hard to consistently target. But take a hot summer day, still winds and lots of sunlight, locate a thick weed mat and the assumption of bass is as close to a guarantee as you’ll find. and if you need more convincing, here’s another plus for the punching option: running a topwater frog or buzz toad across weed mats will occasionally deliver those thunderous strikes that we dream of. However, super-thick mats make it difficult for bass to a) locate and B) reach surface baits. look at it like this: surface baits are takeout; punching is room service. Worth noting: While a dense, emergent mat comprises the common punching target, don’t hesitate to punch what lies beneath the surface. during a recent FlW everStart Series tournament out of Bethel island, Calif., delta pro Stephen “Bub” tosh found some of his fish in grass that had yet to reach the surface. outgoing tides were the key to finding the cover, but once he spotted the growing mass, he was able to punch out a few big ones on the corners. “They’re big underwater mats; they just haven’t grown to the top yet. You have to wait until the tide gets all the way low and then you can find the grass,” tosh said. “These are grass mats that will be topped out and will be solid flippable mats in another month or so, but the grass isn’t all the way to the surface – even on low tide. Just because it’s not to the top doesn’t mean it’s not still a mat.”
effective punching relies on speed and brute force. You’re basically dealing with a texas-rig presentation, but just make the weight really, really heavy. Common are 1- to 2 ½-ounces of lead or tungsten to escort a 3/0 - 5/0 heavy gauge straight shank hook with something that will penetrate the mat quickly. Thick body beaver and craw style baits usually fit the bill and popular choices include Paycheck Baits Psycho dad, Strike King 4-inch KVd Perfect Plastic rodent
and Berkley Havoc Skeet’s Pit Boss. The conventional wisdom of darker colored baits for dim days and/or stained water and brighter colors (or at least bright reflective flecks) on sunny days is always a good standard, but don’t hesitate to mix it up in the punching world because complexion is just not that critical. FlW tour pro J.t. Kenney finds most of his strikes occur as soon as his bait penetrates a grass mat, so color plays a minimal role in these reaction bites. “Most of your strikes will come as soon as that bait breaks through the mat,” Kenney said. “if not, i’ll let it hit the bottom, give it a couple of hops and move on to the next spot. They’re either going to bite it or not.”
HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS
in most punching cases, it’s better to be too heavy than too light. on the delta, where huge Florida-strain largemouths bury themselves under rafts of tangled, twisted weeds, Zack Thompson said that novice punchers should understand that, while speed is important, velocity can be your liability. “The key is to get your bait to fall fast,” Thompson said. “The faster it falls, the more bites you’ll get. But it’s like throwing any other reaction bait – a lot of times the fish will react to the bait, but they’re not really trying to eat it, so you’re going to miss some.” another key point: When fish suspend under deeper vegetation, anglers may be tempted to go lighter, as bass typically bite well before baits reach bottom. Banish that thought and replace it with an always-heavy attitude. regardless of where the fish position in relation to the mat, a forced entry is the name of the game. to facilitate this, anglers often add a punch skirt between the weight and the hook. For optimal convenience, the Strike King Slither rig combines a
THE PUNCHING PACKAGE
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