I have always preferred power fishing to any of that finesse
stuff. There is just something about battling it out with bruiser largemouth,
in their element, with heavy line, big baits and powerful equipment, as opposed
to sewing threat and “fairy wands”. But
nothing gets my adrenalin pumping more than having to get down and dirty with
some hand-to-hand combat in the thickest nastiest stuff available in the lake. I’m
talkin’ ‘bout put your head down total commitment to punchin’ or flippn’ the
heaviest cover around. Whether your punchin’ thick hydrilla or matted milfoil
in Guntersville or Okeechobee or flippin in the nastiest thorn riddled Mesquite
and Huisache (weesatch) trees of Falcon and Choke Canyon in South Texas,
nothing consistently produces bigger fish than these techniques. But you better
have the right weapons in your hands for this in-your-face, hand-to-hand
combat.
If you follow my writings at all you have heard me explain
the philosophy that the tackle, rods and reels, and other equipment we use are
tools. It is important to use the proper tools for the job/conditions. For way
too long the tools required for heavy punchin and flippin just did not exist
resulting in lost opportunities and damaged equipment. With the advent of
tungsten weights and baits like Oldham’s Big Eye Flippin jigs in 1 to 1½ oz we
could penetrate the adversary’s heaviest fortress but were still left without
the weapons required for the needed advantage in this up close fighting/hand-to-hand
combat. Enter Ardent Reels…
Several years ago Ardent revolutionized the tooling required
for this most brutal of techniques with the introduction of the Denny Brauer
Flip-N-Pitch reel. The fact that the “Godfather” of this technique helped to
develop this tool says it all. I have used these reels for almost a decade and
can tell you they are the ultimate weapon in this type of combat. And now
Ardent has unveiled its latest edition of this in the Apex
Flipping Reel. With its High Strength Aluminum frame, Helical Aircraft Aluminum
Gear, Carbon Fiber swept back handle, EVA grip knobs on handle, 11 lb. Strike
Saver Drag System, this 10+1 High Precision Ball Bearing weapon of mass
destruction designed by the #2 all-time B.A.S.S. Elite money winner and King of
Flipping is one step closer for the ultimate tool of the trade. (I say “one
step closer” because Ardent seems to improve on the beast every few years.) The
Apex Flipping Reel and its predecessors are the only tool/weapons specifically
engineered for this hand-to-hand combat.
You will, no doubt, need “The Best Rod (weapon) on Earth”
for the task as well. I prefer to strap my Flipping reel to a St Croix Legend Tournament TBC73XHF
Big Jig rod for the nastiest of combat but the 7’ 9” Punchin' rod (TBC79HMF)
and 7’ 11’ Flippin' (TBC711HMF) are superior weapons as well. The “Big Jig” is
an unforgiving “broomstick” reserved as I said, for the thickest/heaviest of
cover. Most often the Punchin’ or Flippin’ can handle any scrape you may get
into (depending on your preference of rod length). These tools are not just
designed for the job but cutting edge engineering go into building the most
advanced fishing rods on earth. St. Croix pushes the outer limits of new
manufacturing technologies. They use the latest in CNC (Computer Numerical
Control) technology to turn their our own aluminum and plastic trim pieces,
wind checks, shims and other rod components producing a better, more consistent
product, every time. Engineering breakthroughs like St. Croix’s exclusive
Integrated Poly Curve® and Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ leave no doubt that
these tools are engineered and developed to outperform all others.
