Flipping Weights- Blaukat Blog

The technique of flipping has been around for nearly 50 years.

Developed in the early 1970s by Dee Thomas in California, he took it to Bull Shoals Arkansas in 1975 and won a Bassmaster event by flipping sawdust mats.

Ever since then the technique has undergone a radical transition in terms of rods/ reels/line/baits/hooks/and weights.

In this Fish The Moment blog, I’d like to address the topic of weights used in the flipping method.

I will start by saying flipping is one of my favorites, if not my all-time favorite ways to catch bass. Most of my wins or high finishes over the past 40 years have come with this technique.

I have had the opportunity to flip coast to coast across this country, in countless lakes and rivers. Over the years, I have learned a lot about the aspects of the technique that best generates strikes.

The size of weight you are using rates high on that list of strike generators.

Regardless if you are flipping a jig or a Texas rig, there are several considerations that all anglers should understand.

Here is an overview of some things I have learned about this…

As a rule, the dirtier, shallower, and colder the water is, the lighter the weight you should use. On the opposite, the warmer, clearer and deeper the water, the heavier you should go to. This rule holds true much of the time to some extent

However, this is an over-generalization and there are many more variables involved. For example, what is heavy and what is light?

I have found, for the most part, many anglers have a narrow view of weight selections. Lots of anglers I have been around fish only a 3/8th, a ½, and a 1 oz. size. Many consider 3/8th as “light”.

This desire for simplicity keeps many anglers from getting the full potential from flipping.

 I use 1/16th- 1/8th- 3/16th- 1/4- 5/16- 3/8th- 1/2- 3/4- 1 oz and 1 ¼ oz. sizes, depending on the conditions.

For example, if I am fishing a stick bait worm like the Zoom Zlinky around shallow dock pilings in 6 inches of visibility, in less than 3 feet of water… I will use 1/16th oz. sinker. The slow fall in the shallow water makes for a much more natural presentation. I used this exact setup to finish well in a tournament on Logan Martin lake a few years ago.

On the flip side, in a tournament I fished on Sam Rayburn lake two years ago, the lake was high, and the water was flooded into the mesquite trees. These trees are extremely thick and gnarly and had about 9 feet of water in them.

I experimented with different weights, and finally hit on the one they wanted…a ¾ oz. sinker on a Zoom Z-Hog. The Z hog is a Beaver-type bait and falls like a rocket on a ¾ oz. sinker.

In this case, the fast fall not only generated the strikes, but allowed me to fish the thick, deep cover extremely efficiently, and I was able to finish high in the tournament with this method.

These are two examples of extremes, and for the most part, all the other weights fall into the situation between these two.

Most flipping situations involve flooded trees and bushes/ laydown wood/stumps/docks/emergent and submerged vegetation and any other cover that offers an ambush point.

The two main considerations are efficiency and strike generation.

The rate of fall will vary with line size, line tension, and the type of cover you are fishing. Regardless, always remember the golden rule we mentioned above…Go lighter the dirtier, shallower and colder the water is, and heavier the clearer, thicker the cover, and warmer the water is.

Once you consider the golden rule, you can then modify it to your situation. For example, say you are flipping laydown trees on a shallow flat. The water visibility is 15 inches and the water is 4 feet deep.

Bait size and profile will affect fall rates, but here would be my approach to this situation, with this specific type of cover…

1.     If water temperatures were under 55 degrees…3/16th oz.

2.     If water temperatures were between 55 and 75 degrees…1/4 oz.

3.     If water temperatures are over 75 degrees…5/16th.

This scenario is based on a light breeze. If the wind rises to over 15 mph, my sinker size will go up 1/16th to 1/8th of an ounce to counter this wind. This will keep the fall rate the same given the wind drag.

It is also important to remember not to get to hung up on efficiency to the extent you go with a heavier weight just because it is easier to penetrate the cover. In your mind, efficiency needs to be equal to whatever weight is the best strike generator.

This is a considerably basic breakdown of flipping weights. In later columns, we will go into finer details on the topic, but I just wanted to share this starter tidbit with everyone to help you understand the importance of weights in your flipping arsenal.

In closing, just remember to experiment with your weights if you feel you are in good water and are not getting the flipping bites you should.

Bass do not read books and while there are guidelines to start with, many times modifying the recommended approaches to any technique will add up to more bass at the end of the day.