Of all the techniques available to an angler to catch a bass, none is more brutally intimate than the close quarters technique known as “flipping.” Getting right up in the thick stuff the fish call home, and wrestling them out, is as close to fisticuffs you get in bass fishing – and springtime is possibly the best time to flip up a monster bag of fish.
Whether the fish are in pre-spawn, spawn, or post-spawn mode, flipping is an excellent choice due to bass using shallow cover for ambushing prey, recovering from the rigors of spawning or protecting their beds.
When I am looking for a suitable area to flip during the spring, I search for spawning areas that are sheltered and have stained water. I then look for cover that the big female bass use as staging points on their way to and from their beds. I also look for cover that the fish are making their beds against to help them reduce the amount of area they need to protect the nest from intruders.
This time of year bluegill species are the mortal enemy of bass due to their affinity for bass eggs, so I like to throw the Palmetto BugZ, which has a broader profile that imitates these species well. Pair it with heavy flipping gear and get down and dirty on one of bass fishing’s most exciting bites.
Always keep fishing.
-Miles “Sonar” Burghoff