Stuff rolls downhill- Fig Newton
Stuff rolls downhill- Fig Newton
Good info here, thanks. I’m also on my journey to learning how to fish the weeds.
Thanks, some good information
I've just started fishing the area and have never really fished alot of grass other than weed beds or something. This is growing form 2' to 13' deep around 3 or 4' tall and some a little deeper. I've caught some on top water but nothing really consistent. Its pretty tough here now but it'll get better in a few weeks. thanks for the advice, top water is always a good idea...
Good advice! It's a lot tougher to stay with it not being able to visually see what you're flipping at, but it's something that becomes necessary if you're fishing stained water. As they continue spraying more and more weeds around here, even forgetting the challenge that finding green stuff becomes, the water that's continuously becoming more stained makes blind flipping more and more common. My best course of action to be able to stand doing it is fishing a chatterbait (or whatever bait you prefer) through areas either first thing in the morning, later in the evening, or on a cloudy or preferably rainy day to locate places where fish are holding. Then you can flip it on those sunny days with more confidence that fish are in an area.
There are some lakes where I can look at grass on the sidescan and see whether it's worth flipping, though more often than not it's more trial and error. I've often just exposed the hook on my "punch" rig to pull up some of it to give me a better idea. If it's black, run away. If it's bright green, spend some time there. If it's somewhere in between, it's a maybe depending on what else you're able to find. I also don't have anything on the level of 360, but I'm sure that could help tremendously. Being able to see grass that you actually catch fish out of on the 360 would be pretty awesome - I'm sure after a while you'd just be able to look at it and know whether it's the right stuff.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
find the structure anomalies the vegetation is growing over...
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Yep.
A few more points i'd make..
This time of year the fish almost always relate to the bottom. Rare occasions they'll be looking up...with a large strike zone...large enough to hit surface baits. Lownlight conditions and bait will obviously increase increase those odds.
So, your job is to find the subtle, or not so subtle, or entirely concealed irregulaties in the bottom. Could be a section of a break you didn't realize was there, a rock, a rockpile, a lawnchair, whatever. Your best option in most cases, flip...and flip...and flip...and flip! If you want to find good spots, that nobody else knows, it takes a lot of time. Often, with a long time between bites. But that's what it takes to find fish off the edges...getting worked over by every other guy. It can be hard to handle some days!
Also, not all weeds are created equal. The fish will have a preference. And, the healthiest, most vibrant vegetation will harbor the most life. Learn what they like first, it hwlps narrow the search. Identify if there's certain weeds in certain depth zones. If you can't see the weeds, learn the different signatures on your sonar...milfoil looks different than coontail, etc.
Last edited by RFeyoMN; 07-31-2019 at 07:58 AM.
Really well said, RFeyo!
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
So what would be the first choice for flipping? I have a local lake that I fish that has quite a bit of deep grass and going to try some flipping in it. 1oz pegged and a creature bait bait of some sort??
2021 FXR21LE
That would be fine. I personally don't use anything heavier than 3/4oz. And my first choice would be a 3/4oz jig...in water less than 10ft, a 1/2oz jig. I do flip plastics, but they twist the line so bad I prefer to search with a jig. I also prefer a jig, because when/if I find a group of fish, I can do more damage in less time! Often, you'll get bit as fast as you can get a bait to the bottom...and they'll bite a jig without a trailer just fine when they're hot.
I like to flip beaver style baits in wood and shoreline situations but in deeper grass I like a brush hog, lizard, or a jig with a swimbait trailer. In deeper grass there is an extended amount of fall time so I want more action to draw the fish’s attention.
I would use the lightest weight you can get away with and still be in touch with your lure at all times. Start with a 3/8-1/2 oz and go up from there. In deeper grass the bass may not be ON the bottom so the slower fall rate will give fish a little more time to react to your bait.
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
I've found more times than not a fast drop will trigger more strikes. I prefer a 3/4oz jig, mostly because I can flip one non stop all day. 1oz+, simply wears me out...but if that were no issue, i'd use bigger jigs for sure, especially when in the 15-20ft range.
Agree, the fast fall many times is what triggers the bite. Just like banging a crankbait off a stump, when that bait comes flying into their face they react. I've been in a bunch of situations throwing a lighter Texas rig into the same places not getting bit only to start hammering the fish once I start throwing that heavy weight. There are other times where as light of a weight as you can throw is the ticket, just different situations for different days.
As to the question of weight, I mentioned it before basically but I'm with RFeyo, 3/4 oz flipping weight over your plastic of choice. I prefer the punch skirt in between the weight and hook just because I think it makes it come through easier / cleaner and probably adds to the profile/action as well. There have only been a handful of times where I felt like I needed to go heavier than 3/4 oz, and that was up to 1 oz. Each time was on one of a couple lakes I fish where the water is really, really clear with weed growth out to and past 20 feet; specifically this was coontail that tends to grow in more "bushy" than our milfoil and so is harder to penetrate.
I'm a little different on jigs, though. Since they don't come through quite as cleanly as the flipping weight/punch skirt combo, presumably due to the weedguard making a bigger profile, I usually go 1 oz. If I'm shallow, say 8 feet or less, or the vegetation is more sparse, 3/4 is good.
I bounce back and forth on which I prefer. I definitely agree that the jig is much quicker to catch a fish and get back to them without worrying about readjusting a plastic and whatnot, but at the same time I feel like I have to fight with it a more when reeling back in to make another cast, once again due to the bigger profile making it more apt to get stuck. When it does get stuck, usually just dropping it down and trying again is fine, and sometimes that will trigger a bite...either way it's rare that you have to bring a clump of weeds in. Try both a heavy Texas/punch rig and a jig. It seems fish will sometimes prefer one or the other depending on the day.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360
I bought 2 punch rigs/skirts like 4 years ago.
I still have them both.
50th Anniversary
1998 Skeeter Zx195C
200 V MAX
Wish that wasn't getting shared around....
Seriously, I saw it earlier today. It's absolutely excellent. I learned how to flip grass watching him on Bassmaster Live a few years back, I think it was on St Clair. He does such a good job of teaching and explaining his thought process.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360