Lures for the thick of it
(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the 2013 August/September issue of Bass Fishing magazine. To read more compelling articles from Bass Fishing magazine each month, become an FLW subscriber member. If you’d like to sign up for a digital subscription to access articles online, click here).
Bass and grass go together like cowboys and honky-tonks – you almost always find the former hanging out in the latter.
Not only does the thickest grassy junk offer cover to forage of all sorts in the summer, it also provides bass a wealth of good hiding spots for ambushing unsuspecting baitfish.
And while there is more than one way to get to a fat bass that is buried up in the jungle, few methods are more effective than flipping or punching. Both are short-range techniques built around a hard-core fishing system that includes thick line and a stout rod, and any number of lures and rigs designed to slip in and out of thick cover with the skill of a grass snake.
Here’s a look at a few of the lures made for the thick of things.
Oldham Salad Shooter
Even the thickest trash can’t hold this baby back. Streamlined with a torpedo-shaped weighted head, the Salad Shooter navigates gnarly places where you might not dream of tossing other lures. A stainless-steel split ring that connects the hook to the head creates a pivot point that allows soft plastics freedom of movement as the nose weight zips on a straight line down through the cover. Terry Oldham, the company owner, didn’t have the lure listed on his website at press time. If you phone him (see right) and explain what plastics you like to use, however, he’ll suggest the best hook and can attach one of several options for you. And hooks interchange so you can customize for the situation. Oldham says the 1-ounce model is popular, and anglers have had good luck rigging it with Zoom Magnum Flukes.
Sizes: 3/4, 1 and 1 1/2 ounces
Colors: 30+
Price: $3.50
Contact: oldhamjigs.com; 800.596.2436
Strike Zone Grass Punch with skirt
Strike Zone formed the perfect combination for situations that call for the bulky look of a jig and the penetration capability of a Texas rig. The line-through design works well with any flipping hook and allows the hook and weight to separate when fighting a fish. The tungsten punching weight is molded with a quick-change skirt collar for trouble-free swaps. It comes with a Z-Man EZ-Skirt. Strike Zone also offers its tin/lead Grassbuster in a variety of sizes for a more affordable option.
Sizes: 1 and 1 1/4 ounces
Colors: six
Price: $7.49
Contact: strikezonelure.com
Stanley Punch Jig
One glance at the Stanley Punch Jig and you can tell somebody who knows his way around grass mats developed it. The jig features a flat, diamond-shaped head that glides downward through heavy cover. The head connects to a 5/0 Mustad Z-Bend hook using a 90-pound-test stainless-steel split ring just beneath the skirt collar. The split ring allows you to swap hooks for whatever model you prefer. It comes with a metal flake skirt by Skirts Plus.
Sizes: 3/4, 1 and 1 1/4 ounces
Colors: eight
Price: $3.97
Contact: fishstanley.com
Oldham Eye-Max Jig
Penetrating thick cover easily isn’t the Eye-Max’s only attribute. It’s built to get in there and catch a bear. Texas lure-maker Terry Oldham designed the Eye-Max around a 5/0 Gamakatsu Siwash salmon hook that is made to withstand violent hooksets and handle big fish without flexing. Its shank is fitted with a screw-lock keeper to hold trailers securely. The well-balanced heads are fitted with stick-on 3-D eyes and sealed with an epoxy clear coat for a durable finish. Skirts are made by Skirts Plus.
Sizes: 3/4, 1 and 1 1/4 ounces
Colors: 30+
Price: $3.95
Contact: oldhamjigs.com
Dirty Jigs No-Jack Punchin’ Jig
Hard-core grass punchers everywhere are raving about this jig, mainly because it penetrates thick cover extremely well and is built to withstand the many abuses that are inherent when short-range flipping in the green slop. The No-Jack features a recessed line tie and a well-balanced head that is molded around a stout 5/0 custom Gamakatsu black nickel hook. A spike keeper on the hook shank holds trailers snug beneath a Skirts Plus Bio-Flex skirt.
Sizes: 3/4 to 1 1/2 ounces
Colors: 20
Price: $4.79
Contact: dirtyjigstackle.com
Medlock Double Guard Flippin’ Jig
Florida lure designer Joe Medlock (father of Walmart FLW Tour pro Brandon Medlock) hangs his hat on this one. Several features make it unique, including double weedguards that protect the jumbo Gamakatsu hook, which ranges in size from 3/0 to 6/0, depending on the jig size. The spade-shaped head is well-suited for punching in and out of thick pads, cattails, lily pads and dense brush with minimal hangups. Medlock uses Star Flash Skirts.
Sizes: 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ounce
Colors: 6
Price: $7.99
Contact: doubleguardjig.com (website coming soon)
Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Slither Rig
When nasty cover is on the menu, nothing will cut the mustard much better than the Slither Rig. It features a line-thru tungsten bullet weight and skirt collar so you can change skirt colors quickly and make use of any hook you want. Strike King uses a premium silicone skirt and powder-coats the weight for increased durability.
Sizes: 1/2 to 1 1/4 ounces
Colors: six
Price: $7.99
Contact: strikeking.com
Strike King Hack Attack Jig
The brainchild of pro-staffer Greg Hackney, a former Forrest Wood Cup champion, Strike King’s premium flipping jig is built with all the goodies for close-quarters, dense-cover applications. It features a 30-degree line tie to enhance hookups, a heavy weedguard and a unique “weight-forward” head design that makes it fall straight down through the cover, not at an angle. The jig is built around a 6/0 Gamakatsu hook frequently employed on the high seas to tackle tuna and other saltwater powerhouses.
Sizes: 3/8 to 1 1/4 ounces
Colors: 11
Price: $4.79
Contact: strikeking.com
Straight Talk Pro Scott Canterbury on punching skirts
Every slop situation is different. Sometimes a jig works best; at other times a Texas rig is the ticket. The skirted punch weight is another option. Some come with a weight and skirt already assembled, or you can build your own.
Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala., always keeps a skirted punch weight rig handy in situations when he is probing thick grass mats, especially when the bass show preference for a bulky lure.
“Personally, I feel like the hookup is better with a jig, but there are times in really heavy mats when the jig just won’t penetrate and come out of the cover as well,” he says. “The punch skirt rig gives you the bulky presentation of a jig, but it goes in and comes out of the cover much better.”
Canterbury prefers to assemble his punch skirt rigs using a pegged Tiger Tungsten weight (the model with a plastic insert to prevent line damage) and a Dirty Jigs Punchin’ Skirt. His hook choice is a 4/0 or 5/0 Cobra flipping hook. He always uses a snell knot for flipping applications because it facilitates better hooksets.
Tungsten weights
You can get by with lead, but if you want to punch like the pros it would be wise to make the switch to tungsten. Tungsten is denser than lead, which equates to a smaller head and less bulk for better penetration with heavyweight rigs of an ounce or more. Environmentally friendly tungsten is also super hard, which improves sensitivity and creates more noise when the weight ticks cover.
Heavyweight sinkers are “in” among elite flippers. To help you find the right tackle, here’s a list of companies that sell tungsten weights of 1 ounce or more:
Strike King: strikeking.com
VMC: rapala.com
Tiger Tungsten: tiger-tungsten.com
Strike Zone: strikezonelure.com
Gambler: gambler-lures.com
Conquistador: conquistadortackle.com
Eco Pro: ecoprotungsten.com
Elite Tungsten: elitetungsten.com
Picasso: picassooutdoors.com
Reins: reinsfishing.com
River2Sea: river2seausa.com
Vike: tungsten-weights.com
XCalibur:
xcaliburtackle.com
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