Bass Fishing Jan 2017 | Page 38

GEAR PUNCHING GEAR BREAKING DOWN PUNCHING GEAR THE BASIC TOOLS FOR TARGETING BASS IN HEAVY VEGETATION W By Matt Williams hen bass are buried up in thick vegetation, few tactics work better for getting at them and triggering reaction strikes than punching through with a Texas rig. ABOUT PUNCHING 34 Punching – whether accomplished with pitching or flipping techniques – is a tight-quarters, in-their-face power-fishing technique typically built around some sort of soft-plastic creature bait, a heavy hook, stout line and a sinker heavy enough to crash through cover and get the bait into the strike zone. The idea is to cover water and make vertical presentations through dense cover – sometimes in rapid succession – until a fish eats the bait. fLWfISHInG.com I january 2017