Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 03/15/08: Flippin the Mats

Flippin' is a technique often used to catch the Florida largemouth bass. Many flippers choose to flip bulrush, cattails, Kissimmee grass and pads but often pass up some of the most productive cover that exists in Florida waters. The cover is flippin mats.

So what is a flippin mat? A mat is any form of cover that forms an umbrella for the fish. This may include floating hyacinths, chopped up Kissimmee grass, hydrilla, peppergrass or a variety of other aquatic vegetation that can form a dense umbrella on the surface.

Fishing these mats can be very difficult and the right fishing tackle is a must. Let's examine what tackle you need to be successful in getting a bite.

1- A stout flippin stick is a must. This is a 7.5 foot telescoping rod with a material high modulus. This type of rod gives you the backbone to quickly set the hook and pull the fish up and through the mat.

2- A low or medium speed reel is needed. The lower gear ratio gives you the winching power to get the fish out of the cover. A higher gear ratio reel will often lock up or be very difficult to crank when the fish gets caught up against the mat.

3- Use heavy line either mono or braid at least 20 pound test. Many anglers prefer the braid as it has low stretch and smaller line diameters per pound test. I personally haven't got used to the "zip, zip" feeling of the braid coming through the rod guides and still use mono.

4- Heavy sinkers are a must. The weights can vary depending on the thickness of the mat. A mat with many holes can be fished with as low of weight as 3/8 ounce. Heavy, thick mats may require weights up to 1.5 ounces.

5- A stout hook is essential. What I mean by stout is the thickness of the wire gage used to make the hook. When browsing your local tackle shop, you will often see heavier gage hooks with the same size rating as the thinner gage hooks. For flippin, use the heavy gage wire as the hook will not bend or give when setting the hook from a close distance.

6- Compact lures or straight tailed worms must be used. A crawfish, sweet beaver, brushhog, paddle tailed or straight tailed worm like a trickworm is a must for flippin. Worms with ribbons or hook tails will become very aggravating as they often hang/cling to the mat and won't go down into the water.

The mats often hold fish in many different places under them. Whenever protruding structure comes through the mat, fish those spots very thoroughly. Some example of protruding cover include: Reeds/bulrush/pads sticking through a hyacinth mat. Brush/branches sticking up through hydrilla. Etc, etc.

Variety of Flippin' Mats

The mats also may have holes in them. Flip the holes using as light of weight as possible as it allows a slower, triggering type of fall.

Mats often have heavier/thicker sections in them. These are often the key spots to flip either in a cold front situation or extremely hot days. The thinner sections are more productive when the temperature is in the basses active range.

Often the bite occurs with the initial descent of the lure. Be prepared for a mushy feeling on your rod when you lift the bait. If this feel is present, lower the rod tip and set the hook as quickly as possible. At other times, you will notice that you have to give more line out than what is required for the depth fished. This simply means that the fish struck and is swimming off under the cover. You got to strike quickly so the fish doesn't entangle your line too much and come off.

When setting the hook, you've got to bring the rod high over your head to get the fish up through the mat. Reel quickly so the fish doesn't have a chance to bury itself into the mat/weeds.

If you start to flip the mats in Florida, you'll definitely have a better chance to load the boat with quality fish!