Bass love sitting under thick mats of vegetation especially when there are nice defined edges with open water abutting it.
Punching mats for bass.
They also provide protection from sunlight a bass s.
Punching triggers a reaction from a bass.
Don t be timid on your gear selection when you re punching.
Flip and pitch your completed punch rig through matted grass lily pads and other heavy cover to trigger big bites.
He talks about the effect of cold fronts on spring bass and how he modifies working the bait his choice of bait color weights he likes and how he approaches the mat for maximum efficiency.
Other requirements for punching bass in the face include a heavy sinker 1 ounce often pegged strong straight shank or offset worm hooks heavy action flippin rods and 60 to 80 pound braided line.
It s basically a knot that allows the hook to pivot perpendicularly to the pull of the line.
Greg hackney puts on a bass fishing clinic punching mats for bass.
Finding bass in grass mats is a lot like locating them in other cover look for something different.
Punch skirts also seem to work best in hydrilla milfoil or coontail that s topped out but not forming a super thick mat.
The floating weeds keep building up and create a very nice mat for punching.
Realizing that it s hard and not something to eat the bass instinctively spits it out.
Bass that are hiding under these dense mats of cover are not stalking.
This is an amazing tutorial on how to target bass related to dense vegetation.
Okay so let s talk about this snell knot i keep mentioning.
When selecting your sinker for punching the key is to use something heavy enough to get the bait through the mat and into the.
Sumrall s confidence bait is a missile baits d bomb a soft plastic creature bait he s been using since it hit the market.
Bass will use these areas for hiding in and ambushing prey like baitfish and crayfish.
For september when he s punching mats under which bass are cooling.
Use a heavy action rod over 7 4 in length and strong braided line to wrench bass out of thick cover.
If you haven t done a lot of punching that might sound like gear for offshore marlin fishing but i promise you that you ll want all of that muscle and every possible advantage if you hook a big bass under a heavy mat.