Flipping and pitching are great ways to generate shallow bites year round. Bass hang close to shallow wood, rock, grass and other objects in the spring in particular, when they are making their beds and spawning. However, there is a contingent that lives in less than five feet of water throughout the summer, fall and winter as well. Pitching baits to shallow cover is a great way to catch these fish.
You can pitch and flip lots of different baits though, from Senkos to Brush Hogs to Beaver-style baits to tubes, jigs and craws. We’ve compiled a list of six great baits, specifically selected to showcase some of the different styles of baits that you can flip and pitch with.
FLIPPING VS. PITCHING
Let’s lay a quick foundation to make sure everyone understands the difference between flipping and pitching. Pitching a bait requires an underhand cast that disengages the reel and sends a bait out some distance from the boat. Pitching is certainly the more common of these two techniques today.
Flipping is done without disengaging the reel and is used to pick apart cover that is really close to the boat. Instead of casting the bait out, the angler pulls the section of line between the reel and the first rod guide away from the rod blank and then pendulums the bait out, while letting the line slip back through the guides.
An additional note: punching can be done by either flipping or pitching a heavy bait out in an effort to penetrate or “punch” through dense overhead cover.
JIG AND PIG
A flipping jig is one of the most productive fish catchers of all time. Though it has been relegated to the annals of history by many anglers. The “old school” technique of pitching (and especially flipping) a jig and pig is about as uncommon as leaving the dock with no electronics in the boat.
Make no mistake, a jig is still an extremely effective bait to get bit on shallow. The weedguard of a quality pitching jig, like the Dirty Jigs Luke Clausen Compact Pitchin’ Jig, makes it an almost unbeatable bait for picking apart shallow woody cover. Pairing a 3/8-ounce jig like this with a soft plastic trailer, like the Zoom Salty Chunk, is a great way to create a slow falling presentation that shallow bass have a hard time passing up.
CRAW
Soft plastic craws, like the Yamamoto Yama Craw, set up well for flipping and pitching. These lures have a lot of action and can be fished on either a Texas rig, a Tokyo rig or the back of a jig. In all cases, a craw is a fantastic lure to fish around shallow cover when the fish are a little more aggressive.
The Yama Craw in particular is a pretty sweet bait. It bears a strong resemblance to one of the greatest craws of all time, the Strike King Rage Craw. The difference, however, is that the Yama Craw floats as well. Pairing it with a jig or even fishing it on a jighead or Texas rig creates quite a realistic presentation where the bait assumes a defensive posture: with its claws up in the water, just like a real crawfish would.
STICK BAIT
Stick baits like the Zoom Zlinky seen here and the classic Yamamoto Senko are great for flipping and pitching too. These are especially good lures to use when fishing in reeds and other stalky vegetation. Due to its streamline profile, this style of bait slides down through the cover cleanly and can be pulled back out just as easily, all without having to add a lot of weight.
This lighter approach creates a much more realistic presentation that is often more effective on finicky bass. Flipping and pitching a light Texas rigged stick bait works very well, particularly in Florida, where the bass can often be moody dependent on the weather and disinterested in baits with a lot of action. This setup also works well around the spawn on almost all fisheries.
BEAVER-STYLE BAIT
Baits like the MISSILE Baits D Bomb and Reaction Innovations Beaver are awesome flipping and pitching baits as well. This style of lure typically has less action than a craw but a larger profile and a little more action than a stick bait—filling a sizable void between the two. This also makes a Beaver-style bait one of the best options for punching in particular.
Though you can certainly catch fish pitching a D Bomb around sparse or isolated cover, rigging one up with a 1- and 1/2- ounce weight for punching thick mats helps this bait shine the brightest. Thanks to the sleek shape of the bait, it slips through mats easily. Once it’s underneath the cover, the profile bears a strong resemblance to a small bluegill or bream. The mere presence of something this realistic beneath a mat is often enough to garner a rod shaking thump from a big bass.
GRUB
Flipping and pitching a small grub is yet another good way to get bites. There is no better bait in this realm than the Strike King Menace Grub. With a streamlined grub body and two small paddle tails on the end of the bait, this lure can be used to punch through cover with a little more pizzazz than a Beaver-style bait. It’s also a great option to use as a jig trailer, if you want to downsize from a more aggressive and larger craw. Additionally, it’s great for pitching on a Texas rig or Tokyo rig too.
The Menace Grub has just the right amount of action and a perfect profile to use in almost any situation. There will be the rare occasion when you need to dial it back to a stick bait. Then there will be days when the bass want a wild flailing craw. However, more times than not, you can get bites either pitching, flipping or punching a Menace Grub better than any other bait.
CREATURE BAIT
Creature baits are also great for flipping and pitching—not so much for punching though. Larger lures, like the Zoom Brush Hog, are staples in many an angler’s tackle box. These baits have a lot going on with claws, tails and additional appendages all over.
A smaller offering in the creature bait world is the Bass Mooch Brawler Bug. Like other creature baits, this lure has a lot going on. All the legs, claws and tails are condensed down into a smaller overall profile. This bait serves as a good jig trailer, but it’s particularly appealing on a light Texas rig, as this presentation allows the bait to slowly fall through the water in a very attractive way.
IN CONCLUSION
Again, these aren’t all the baits you can flip, pitch and punch with, but they do represent many of the best bait categories for these styles of fishing. These lures we’ve mentioned in particular are solid options to try if you’re looking to whittle down your shopping list and don’t know where to start.
Remember that the stick baits and Beaver-style baits will come through cover the best. Jigs have a unique appeal to them, as their skirts flair and pulse on the fall. Creature baits and craws have a lot going on. Lastly, it’s really hard to beat the Menace Grub day in and day out.
