Featuring Seth Ellis | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Hometown: Durham, North Carolina
Technique: Summertime Flippin’
History: California’s Dee Thomas developed the Flippin’ technique in the early 1970s after area tournament circuits outlawed “tule dipping,” which used a long pole—but no reel—to drop a jig into otherwise inaccessible cover. Flippin’ is a fixed-line presentation method. Pitching—an underhand casting method that gives you more range but is still extremely accurate and quiet—was developed by Tommy Biffle and others in the early 1980s.
Highlights: I’ve won a lot of local tournaments by Flippin’ and pitching and caught one of my biggest bass—a 10 pounder—using the technique on Falls Lake near my home.
When: This pattern starts to work when the water temperature reaches about 80 degrees, but it’s at its best when the water temp is 85 or higher. At 75 to 80 degrees, a lot of fish start to move offshore. There’s a thermocline with cooler, oxygenated water out there, but boat traffic and fishing pressure will cause some of those offshore schools to disperse and some of those fish move into the shallows where the bluegills have been all year. There are a lot of quality bass in the shallows at this time. In the north, bass may spend all summer in the shallows. With this pattern, the issue can be getting enough bites to compete. Great numbers of bass are still offshore, but if you can get seven or eight shallow bites a day, you can win a tournament.
Where: Summertime bass will settle into any place that offers shade and an ambush point. I focus most of my attention on water 3 feet deep or less. I’m looking for shade lines and undercut banks … sometimes in less than 2 feet of water. The fish here are feeding on panfish—bluegills, crappie and juvenile perch.
Lures: My favorite lure for this pattern is a 1/2-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig in Blue Craw, Black/Blue, or Green Pumpkin Craw. For a trailer, I like a Strike King Rage Twin Tail Menace Grub or Strike King Rage Bug in Black Blue Flake or Green Pumpkin. The Menace falls faster, and I like it in clear water. The Rage Bug falls a little slower, and I prefer it in dirty water. With either one, I thread the bait onto the shank of the jig hook and screw-lock keeper.
Mods: I generally trim the skirts on my jigs to just below the bend of the hook. It makes the bait a little more compact, and the skirt flares more on the retrieve. Sometimes I use a dye marker to add a little orange or chartreuse to the trailer. It helps it to look more like a bluegill or perch.
Line: My go-to line is 20-pound-test fluorocarbon.
Rod: 7-foot-1 Andy Montgomery Signature Series Team Lew’s medium-heavy action casting rod. It’s designed for pitching and skipping. I also like the 7-foot-6 Greg Hackney Signature Series Team Lew’s heavy action casting rod for Flippin’ and pitching the jig.
Reel: Lew’s HyperMag casting reel (8.3:1)
Basics: I love to fish willow trees and boat docks with this pattern. My first presentation is going to be to the deepest, darkest area. From there, I work my bait out. About half my strikes come on the initial fall. The rest come as I swim the bait out. I don’t soak the bait in place or work it slowly. I’m covering water. There are typically not a lot of fish in these areas, but the ones you find will be larger than average. After I pitch or flip the bait in, I’ll let it sink to the bottom. If nothing grabs it, I’ll hop it once or twice, raise the rod tip and steadily swim it out to maximize my cast. I’m partly pitching and Flippin’ the jig and partly swimming it. I get a lot of bites as I’m swimming the jig back to the boat. Stay alert for those bites. Don’t give up the presentation until it’s over.
Advanced: You can run this pattern all over a lake. I believe there are two types of fish using it. First, there are the resident fish living in the backs of shallow pockets. They do not replenish quickly. Then there are the bass that are in shallow cover nearer the main lake. They may or may not replenish during a multi-day tournament. Some of the biggest fish you’ll catch on this pattern are the resident fish way in the backs of pockets and often long distances from deep water. These fish often get overlooked!
Seth Ellis – Angler Profile
