Pitching a jig/worm question . . .

[Texas Transplant]

Okay, I did actually pitch both a jig and a worm this weekend. Did okay with the worm, not quite as well with the jig. Realized afterward, that the reel on my jig rod, needs to be changed. My fault.



Now to my question. What do you consider to be the 'outer limits' in distance, that you can effectively pitch to (using either a worm or jig)?



I didn't have too much problems, but realized after I got home, that my 'length', was far shorter than what I needed for the distance I was away from the Cypress Trees. I was the non-boater. For more on that, see the Santee thread I put up.



Also, when you answer - how proficient do you consider yourself when pitching?



Will be changing reels on my jig setup.



Tex

 

[Jim B]

Tex

I can pitch pretty far, but its all dependent on weight of the lure. the heavier the lure the further it can go. With a 1/2oz weight i can pitch a a lure 40' plus. I normally wont pitch that far, i try to keep it in the 20' range max. Any further and the accuracy starts going down. I consider myself pretty good at pitching. I do alot of it with all the docks i fish. I fish alot of clear water and you cant really get close enough for flipping to be effective so i pitch alot. I would say 40% of the time i spend on the water is pitching and i can put a lure in a coffee can all day long from 20 feet away.



What kind of reel are you going to put on your jig rod? I use curado super free's for a lot of my pitching and on my flipping stick i have a castaic super free and it is alsi a nice pitching reel.

 

[Larry Harp]

I do a lot of pitching on the heavy timber that I fish often fish on. I'm not too good at guessing distances but I would say that I can pitch accurately enough to 20 or 25 feet. Any farther and the splash down gets pretty loud. I use a BPS Extreme 7'6" heavy rod with a Curado 200sf 6.2 to 1 reel. I know that rod is really more for flipping but it does work well for pitching. Probably the next big purchase I make will be for a 7' Med/Hvy either Falcon or All Star and a Curado Castiac to be used just for pitching.



Harpo



P.S. Tex, I just bought the DVD on "Pitchin' to Heavy Hitters" by KVD. It has some pretty good information on the subject. If you want to borrow it e me your mailing address and I'll send it to you.

 

[Texas Transplant]

I have three rods rigged with the BPS Extreme (curado similar). They work pretty well. However, I have a less expensive BPS reel (round version - don't have the model here with me), that I had been trying to use. I realized while doing post tournament analysis off my side porch, that the older reel was not performing well.



Considering going to even a better reel, but need to watch the expenditures for awhile. Need the AC fixed on my car, before it get's too hot.



Tex

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Denny Brauer and Jay Yelas both say to use the same rod for pitching that you use for flipping...

They sold me...I picked one up this weekend...Team Daiwa Denny Brauer Flippin' Stick...sweet rod...7'6"...was on sale 1/2 OFF!!!



az

 

[Texas Transplant]

Thanks Harpo. I'll keep the 'loan' of the DVD in mind. Right now, I think I need to practice some more, and also be more realistic on what I'm trying to do.



I think the biggest problem was that we were much further away than 25'. At least 2 boat lengths - so I was probably in the 35-40 foot range.



Tex

 

[Larry Harp]

I noticed in the video that for longer distances KVD did a little underhand pitch/cast similar to what I do when I'm throwing spinnerbaits. Of course he can pitch it 30 or 40 feet and sit it down in the water with out ripple.

Like Gary Player said, "The more I practice, the luckier I get."



Harpo

 

[Kraig Clement]

Texas,

I think alot of people under estemate the importance of a good combo set up for pitchin and flipen.... I have a few combo's...... 7'6 and a 8 are the ones I use most often.....you need the long rod for the distance... a good real is very important..... I like one with a magnetic brake adjustment...... also very low memory line..... no curls,,,, that will cut down the distance.... I will pitch 30' max..... I can get 40+ but I will use a low roll cast for that much distance..... also, I have seen the VanDam dvd.... it's good ...... the best thing you can do is get an a ladder in your back yard and select a few targets adn start hitting them..... one last thing..... I use 1/4 oz or less.....most often....... if the wind is up I go a bit more.....



