Need help with punching in the delta

[kwik man]

How do I set up my rod to punch and what do I look for when doing it.



thank you jeff

[obsessed fisherman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFmNieom ... re=related


I hate the punch bite

[SacRtrain]

Go talk to Alan Fong at Fishermans in Sacramento on Folsom. He totally set me up and gave me the tools, and place to try it. Seriously worth it. Basic set up, 4/0 punchin hook, paycheck baits punchin skirt, Reaction Beaver, 1 1/2oz tungsten weight and an eagle bobber stoppers to keep the weight from sliding. Look for current flowing under vegitation that has at least a few feet under it.

[bigjosh15]

I would check this Video out by Chris Raza...Scroll down, and check it out! Good info..

http://truebasstv.net/

[Gator]

Mats are your friend -

at least a 1 oz. Tungsten weight
Your favorite creature bait
A rod that will let you winch em out (mine is a Dobyns 766 FLIP)
and 65# braid


you will love it

[Team Pollard]

Hold on to your rod after you get thru the mat or vegation, the strikes are vicous, it will knock the rod out of your hand. I like it better then a top water bite

[Marty]

Maybe this will help you out!

http://westernbass.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=#358139

[barse41]

I like it better then a top water bite

+1

[ash]

Marty's link is an excellent visual on setting up a punch rig, it has helped me out quit a bit.

[big_limits]

im sorry but that weight Raza is using looks like a plumb bob. i might get one for my tool box but not my tackle box... ill prolly buy one right after i buy a tubo rig

[Cooch]

How do I set up my rod to punch and what do I look for when doing it. thank you jeff

This is gonna really depend on if yer REALLY "punching" thru thick matted cover, or just flippin into the grass beds we see on a low tide. There IS a huge difference in the two tactics and patterns.

Unfortunately, there are many who consider both as "Punchin" and it confuses anglers. There was a time back in Sept-Nov of last year where local & western guys were winning tournaments here, that said they were punching. When if fact, all they were doing was flippin' heavy weighted baits through the various submerged weeds thru out the River. This led many anglers to follow the "Punchin Dock' talk and they targeted the wrong cover and couldn't figure out why they weren't gettin bit. Back in March when the BASS Elite boys showed up, that tournament was won by Crews and followed by Skeet, Hack, Ike & Shaw, ALL 5 reported flipping into the grass with heavy weights as a key part of their patterns. Anyone who watched the event on ESPN, can atest to this. These guys called it for what it was, flippen, not punchin.

There really is a big difference in using a big heavy weighted bait to allow yer bait to get through 1-2 feet of heavy matted vegitation, roots, cheese or dead laydown tulles, versus flippen a heavy rig into the submerged grass and looking for a fast falling reaction bite. We need to recognize the difference and be prepaired to impliment either presentation. For me, I'll use a 1/2 oz jig or a Texas rigged Yamamoto Kreature with a 1/2 oz tungsten weight for flippen in the grass. It falls thru this grass just fine and presents a slower moving target for agressive bass. You can certainly use a heavier weight here, if that's what it takes to trigger strikes.

When I'm actually punching thick matted surface cover, I'll go to a 3/4oz jig or the same T-rig with 3/4oz, and above weight, to get the bait to poke thru the heavy cover and rapidly fall into a bass' strike zone, hence forcing a reaction bite. When actually punching, the lighter weighted baits are not gonna penetrate the thick stuff, unless of course yer targetting specific small holes or jambing the bait thru the thick matt with yer rod like I demonstrated on my punching video.

I believe both can be accomplished with the same rod and line set up. I personally use my Heavy 7'6" Fenwick Flippen stik with 25 lb Fluorocarbon. Some guys prefer braid over the Fluoro and Mono lines. No matter which tactic you choose, you need the stout heavy equiptment to fish this stuff.

[Cooch]

im sorry but that weight Raza is using looks like a plumb bob. i might get one for my tool box but not my tackle box... ill prolly buy one right after i buy a tubo rig

That weight Chris was using in his video is the Miller Punchin weight. It's actually an extremely effective weight to use in getting thru the think stuff. Chris makes a key point in that with the pointed tip, you can just pitch it to the cover, give it a slight shake and that thing will quitely fall right on thru anything. For me, it is by far the best weight to use when punching plastics thru the cheese. A weight or jig with a rounded head, will not go thru as easily and as clean as the Miller punchin weight.. It may look like the oddest thing ya ever seen, as was my very first thought, but once I started ta use em, I found it fell thru with extreme ease and was far more stealthy than any other weight. It also pulled out with less crap and clingons as other weights. Bottom line fer me, the fish under them matts, don't give a hoot about the weight, they clock it!

[Ricky-S]

Cooch you gave up the business with that last post.

[Cooch]

Cooch you gave up the business with that last post.

