighty folks. We’ve got our knot tied and we’re almost rigged, ready to go fishing.

Next component is going to be the Gambler Flappy Daddy. As you can see, this crayfish pattern is super lively. We’re going to pull a little bit of our pincers apart just to make sure that they are nice, free and clear. The next part is rigging that plastic onto the hook. You go through the nose of the bait, about to where it turns to the bend of the shank. We’re going to exit out of the plastic. We’re going to slide this all the way up to where this bait keeper is. Once we get to the bait keeper, we’re going to have to give our plastic a turn. Allow for that bait keeper to pop out, but keep it seated within the soft plastic.

The next part is the fun part. We’re going to take that Gambler and we’re going to put it right through the body. Give it a little bend all the way through. Take the plastic and give it a little bit of meat onto the tip of the hook. And now we are ready to fish, guys. As you can see that Gambler plastic teamed up with that Mustad weight is going to put some huge lunkers in the boat. Check that thing out.

Alrighty, folks, we’re going to break down technique. And one of the number one things in my opinion is getting down into the zone, pitching this bait, or flipping this bait into the tightest cover, whether it be your hometown lake with grass, dock fishing, or in our case, we fished some timber. Getting the bait into the zone, a couple of jigging motions back, letting the bait rest. Check to see if you indicate a bite. You may not have a bite every single cast, but that’s okay. Bring it back in. Get the bait back in there. Sometimes even tighter into the cover if need be. You will find bigger bass and bigger bites this season.

Oh, yeah. Did you see that? He came right up from that tree. Awesome. Awesome. Just a little guy, but you know what? That’s not a bad way to start the day with the Gambler. Oh cool. Right in the corner of the mouth that Mustad hook, perfectly.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for joining us this segment on flipping the Flappy Daddy, be certain, if you have any questions, to comment below, give a thumbs up, subscribe. Don’t forget to post your photos on Instagram at Lucky Tackle Box. We’ll see you on the water next time

Black Friday Sale upto 30%