During Saturday's tournament I fished with a flippin stick for the first
time ever on the Delaware. I
followed all the basic muddy water guidelines. Big bulky lure (4" Mizmo Fat
Boy Tube), noisy (inserted a Mizmo Rook's Thunder Rattle in the tube), heavy
(pegged a 5/8 bullet sinker to the tube), shallow (all 5 fish came within
inches of structure in less than 2 feet of water). The muddy water let me
get close to the fish (all were nailed with simple flippin/pitchin
technique, less than
15' of line off my rodtip) & also let me get away with using whatever line I
wanted (25# Big Game, normally 8-12# is standard for the Delaware). All the
fish hit on the initial presentation, not on the retrieve. So much though,
in fact, that by mid day I was dropping the tube in, jiggling it & pulling
it right out. This backs my theory that the entry of a bait into the water
in muddy conditions is a major element in drawing strikes. I tried to make
each flip enter the water with a "plop" (but not a splash). I believe the
plop makes it sound like an injured baitfish on the surface. I think that
draws bass to the lure before it even gets to the bottom. The plop is
made by thumbing the spool to a stop just before it contacts the water. I
actually
enjoyed fishing the chocolate milk this time. I'm starting to really dig
the flippin stick too, I can rip any sized fish right into the boat...

As for the tournament I came in 4th, but I did have one of the 2 limits.
Sadly my fish were all typical Delaware River LM's (1.25-1.5# rats). I did
drop a good one on a dropshot (that never happens), and I also think I
missed a bass on the tube on my second pitch of the morning, but I'll never
know. I pulled up at the marina breakwall with 4 keepers & 10 minutes to
go, tossed my old reliable Zoom craw to the base of the riprap, and boated
my 5th keeper.

Sweet, love when that happens.

Warren
--
http://www.warrenwolk.com/
http://www.tri-statebassmasters.com
2004 NJ B.A.S.S. Federation State Champions