Best punch bait?

[EJP1234]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs39yBN_ ... ature=plcp

Here's a recent vid of me fishing with the Slop Craw. After I changed the first time, I got 3 fish on that same bait I switched to. The vegetation has died down a lot but some spots still had some clumped up.

awesome stuff! i see your punch video and raise you a couple

[youtube]tAi068kuP-w[/youtube]

[youtube]bq-VbtJDdXA[/youtube]

Aw you gonna learn today... that ain't punching, thats flipping pads. To me it's a big difference. Come down south to the bay or the potomac in the middle of summer and look at the milfoil/hydrilla and you'll see real punching. Need a big stick with big weight just to get to the bottom. Pad's you just have to get it in the holes and it's free and clear to the bottom.

lol
theres plenty of the nasty stuff on that lake to punch, i use the same setup in the pads. and some of those pads are so tight you have to punch through the pad itself.

Don't be offended, but pads and thick grass are 2 different things all together, trust me. I have thick pads on the rivers here, but we also have miles upon miles of the thickest milfoil and hydrilla you can get. Big difference in tackle requirements to do one or the other. Not saying you cant use punching gear in the pads, but flipping pads isn't punching.

[sarcazmo]

What are you targeting when punching?

Are you targeting pockets in the thick stuff? Or just using heavy weight to get underneath it? Both?

Sorry I've never punched before. Not even sure if any of our lakes in AZ have thick enough stuff to be considered 'punching.'

[FishBlock]

The slop craw is hard to beat when punching the nasty stuff. The durability is superb

[zodiak311]

I am going to have to check out the slop craws. My personal favs are the Power Teams.

[Bladerunner808]

YUM Wooly Bug / R.I Sweet Beaver. Looks like a craw AND/OR a small sunfish. I don't like baits that are too specific of a prey when punching. The R.I Sweet Beaver and YUM Wooly Bug cover the 2 main forage in ONE package. Done and Done. Always an Ochobee color for me. I don't bother with any other colors.

[tH3_Guy]

What are you targeting when punching?

Are you targeting pockets in the thick stuff? Or just using heavy weight to get underneath it? Both?

Sorry I've never punched before. Not even sure if any of our lakes in AZ have thick enough stuff to be considered 'punching.'

You hope to find pockets of water open when the weed rolls over the top. Really its blind casting. Some days their are in the yellow mucky stuff, somedays its in the green stuff.

theory is: weed prodcue oxygen in summer months and stays cool, winter months they absorb the heat faster due to darker coloration.

sometimes you can punch for hours with nothing, then bam!!!! You find a nice pocket and catch a limit!

[GARRIGA]

Have they stopped biting Beavers? Is there really a need for anything else?

I'm a novice at this but seems like that one bait has been copied so much that you have to believe its a winner. Why do we constantly reinvent the wheel if the round shape is getting it done? Do the variations work better or would we have caught the same fish in the same spot where all being equal and the only difference was the Beaver or not? Under a thick canopy there should be limited visibility and just dropping in should get bit or not. Doesn't the shape make entry a breeze and shape hide the look enough to punch through but not prevent hook ups?

They're cheap so replacement isn't an issue and other than size for apparent mood swings what more can one change? Not sure color matters in a pitch black environment because the canopy is thick and only pnetrated by 1.5 oz or better. Put on some Costa and tell me if one can deffirintiate all the different shades us fisherman find appealing or think matches the hatch. Just thinking out loud.

[kazama]

Nories Escape twin

[tH3_Guy]

Beavers are great, but still not as durable. Considering pricing and durability you cannot beat out the slop craws as of right now.

2.99 for slop craw quantity 10
4.69-4.89 for beaver from 6-10 quantity.

Plus the durability factor. Beaver for me 1 to 4 fish. Slop craw 1-8 bass. i've read up to 20 bass in the custome feedback on TW.
Plus the fact its its a little big more compact and I can flip it into little opening in weed.

[legendaryyaj]

Beavers work without a doubt but I'm looking for a bait that saves me "hassle". I like to be efficient when fishing so I can cover as much water as possible without fumbling with my setup. If you just want to fish without a care for time and fumbling with baits then that's fine. I like to make the most out of my time since sometimes I am limited.

Having to walk the canal system and not having to carry bags of bait is pretty good. You might think a bag of beavers weigh next to nothing but put one in your short pockets and fish for about 2 miles walking in the blistering sun. It becomes a pain. I can grab like 2-3 slop craws and be off fishing without having the trouble of a whole bag of plastic in my pocket. I started with a full backpack and that is not fun either after walking for a while. Lazy? Yes but it makes my life so much easier. No other bait has that keel and you don't need a straight shank with a keeper. No one has a straight shank hook with a good keeper.

If I am fishing from a boat and fishing up front, I'll get more flip/pitch/punches in before the guy in the back because the slop craw is just so much more efficient. If I'm in the back, I can thoroughly fish an area more than a guy who isn't using one because I bet you after a couple flips/pitches/punches he's going to be readjusting his bait after every pitch/flip/punch. The slop craw slips in and out so much easier and is so much more durable.

