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Best Flipping Rod – [Buyer’s Guide]
Pitching and flipping are one of the most important casting techniques that you will need to master if you are truly serious about your bass fishing.
Close up work around heavy cover can be one of the most productive methods especially for summer bass when water temperatures are a little warmer.
The best flipping rods have a heavy power rating, fast action and roughly 7’6″ in length
Flipping and pitching all day can be pretty intense on the arms.
That is why you need a really well balanced setup. Get it wrong and you’ll feel like a train wreck the next day.
Get it right and you can forget about wrestling with an unwieldy rod and reel and concentrate on what matters most; catching bass!!!
You’ll most probably be working in and around heavy weed cover so a flipping rod with a heavy power rating is almost a must.
For lighter lures a medium/heavy might be just fine but if you are flippin around heavy weeds you may need the added power of a heavy rating even with smaller lures.
Due to the techniques involved with flipping and pitching you need a rod tip that will load up quickly and give lots of feedback down through the rod blank.
The best rod action for a flippin stick is fast, you want that tip to load up nice and high.
A slower action will start to bend much further down the blank and will feel quite unresponsive when compared to a faster action.
Best Flipping Rod
1. Lew’s American Hero Flipping Stick
The American Hero Flipping Stick from Lew’s is the best flipping rod for the money hands down.
It is roughly half the price of most of flipping rods from the usual big brand names and performs just as well.
The AH76HC is a dedicated flippin and pitching stick built on top of Lew’s high quality IM6 graphite rod blanks.
At 7’6″ it is right in the sweet spot between being long enough to get a decent flip of your lure and still short enough to not end up tiring your arms on a long day out.
It throwing larger flipping jigs in and around deep cover is your game then the American Hero can handle them with ease as it is rated for lures up to 2 ounces in weight.
It’s heavy power rating ensures enough backbone down through the rod blank.
It is still super sensitive due to a fast action and offers great feedback and hook sets.
It comes with a really comfortable split EVA foam grip that is easy on the hands and still retains a decent level of grip once wet.
It offers a great balance of performance and value, the best flippin stick for the money!
Specifications:
- One-piece IM6 premium graphite
- Length 7’6″
- Line rating: 20 to 40 lbs
- 9 guides + 1 tip
- Lure rating: 1/2 to 2 ounce
2. Dobyns 766FLIP Champion Series
The Dobyns Champion Series of have built a solid following for their high quality construction and performance.
Aimed at the mid-range of the market they strike a great balance between price and high quality design/materials.
These flipping rods are loaded with premium features such as Fuji reel seats, high modulus graphite rod blanks, Zero Tangle Kigan guides with SIC inserts and are also Kevlar wrapped.
Specifications:
- Length 7’6″
- Line rating: 14 – 30 lb
- Lure rating: 3/8 – 2-1/2 ounce
3. Enigma Titanium Pro
The Titanium Pro series from Enigma are built on Toray Carbon blanks that give a lot of strength whilst remaining pretty light and have a very crisp action.
Designed and tested by several Pro Tournament anglers.
Available in a large range of lengths and power, there are roughly three rods in the range that can be used pitching, flippin or punching larger lures through thick weed cover.
Extremely sensitive due to a blank-through reel seat which allows you to connect with everything that is happening along the rod blank.
Specifications:
- 1 piece Toray Carbon blended rod blanks
- ALPS guides with Zirconium inserts
- ALPS blank-through reel seat
4. G Loomis Flipping Stick
G Loomis have built their reputation on making some of the highest quality and most sensitive rods of any big brand.
Most of their premium rods retail above $500 the E6X however is their lower priced range of rods which allows you access to some of the best rod building technology and design available.
There flippin sticks are super sensitive and really light weight. If you are pitching and flippin all day long then you need a really well balanced rod and this is where the E6X beats all the competition hands down.
They have an exceptional taper that transmits as much feel as possible back down to your hand and still has enough power through the rod blank to haul bass out of thick cover.
Specifications:
- Length 7’6″
- Lure rating: 1/4 – 1-1/4 ounce
- Line rating: 12 – 25 lbs
5. Ardent Denny Brauer Flippin Stick
If you are looking for a decent flippin rod that is best for lighter lures then the Ardent Denny Brauer flippin stick is a good fit.
With a medium/heavy power rating it is rated for lures in the 1/2 to 1-1/2 ounce range.
The rod blank is constructed from IM8 graphite and has a fast action. There is a great taper on these poles and you get a really crisp, responsive action especially when compared to some of the heavier rated rods in this line up.
A great rod action for both pitching and flipping.
It comes with a tonne of quality components like Fuji guides, aluminum oxide inserts and a high quality cork handle.
Specifications:
- Power rating: medium/heavy
- Line Weight: 8 – 14 lbs
- Lure Weight: 1/2 – 1-1/2 ounces
6. Cashion Flipping Rods
Cashion have designed their flipping stick so that the rod will naturally tend to tip up when held. This makes for a better all day flipping experience on the wrist and arms.
Sensitivity is key with these rods and unlike most others that are built from graphite or a graphite/fiber blend the Cashion range has an all carbon fiber rod blank.
An exposed reel Fuji reel seat also means a super responsive feedback through the rod to your hands.
Specifications:
- Full carbon fiber rod blanks
- Fuji blank exposed reel seat
- Fuji micro guides
Flipping Rods
A decent flipping rod is not really some thing that you can cheap out on as they do need to be well built and have quite a bit of backbone for all day casting around heavy weeds.
The best rod for flipping and pitching will need a heavy power rating and a fast action.
Length is also an issue as you will need a longer rod to help swing your lure out with one fluid action.
The beauty of these types of rods is that they can handle flippin, pitching and punching.
Punching rods share many of the same attributes as a flippin or pitching stick do. Namely a fast action and long length.
Punching rods however can sometimes need an even heavier power rating as you will be throwing very large punching jigs through very thick weed cover.
But for most anglers normal rated flipping rods should be okay for most scenario’s.