help on flipping matted weeds...

I brought in my ringer of a nephew on Saturday, and he kicked my butt flipping shallow mat.. behind me.. I caught one keeper.. he caught 7 including the biggest fish on the last cast of the day, in an area where I had just flipped..

HELP ME.. I even had on an identical lure. I got my ash handed to me..

the only thing I can think of is not letting the lure sit long enough.. suggestions.. comments, positive thoughts..

Messages from bjlc #10606 #10606

Sometimes from Spooled Again #9650 7/30/2012 7:38:52 PM
You may have been covering the area too quickly. I have noticed that sometimes the fish needs more than one cast before he commits. Depends on the trend.

Quiet entry from 5keepers 7/30/2012 7:49:28 PM
don't scare'em with the splash. Sometimes it does not matter but often it does. Go as slow as you can then slow down some!

Splash or speed or????" from Ralph Manns 7/30/2012 8:55:39 PM
Something was different. I recall one tournament when the winner simply observed his co-angler was getting hit when his lure caught on vegetation and then spriong forward. the spring did it. He imitated and won. Little details count.

It changes from jhopper51 #20523 7/30/2012 10:38:10 PM
Your nephew was doing something that imitated what they were feeding on or reacting to better than you were. If you could have duplicated it better, you would have caught more. That goes to show you that it takes a specific Something to catch them good. It changes everyday and you have to figure out what it takes to catch them good. It can change from one hour to the next and the best fishermen have the ability to figure out the puzzle and adjust faster than everybody else. your nephew had them figured out Sat and it sounds like there was something you missed, but today something completely different would be required on those same fish in that same location. The variables are nearly infinite and is what makes this sport so challenging. In addition to what has already been posted I suggest stealth when flipping shallow mats. It's a huge lesson in this game when the guy in the back of the boat is flipping em up 7 to 1. It's one I continue to learn.

dinner bell from 1sg 7/31/2012 10:52:10 AM
I think your pitches just rang their dinner bell. you moved on and they were looking for the bait. He pitched in and the fish was hyped up and looking.

I have whooped up on my partner flipping out of the back of his boat as well.

Like Ralph, little details matter from Spookchucker #10778 #10778 7/31/2012 11:44:12 AM
How thick was the matt under the surface. If it's really thick, sometimes more of a splash down will get their attention, where being quiet doesn't get noticed. (Hammer flipping works in very heavy vegetation)
Be observative & keep an open mind.

Ralph makes an excellent point... from JonMac 7/31/2012 8:15:51 PM
Fishing New England natural lakes means shallow and deep vegetation for me (preferably deep). Over the years I've found that triggering the reaction bite by intentionally letting a bait settle into the weeds and suddenly "ripping" it up and out is most often far more effective than what would seem to be the more natural "swim through" presentation. Great with jigs and spinnerbaits...can also be really productive with lipless cranks.

Tight Lines!! <><

+1 on JonMac from Harumph #11038 #11038 8/2/2012 9:57:34 AM
Triggering strikes can be a big key.

When I am fishing grass with a wacky-rigged trickworm I tend to throw it with an exposed hook.

Getting it caught in the grass and snatching it clear of the snag triggers a lot of strike I don't think I would otherwise get.

run your motor through it?????????? from 1sg 8/3/2012 12:16:46 PM
I had seen guys in the past do this and come back later and fish the open areas that hey had cut up.

I just read an article on BASS that mentioned doing the same thing.Artivle said it dislodges bait and the bream move in to feed and the bass follow.

Has anyone tried to cut up a mat and then fish it? Does it work?

I have never done it purposely but from Harumph #11038 #11038 8/3/2012 1:29:55 PM
Last year in a club tournament I had a buddy fishing an extended point right next to the entrance of a narrow cut.

I asked him if he minded if I idled through.

He said no problem.

He was a good 50yrds off the bank. I cut about 1/2 between him and the bank.

Didn't realize how shallow that flat was. Hit the bottom with the skeg, had to trip the motor up and struggle to get the 40 yards or so to the opening of the cut.

After the tournament I talked to him and apologized for making all the commotion.

He said he had been dragging plastics all over that point for over an hour without a single bite.

5 minutes after I went through there he started catching fish and limited in about 20 minutes.

Has to be something to it.

There IS something to it... from JohnMac 8/4/2012 12:57:20 AM
It sounds like a 180 in light of the "be quiet" philosophy but I believe that "noise" on the water isn't always necessarily a bad thing. Bass (and all other underwater dwellers) are definitely "conditioned" to the "normal" noise inherent in the water in which they reside. They become wary of (conditioned to avoid) specific sounds that have proven to signal "not so good". In some lakes that could mean the vibes that an alligator gar gives off...but what of the fish who live in waters where there are no resident gars? Put a gar in that lake, ask him to make typical gar sounds and what will the bass do? Most likely swim in for a closer look at this new and "interesting" sound...as bass are curious critters by nature.

Sometimes a good diggin', dredgin', and shakin' up of the cove can turn fish on...but NOT always. The trick is the near impossibility of figurin' out when to hold and when to fold!

Tight Lines!! John <><

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