Wintertime Flipping

How Braxton Setzer catches big ones on the Coosa River in the colder months

Flipping is a time-honored approach for big bass, but many anglers put away the big sticks in the winter. For FLW Tour pro Braxton Setzer, picking up a flipping stick is a traditional part of winter and one of the best ways to put together a big bag on reservoirs such as Lay and Jordan on the Coosa River near his Montgomery, Ala., home.

What to look for

When the water cools down and the shore grass begins to die, Setzer starts looking for the mats of bent-over vegetation that subsequently form. Setzer doesn’t discriminate too much on the location side of things. He’ll run along the shorelines of the main lake and in pockets. The key is the presence of mats that are nice and thick.

“A lot of times I’ll start looking for it in the fall, and that will go all the way through the winter and to the spring,” says Setzer. “The mats will kind of break up in the spring. The weather will break them up because it’s just dead vegetation. Typically by the end of the spring the current and wind will push it [the dead grass] out, and the new vegetation will take hold. Anytime the water temperature starts to get into the low 60s I’ll start looking around and start flipping them.”

Setzer is happy to flip a mat with just a couple of feet of water underneath it or as much as 8 feet.

Condition considerations 

Flipping is a great pattern all winter in Setzer’s region, but there are some factors that can affect the program.

“These are [power] generation lakes, so in times when we don’t have rain they clear up and can fluctuate some,” says Setzer of the Coosa chain. “That can have an affect on it [the bite], and sometimes it will cause those fish to pull out from under the grass. Ideally, you’re looking for stable conditions and stable water level. As long as you don’t have big fluctuations the bass tend to stay up under the mats.”

Water clarity has an impact too. According to Setzer, sometimes fish will pull up under a mat in gin-clear water, but the clarity makes it difficult to fool them into biting.

“It’s easier to catch them in dirtier water, and you tend to catch bigger fish when the water has color to it,” he says. “I think that’s just because the fish can’t see the bait as well.”

How to get bit

Setzer doesn’t do anything too extraordinary when flipping mats. He usually simply pitches his bait in, hops it a time or two, and then pulls it out for another shot. Neglecting to fish directly up against the bottom of the mats can be a mistake.

“In cold situations the fish will sometimes press their backs right up under the mat to get some of the radiating heat from it,” suspects Setzer. “There are times when those fish aren’t necessarily on the bottom. Some of these mats may be in 4, 5 or 6 feet of water, and if it [the bait] goes right by them they may not want to go down. If you pull the bait up and shake it under the mat that may be what it takes to get those fish to bite.”

Tackle essentials

For his flipping tackle, Setzer doesn’t stray too far from the norm. He flips the regular and small versions of the Missile Baits D Bomb and Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, well as the Mister Twister Flip’n Out.

“Around here I opt for a Phenix Recon 796 rod,” he adds. “The heavier 805 flipping stick/punch rod is a good rod as well, but I use it more in really thick vegetation and things like that. I like to be able to manage the line, so it’s always a high-speed reel, and I use Yo-Zuri Super Braid in 65-pound test.”

Setzer usually uses a Gamakatsu Super Heavy Cover Flippin’ Hook and a tungsten weight that ranges from about 3/4 to 2 ounces depending on the thickness of the mats, with a 1-ounce weight being his go-to size. He always attaches his hook with a snell knot.

Flip up a big wintertime bag

Catching big ones on a short line is a treat usually reserved for California, Florida and the summer, so bundling up and flipping heavy cover is a welcome wintertime treat. Setzer says that the biggest winter bag he’s flipped up topped 27 pounds, and flipping is almost always the first thing he looks to do.

“It’s something that I’ve grown up doing, and it’s a lot of fun,” says the sophomore Tour pro. “It’s a way you can go out and catch a really big bag of fish, and I have a lot of confidence in it. It’s something I really seek out and enjoy in the winter.”