MeatEater, Inc. is an outdoor lifestyle company founded by renowned writer and TV personality Steven Rinella. Host of the Netflix show MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast, Rinella has gained wide popularity with hunters and non-hunters alike through his passion for outdoor adventure and wild foods, as well as his strong commitment to conservation. Founded with the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, MeatEater, Inc. brings together leading influencers in the outdoor space to create premium content experiences and unique apparel and equipment. MeatEater, Inc. is based in Bozeman, MT.

Video: How to Flip and Pitch Creature Baits

Angler holding large fish on boat; hat reads "CATCH FISH NOT FEELINGS"

Oliver NgyOliver Ngy is a self-taught angler from Southern California. He learned the values of commitment and dedication at an early age, and has since become a familiar face in the bass scene. He's renowned for catching monster fish of many species with a specialty in double-digit largemouth and 5-plus-pound smallmouth bass. Oliver is currently competing nationally in the Bassmaster Open Tour while exploring multi species fishing opportunities along the way. He has appeared on every season of MeatEater's fishing show, Das Boat.Sep 21, 2021

Flipping and pitching is full-contactbass fishing. It’s what you do when the fish are up in heavy cover like lily pads, grass edges, cypress roots, or dock pilings and you have to get your rig in there with them. With a Texas-rigged plastic and a bullet weight, it’s a quintessential technique, one of the oldest styles and one I’ve been doing all my life.

Common as this technique may be, there are a few tricks I’ve learned that can help convert more casts to fish in the boat. First, I use a beefierrod,reel, and line than most folks. That heavier package helps cast this heavier rig, and also can be beneficial for hauling heavy fish out of heavy cover. I use a 300-series reel with a stout pitching stick, paired with 65-pound braid for my mainline. At the end of that, I run a thickfluorocarbonleader mostly for abrasion resistance.

When it comes to the terminal tackle, I’ve become a huge fan of theringed offset extra-wide gapbent shank worm hooks for my creature baits. Make sure to rig the hook point level with the top of the bait and straight down the middle so it doesn’t corkscrew coming through the water. I also set a bobber stop in front of my 1-ounce Tungsten bullet sinker to keep the whole rig together as it punches through cover.

Make sure to check out my appearance onDas Boat Northeastwhere I fish the famous Lake Champlain for largemouth andbowfinwith my buddy Blane Chocklett!