Oh I love all you local Rats Ricky! Raza spills the barrel on True Bass and nothing is said, I echo his thoughts here on WB and am the secrete leaker! LMAO! Hope all is well with ya buddy, ton of giants moving up for you NG guys!

[Guy Kelley]

GREAT POST COOCH ! As always you get to the heart of the matter and tell it like it is , with out all of the close to the vest secrets that so many seem to advocate !


for this I applaud YOU

[ASD]

GREAT POST COOCH ! As always you get to the heart of the matter and tell it like it is , with out all of the close to the vest secrets that so many seem to advocate !


for this I applaud YOU

+1

[Ricky-S]

Great post Cooch. That first post says a lot about what punchin is REALLY about. It's a must read for every wanabe puncher....

[bassmaster89]

But with the miller weight, there is a big awkward thing on top of your bait. Or do the bass not seem to care? Cause with regular weights, it at least blends and looks more natural.

[big_limits]

a little paint or something... i havent used a brass colored weight in years. if it kinda matched the cover id be more inclined to give it a whurlllll. i wasn't knocking it, i was only relaying my first reaction/impression of it. im sure i'm not alone on this one... then again back in the day i thought a castaic would only be good for stripers...

[Team Pollard]

Great post Cooch, thats what I miss on this forum, you gave us some great info. I love to punch mats and Hyachine. But, I have never tried the Miller weight. I will have to give it a try. thanks Cooch.

[tunaman]

Cooch is full of ****, in this regard, as I spoke to several of the guys he is referring to and they were, indeed, punching the 'thick stuff' last year while cutting serious checks.

Regardless, as Coochie pointed out, there are varying levels of 'punching', and each brings on its own challenges.

First challenge is to get the right gear to punch through the level you are fishing... coontail or elodea requires much less heavy and stout gear than trying to punch through periwinkle. Combinations of vegetation present their own challenges. Finding a spot of hyacinth with periwinkle below it might be a good spot, but it will require more stout gear and weight to get through than the elodea scenarios that Cooch was referring to.

Jim Moulton turned me on to the Steez 801 and the Dobyns 805 flip/punch last year at the HBC, and both of those are very good for doing the real "punch" technique. The Steez has a really fast tip, which allows for less wrist action required for the effort, and both have the backbone to pull the bigger monsters from under their mat hideouts.

For the lighter vegitation, you will only need 3/4 to one ounce weights and your favorite creature (think Beaver baby!). For the heavier stuff, 1 1/2 ounce weights are mandatory. The punch rig works best, with the advantage going to the punch hooks now available with a snell knot attachment. If' you've watched the videos, you'll see the advantage and appreciate it immediately - the manor in which the hook contracts against the weight is conducive to hooking fish, plain and simple. It is well worth the time to learn and tie.

Be sure to understand the depth you are expecting under the mats... the first punch fish I got last year was in about 12 feet of water under the mat, and when it hadn't hit bottom when I figured it had traveled nearly 20' I set the hook, as the fish had hit it on the way down and I never felt the bite.

Punching is fun stuff... got to give it a try this season!

Roger

[JustinD]

1 oz. weight for the outside say mushroom weed clumps....and 1.5 oz. for the heavy veg. 65# braid......but

I like it better then a top water bite

lets not get carried away...its fun but its not topwater.

[Greg H]

One thing that I have found is sometimes using lighter braid in the 30-40 pound class. The smaller diameter seems to go down easier and also at times seems to cut the weeds better. If the fish are way in the back of the mat, 65 pound is often needed to winch them in when there is no way the line is going to cut free to open water.

I agree there is a difference in punching mats and flipping weeds but many seem to put them together when they talk of punching.

[billythekidd44]

Do you always peg the weight or is there times when you don`t?

[Jeff Antenucci]

Do you always peg the weight or is there times when you don`t?

Always peg it, 100% of the time. If you don't, often times the weight will get through and the bait your flipping will stay on top of the mat.

[Cooch]

Cooch is full of ****, in this regard, as I spoke to several of the guys he is referring to and they were, indeed, punching the 'thick stuff' last year while cutting serious checks.

I'm fishing WAY too much these days to have missed this! LMAO! So who's really full of ****? The guy who spends his days on the River watching them do what they do and is showing you the ropes, or the guy who is only 2 years to the neighborhood AND is listening to the "dock talk" and believes it? HAR! HAR! HAR!

[ASD]

O come on girls stop your

Can't we all just get along

[Cooch]

O come on girls stop your

Can't we all just get along

You ain't been around this crowd too long, this IS, how we git along! HAR! HAR! HAR!

[ASD]

Ya but i'm like herpies once i show up i am hard to get rid of

[bpm2000]

Hold on to your rod after you get thru the mat or vegation, the strikes are vicous, it will knock the rod out of your hand. I like it better then a top water bite

best part about punching imo - I almost never have to set the hook lol.