Flippin’ and punchin’ are both effective bass fishing techniques used to target Florida bass in and around cover and sometimes very heavy cover. At times, these techniques will out fish all other techniques when it comes to quality bites in a day. For many anglers, their biggest bass of the day will come from these techniques while fishing in Florida.
Flippin’
Flippin’ involves casting or pitching a bait into specific areas of cover, such as vegetation, grass mats, around docks and wood. The angler typically uses a shorter, yet controlled cast, to place the bait directly into the spot. Flippin’ is effective in areas with moderate cover where bass might be ambushing prey. This technique is very effective for Florida bass because these fish will often position themselves around cover and just wait to ambush a bait. If you can flip a bait right to where they are resting, you will get some of these bass to attack your bait.
Punchin’
Punchin’ is more aggressive as it involves punching a weight through the thick vegetation. This may be matted grass, lily pads and other cover. This involves dropping or vertically presenting the bait through the heavy cover to reach bass hiding down beneath. Heavier weights, usually 1 oz. or more, are used to break through the thick vegetation to penetrate down below. Some weights are designed specifically for this purpose, allowing for better penetration. Punchin’ requires very heavy tackle as you might be pulling bass upwards of 10 pounds out of these heavily vegetated areas. Punchin’ is so effective in Florida because there are so many big bass that just bury themselves into very heavy vegetation. They are just waiting there to ambush a bait that comes close enough to their home.
