Punchin with the Miller Punchin Weight

Punchin' has become one of my favorite ways to fish.  It's an exciting way to get to those hard to reach bass.  I have been following the Miller Punchin Weight for a few months on westernbass.com, as the western guys always seem to have the latest and greatest stuff coming out (I'm a little biased as I learned how to bass fish on the West Coast).  I just saw this article and had to post it. Danny Miller talks about how he likes to approach punchin'.  If you live anywhere where bass live in grass, this weight would be good for you. 

 

Punchin' The Grass

 

By Danny Miller

 

You’re going fishing in the morning! The boats fueled up, your rods are stowed, your lunch is made and ready to grab on the way out the door. You’ve checked the Delta tide for the day and its 2.5 low @ 10:00 am. So what are you going to fish? Grass!

I love punchin the grass for bass. When that water starts falling bass head for deeper water, and one of their favorite areas is a grass bed. Sometimes it’s in around 4’ but more often I find they like it better in the 10’ to 15’deeper grass. You can see the top of it below the water around 2’down. Most of us just T motor right on over it and keep tossing something shallow. You see it down there you just don’t fish it, but the bass are there repositioned. 

I like the smaller .75 punchin weight combined with a 5/0 Gamakatsu offset shank worm hook. My bait of choice is a sweet beaver in June bug, or a black and red color, but as the weather changes so will my bait choices. I always use 65lb. braid to help cut any grass the fish may go under. Use any stout punchin rod your comfortable with to get a good hook set. Add your favorite scent and your ready. 

I start by dropping right straight down through the thick of it. If my punchin weight hits bottom I will count to 10 and lift it up about 6”. A lot of fish run off with your bait before you lift it up so watch for your line to start moving off. It’s like a small forest under there and fish can see quite well so I give them a little time to check out my bait. Fish that move off with the bait are hooked pretty easy with this setup so an easy hook set is recommended. If my weight stops half way into the grass or any where else other than the bottom I let it sit there and give it some small shakes. The bites while it is in the grass are more like the bites we are used to getting; a real slam sometimes really can get your attention. This is where I set with a vengeance. My good friend Dean Sault says I stop the rotation of the earth for a split second when I set, I will admit some of my rods have become 2 piece at that point. 

Now, for a great rear deck presentation. We all get back seated at one time or another, weather on purpose or by accident it happens. Up against a tree, tulles or whatever. Just turn to the other side of the boat or behind it. Believe me it’s a whole new fishing hole right behind you. Every foot of that grass can hold a fish so start by lowering my weight through the grass to any where it will touch bottom. Then raise and lower your rod about 3 to 4 feet at a time doing what I call Yo Yoing the bait. Strikes come at random doing this so really pay attention and a quick hook set is a must. 

Hope you catch 'em, Danny.