Punching through for a Big Bite

Fishing is unique in many ways. But, one main way is that every single fisherman has a different style and way to do things. There are countless baits on the market and many fisherman are versatile and can use any of them. But, each fisherman has that one bait or technique that is their old reliable or go to. This is what they feel most comfortable with and would like to be able to fish with all the time if they could. Even from early on in my fishing career, I was pulled towards soft plastics of any kind. I loved fishing with plastic worms, creature baits, and more. As I got older, I realized that I definitely needed to widen my skill set, but my go to was still soft plastics. Now after fishing for 15-20 years, I definitely would be classified as a finesse/slow fisherman. I use a lot of ned rigs, plastic worms, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, Jigs, creature baits, Flukes, and more. If you were to run into me on the water, you can probably assume that I have had a pitching stick in my hand at some point that day. There's something about slowly and methodically fishing a bank, tree, brush pile, dam, or any piece of structure where there might be fish and getting that big bite. It has been the way that I feel most comfortable and when I need a bite you can normally find me fishing shallow with a flipping stick. This year I have experienced the best year of fishing that I have ever had and 90% of the fish that I have caught this year have come on a flipping or pitching stick of some kind. The lakes and ponds that I fish have a lot of thick vegetation that the bass love to sit in. So, today we are going to be looking specifically at the heavier "Punching" set ups and how they are effective.

This fatty was caught on a punching set up with a Missile Baits D Bomb in Bruiser Flash

This nice largemouth was caught on the exact same set up and bait

When people pull up on a spot with lots of grass, moss, and other forms of vegetation the first thing that often comes to mind is a top water frog. I'm included in this group. I'll pull up on a nice spot with grass mats and think, "Man, a frog would be real nice through here." And I'll fish with a frog some in these spots, but the first thing that goes in the water is my punching set up with come kind of creature bait tied on, especially in the summer. In the summer, the bass look for places where they can be cool and comfortable. They don't feed as much as they normally do, and it can be tough to get a bass to bite. The bass go to either: on shore cover, which would be downed trees on the shore, grass, mats, moss, pads, etc., or they go to off shore cover which would be your submerged trees, submerged grass piles, rock piles, and more. So as a fisherman, you have to pick which fish you are going to target. Am I going to fish the on shore or off shore cover. Fishing offshore normally means finding that submerged cover, a flat, a point, or a drop off and fishing with things like crankbaits, swimbaits, spoons, ned rigs, drop shot, and even jigs. Some of these fish can be sitting in 15-20 foot of water or even deeper where it is much cooler. I always pick to fish on shore. So I'm looking for the lilly pads, or a log, or a brush pile that I can see with my eyes. The bass are going to be sitting in all this cover where it is shaded and cool for them. So, as a fisherman we have one advantage, cause we know exactly where they are going to be. Now we just have to figure out how to get a bait to them and how to catch them. This is where a punching set up comes in super handy.

A punching set up should be able to get a soft plastic bait through all that vegetation and straight to the fish. This is why punching set ups are so heavy duty. I normally use a half ounce or bigger weight with a big 5/0 EWG hook that is thicker than your typical worm hook. I normally pair that with a creature bait of some kind that is tied on with 15 pound P-Line CXX. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend P-Line CXX for any heavy styles of fishing. The line is super durable and can withstand a lot. I generally use a rod that is at least 7'6 with Medium Heavy power. I have some that are a little bigger and with heavier action. I like the Medium Heavy because I feel like it has the perfect amount of bite to hook those fish and to still break through all the vegetation. A big heavy set up like this allows you to pitch that bait straight into the thickets parts of the cover and be able to pull those fish out. I normally fish the bait like a jig with quick twitches, making the bait bounce along the bottom. I'll also typically cast into the same piece of cover 4-5 times before moving on. It really gives those fish a chance to look at it.

I know we just talked about the summer months, but this set up will pull fish out of the cover from late pre-spawn to the good fall bite. Bass love cover, and this set up definitely helps you fish all that good looking stuff you see on the shore. In this year alone, I have caught several 4 pounders, one 5, and my personal best 6 pound, 13 ounce all on a punching set up. This style of fishing absolutely gets results.

Another great time to use a punching set up is the spawn. We'll have a special post next spring talking about all the ins and outs of spawn fishing, but when sight fishing during the spawn, it is key to get that bait into a bed and to aggravate those big females into biting. This same set up does great cause it gets through the cover, sits right in the bottom of their beds, and the bass go absolutely crazy trying to get rid of it.

The punching set up is not limited to just soft plastic baits however. I often will also have a flipping jig on a punching set up ready to go as well. I always use a bigger jig than I normally would, with a creature bait trailer tied on and I fish it the same way. I'll flip that jig into the thick cover and hop in out of that cover. I'll pitch into the same place 4-5 times and then move on to the next piece that looks promising. I think the Jig is a good change up from the traditional creature bait. Some people use punching skirts and add them to their creature bait. I have never done this, so I can't give you guys any tips on that. I do know though, that sometimes that change to the jig can make all the difference.

My personal best, 6 pounds and 13 ounces, caught on a Missile Baits D Bomb in Bruiser Flash

I have tried and used many different forms of creature baits to try and find what the best ones, in my opinion, are. I have narrowed it down to two that I use almost exclusively now. These two are the Googan Baits Bandito Bug and the Missile Bait's D Bomb.

These two baits are responsible for the great year of fishing that I have been having. The Bandito Bug has a special scent that all Googan Baits come with that gives it a great edge. The appendages give great, lifelike movement when retrieving in. This is one of my go to spawn fishing baits. I can pitch this into a bed and with a few quick twitches, the bass is moving in on it. The lifelike movement that it gives I think is why it is so successful. The Missile Baits D Bomb is also a very good choice. The two main back legs move a little more freely, but the thing I think gives it an advantage is the ridged body. Yes, the Bandito Bug has a ridged body too, but the D Bomb's ridges are deeper and I think that helps with the way it moves through the water. I have noticed that I can make the D Bomb glide more on my twitches than the Bandito Bug. A lot of times I will use both of these baits on the same bed and if the bass won't bite one it will generally bite the other. Both these baits come in a wide range of colors, which also is a huge deal to me on why they're my favorites. If they aren't biting one color, just try another. During the spawn I'll even have different colors tied on to change up the presentation again. Having a wide range of colors options is important when soft plastic fishing, and the wide range of colors these two come in is vital.

Below I will add several links to where you can get these awesome baits and some of the rods and reels that I use when punching/pitching. I will also include a video of me catching some fish with the punching set up. Fisherman may have their particular style and bait choice. But, if you are versatile, want to try something new, or just want to catch those fish in vegetation heavy bodies of water, I definitely recommend that you try punching a creature bait or jig. The results for me this year have been incredible and I have faith that the results will be the same for you.