Kraig

 

[Texas Transplant]

I realized yesterday, that I have the PERFECT place to practice from. Only took me how many years to realize it.



I have a side deck/porch with several levels. The main level, is about 12-14 inches off of the driveway. On the other side of the deck, across the driveway, is 4 smaller dogwoods (grouped together), two bushes, and then a big oak tree. They are about 20-25 feet away. Also several more bushes and such another 8-10 feet further.



Bingo! I have a deck and targets to use. Practiced for about 20 minutes yesterday. That's where I really found that my combo was wrong. I really found that by adjusting my 'curado-like' combo carefully, I could pitch that zoom speed worm where I wanted it, with little to no overrun. Couldn't ever achieve it with the 'other' combo. Light went on.



Tex

 

[Rich D]

Here's a question: What is the difference between pitching and flipping? I always considered them different terms for the same thing.



Rich D

 

[Tony Payne]

pitching is a pendulam type cast for short, low trajectory distances (usually no more than 30-40 feet...



flipping is a "fixed line length" delivery, usually for targeting specific spots in cover...(usually much less than 20 feet....



The overall motion of the two is very similar, it is wether you have a fixed amount of line out or your reel disengaged that makes the differnece...

 

[Texas Transplant]

With flipping, the spool stays engaged and your left hand, controls feeding out the 6-7-8 feet of line that you have pulled 'out'. Short range with shallow conditions. You need to be very close.



Pitching, the spool is in 'free spool', and you pitch it out to a further distance. Longer range than flippin.



Tex

 

[Rich D]

Ah! Thanks.

 

[Larry Harp]

I have an above ground pool that I learned to F & P from. I could stand on the deck and aim for the clorine floater. My wife gets really tight jawed when I try for her bikini top though. ;>)



Harpo

 

[Buzz Bouvier]

Where's the King?

 

[stan jones]

i brought my jig rod and a cool whip container to a club picnic. i set the container at 20 ft. at that distance you should get it in or very close (inches) every time. when we were doing this one of the guys commented "when would you ever need to be that accurate?" you can tell this guy doesnt pitch heavy cover much. it is very important to be accurate. some times the 2x2 in. hole in the slop 20 ft. out can get a really good fish. i practice a lot in the front yard pitching under bushes and certian leaves on the ground. i also stand 1 step up or level ground to make pitching in a boat even easier. after a while you can pitch out 40 or 50 ft. not quite as accurate but not bad either. on shorter pitches you can steer the jig all the way to the water. stan

 

[Bob G.]

I like to stand on my kids picnic table to simulate being on the boat to practice pitching.



Bob G.

 

[Ken Sabin]

I also have the KVD video. Its pretty good, HOWEVER, the one by Denny Brauer is better. He spends more time teaching and explaining the decisions he makes while flipping/pitching. Another real good one is the one from BPS by Tommy Martin - Flipping in heavy, off-shore grass beds.

 

[Staci Matheis]

When flipping.....



Do you set your spool tension/brakes lighter, heavier or about the same as you do for regular casting?



I have a very difficult time controlling backlash.

 

[Ken Neeley]

Staci....read the definitions above....when FLIPPING, you are control the line by hand.



When PITCHING, the spool is disengaged. As far as controlling backlash, it's all in the thumb.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

It's not all in the thumb...not after watching both Brauer and Yelas pitch all the way across the stage with NO THUMB on the reel whatsoever!!!

Someday I'm gonna own me one of those fancy reels...right Marke???



az

 

[Mark Gross]

Do you use a swivel on a worm rig when pitching or flipping ? I seem to get a lot of line twist when using a worm .

 

[Ken Neeley]

AndyZ,

It is the thumb.....for STOPPING the spool.

Their thumbs may be off when during the pitch, but when the lure hits, the THUMB stops the spool.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Sorry.... I ment pitching.....



So do you change the settings any?

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Ken-

Nope...

They both made a point to show the audience how the set-up of the reel will allow you to pitch without touching the spool---at any time...

I couldn't believe it either...Denny claims it's mostly the reel (Team Daiwa TDX) and then the setup of the reel...

Ask Maack...he'll confirm my story...



az