Rigging up 3 new rods/reels for bass. I would like your line suggestions for each.
The first 2 are bait casting rods/reels:
One for Flippin’ & Pitchin’.
One for Crankbaits
The third is a spinning rod/reel for small/medium jigs and finesse lures. This would not be for heavy cover.
Thanks!!
8# P-line coplymer for the spinner. Yo Zuri would probably be good too. Little more expensive but its line, line is important.
flipping- 30 – 50lb straight braid. or 20lb straight fluoro.
Cranks- 12-15lb mono or fluoro
Spinning- 10lb high vis braid to a fluoro leader 8 or 10lb.
Lot of personal preference, cover type, rod type etc.
I’d say 10klakes nailed it. That would be my same setup. other than on the Flipping setup I’d run Braid to a 20Lb. Fluro leader
For flipping I would run heavy braid to a 20 lb floro leader.
For a crank bait rod I run 15 lb braid but I run a moderate action fiberglass rod so I get a lot of forgiveness in the rod.
For spinning I like 10 lb hi vis braid to a 10 lb floro leader.
One note- up here we, including myself, use the words flipping or pitching synonymously like they have the same meaning. They are different techniques. Pretty much everyone up here is pitching (short targeted casts) and not true flipping… which needs much heavier braid. Minnesota lakes don’t really have the cover or dirty shallow water for flipping.
Minnesota lakes don’t really have the cover or dirty shallow water for flipping.
I beg to differ. Lots of things you can flip: milfoil, cabbage, lily pads…
In 1993 and ’94, I was an observer in the Don Shelby Bass Tournament on Lake Minnetonka. Usually the fisherman and observers would form 2 lines, walk up and pair off. One day in ’94 I was checking in kind of late. While at the table, a fisherman walked in and one of the organizers asked if he had been paired with an observer. He said, “No.” The organizer paired me up with the fisherman, Bryan Kerchal. A 23-year old who had just won the Bass Masters Championship about 6 weeks earlier. One of the techniques he used was moving slowly through the milfoil and flippin’ into openings. He used 30# Trilene Big Game. I don’t think braid had been invented yet. More impressive was his ability to skip docks with a bait caster. Tremendous accuracy. He still lived with his parents in Connecticut and he said he practiced flippin’/pitchin’ jigs into coffee mugs set up all over the basement. A nice young man with a great personality for the fishing industry. The tournament let him use a bass boat for the tourney. Guessing an 18 footer with the max outboard of 150 HP. He was jumping boat waves going from spot to spot. Very sadly, he died in a plane crash 3 months later.
Google his name, his story is amazing.
8# P-line coplymer for the spinner. Yo Zuri would probably be good too. Little more expensive but its line, line is important.
P-Line Flouroclear is great line, especially for spinning rigs. I use 6lb for shakey heads, ned rigs etc.. Also good for fishing walleye jigs. As far a for your casting rigs, I really like SilverThread Excalibur. I use 14 lb for flipping and pitching, spinner baits, Chatters, and crankbaits in the River for the most part. If I am going to be fishing deeper I may rig up with 12 lb. Both are top notch lines.
flipping- 30 – 50lb straight braid. or 20lb straight fluoro.
Cranks- 12-15lb mono or fluoro
Spinning- 10lb high vis braid to a fluoro leader 8 or 10lb.
Lot of personal preference, cover type, rod type etc.
Very similar to what I am using.
I beg to differ. Lots of things you can flip: milfoil, cabbage, lily pads…
In 1993 and ’94, I was an observer in the Don Shelby <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>Bass Tournament on Lake Minnetonka. Usually the fisherman and observers would form 2 lines, walk up and pair off. One day in ’94 I was checking in kind of late. While at the table, a fisherman walked in and one of the organizers asked if he had been paired with an observer. He said, “No.” The organizer paired me up with the fisherman, Bryan Kerchal. A 23-year old who had just won the <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Bass Masters Championship about 6 weeks earlier. One of the techniques he used was moving slowly through the milfoil and flippin’ into openings. He used 30# Trilene Big Game. I don’t think braid had been invented yet. More impressive was his ability to skip docks with a bait caster. Tremendous accuracy. He still lived with his parents in Connecticut and he said he practiced flippin’/pitchin’ jigs into coffee mugs set up all over the basement. A nice young man with a great personality for the fishing industry. The tournament let him use a bass boat for the tourney. Guessing an 18 footer with the max outboard of 150 HP. He was jumping boat waves going from spot to spot. Very sadly, he died in a plane crash 3 months later.
Google his name, his story is amazing.
Very cool story and memory! I’ve heard stories about the Don Shelbys, too bad those types of tournaments with observers are done for.
I guess with having clearer water than some down south spots, I didn’t think people actually flipped up here effectively, or I’ve just never seen it – pull line out, engage the reel, hold the line by the reel and flip a few ft away. I believe you that he was doing it though. can get very accurate with flipping.
difference between the two for others not familiar (I thought the were the same for years)-
True flipping is what 10klakes is saying….where you pull out a certain amount of line and “flip” the bait in (with reel engaged). True flipping is what I call close quarters combat!! Heck, Denny Brauer even had a reel designed that didn’t hold much line and was made for the true flipping cast.
Everyone now pretty much refers to any kind of underhand pitch/cast/flip as flipping.
Pitching is what most would be doing in weed/grass/milfoil mats in the clearer water around the upper Midwest.
I would say all are correct. It’s all about preference. I personally flip / pitch using a 30-40 lb braided line like sufix 832 for submerged grass with a 20-30 lb fluorocarbon leader. This’ll get me through most situations where I have boat docks and grass.
As mentioned above a moderate action rod with 12-14 lb mono is perfect for cranks. You’ll feel when you lean back on a bite how the extra give makes for a better hookset.
For small jigs and finesse lures, Can’t go wrong with straight mono 12-15lb or a braided main line to mono/fluro leader. I use braid because I like having extra power in my hookset when fishing 10 ft or more.
If you’re talking about flipping or pitching heavy cover like pads or mats, 40lb straight braid. It slides through that cover much better than fluoro. If you’re talking flipping or pitching docks, trees, reeds, go with straight fluoro 15-20 lbs. Much better abrasion protection.
Cranking. I know a lot of people love straight fluoro for this. I personally prefer braid to fluoro leader. The braid gives you so much more sensitivity and allows you to feel exactly what your crankbait is running into, through or off of, which is really important because if you’re not hitting things with your crankbaits, you aren’t doing it right.
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