Again these are MY reasons. People cry about senko's so why can't I cry about punch baits? I'm not saying the thing appeals more to fish, I am just saying it has a lot of great features on it that no other bait has.

[John Puckett]

legendaryyaj, over the course of this thread I've read every post (because I love anything to do with flip/punch fishing) but I can't recall your choice of hooks. I've tried many, Mustads Grip Pin Max, BMF, Gamakatsu, etc and I've found the best hook for heavy grass is the Zo Wire Owner twistlock flipping hook. I know a lot of guys don't like it because you can't use a snell knot with it and others dismiss it simply because when rigged there's a small gap between the bait and weight.

I've had much higher hooking percentages with it than any other flip/punch hooks. Yes I've used Bub Tosh's snell knot with the straight shank hooks but I still miss more fish with those hooks snelled than I do with the Owners and a palomar. Lastly, and the point I think you'll most enjoy, is I almost never have to re-adjust my bait using these hooks. Using a Zoom Speed Craw I can catch 4 or 5 fish on most of them before I have to put on a fresh bait.

I picked up a pack of Slop Craws to try later on this summer and I've already checked, the 4/o Owner fits the bait great. Theres no telling how many fish you can catch on one with these hooks.

On a side note, the Mustad Grip Pin Max hooks rig up fantastic, the bait sits on the hook perfect, the "keeper barb" doesn't hang grass, they come super sharp but I couldn't hook a single fish using them. I tried them on 4 straight trips getting bites each trip and not once did I ever hook the fish. When I would get my rig back the bait would always be balled up in the bend and prevent the barb from penetrating. I used two different baits, a baby Paca Craw and a D-Bomb. Didn't make any diference. I will point out that the bait never slipped down the hook while fishing, only when a fish was on. I'm not in any way trying to "slam" Mustad, I really like their hooks. I have KVD triple grips on the majority or my crankbaits I was simply telling my problem to see if anyone here was having a similar one or if it's just something I'm doing wrong.

Anyway guys like I said I love to talk flipping so I'm just trying to add to the thread, hope I did.

[legendaryyaj]

I have used the BMF/Gammy/Paycheck, Trokar, Youvella, and various of the normal straight shank worm hooks that are thinner in diameter. I've looked at the Owner Zo hooks and the bite on those seem rather small so I never tried them. The thing with those hooks is the CPS. I use them on frogs and they tear up a frog in no time after a couple fish so I just can't imagine they would hold up to punching. If flipping lighter cover then yes they would probably hold up but not going in and out of the nasty stuff.

The Denny Braur hooks have that keeper that I know will tear a big hole in the softer plastics like Beavers. I don't think the hole will be any smaller than the one created by a Trokar hook. The best I've found is probably using Aaron Martins technique of tying on a keeper on either the BMF or Paycheck hook. It HAS to be one of those for me. Yes Gammy makes the hook but the Gammy hook does not have the raised barbs to keep the keeper in place. The hooks are good but the keepers blow. The slop craw eliminates the need for a keeper. If you like certain hooks then I guess the bait wouldn't be for you since you can't really use the bait with a hook that has a keeper. I haven't tried it but I think it would be super bulky in the keel.

[John Puckett]

I disagree with you strongly that these hooks won't hold up to punching duties. I'm fishing some fairly thick grass, 1-1/4 weights sometimes struggle to get through and I NEVER have problems with the Owners not keeping my bait in perfect condition pitch after pitch. I've not experienced any "gap" problems either, BUT that's why there's more than one style of hook out there. Not everyone sees things the same way.

Actually the Mustad flipping hook tears the smallest hole in the bait of all the straight shanks I've tried. The keeper is really slick so with a little spit the plastics slide right over it with minimal damage. The BMF tears the bait more but it holds the bait up much better for me. This could also just be in my head but it looks as if the Mustad hook's point is bent in, pointing toward the shank more than the other straight shanks. Could just be me though??

[legendaryyaj]

With those owner hooks, you don't experience the nose of the bait getting destroyed if by chance one fish happens to mangle it? The thing that I see as an issue is that once the bait gets pulled from that cps, the nose of the bait is pretty much done and so is that bait. It's a common problem I experience with them. Yes you can Mend-it but if that was the solution to end all then we would only need one bait and jars upon jars of Mend-it.

I'll have to try out those Denny Braurer hooks. It does look like the point is pointed torward the shank but it looks like it might be a good thing. I will have to experiment this summer. Thanks!

[John Puckett]

Yes if a fish pulls the CPS out of the bait then I have to get a fresh bait. My point was I don't have that happen very often at all, especially on the first fish. It usually takes around 3 fish before the bait starts to tear and needs replacing. Of course there are exceptions and every once in a while the first or second fish will jerk the bait off the CPS. That was my whole point, I just didn't do a good job getting it across, the CPS holds most of the plastics I flip in place for multiple fish before it gets trashed. Now I agree with you that for some reason frog fishing does seem to pull the bait off the CPS sooner.

See I was thinking the exact opposite about the Mustad's, I was thinking the point being turned in more was actually hurting my hook ups. I'm sure it's more than likely something I'm doing wrong as opposed to it being the hook design but that's just my opinion. Let me know how you like them after you try them, if you remember.