Ish’s Flipping Colors – Four Staples and Three Secrets
For well over two decades California pro Ish Monroe has epitomized the idea of being a big bass specialist. While others spout the cliches of “go big or go home” or “swing for the fences,” he’s made a career out of them. Yes, you’ll occasionally see a spinning rod in his hands, but he’s more likely to be throwing a swimbait, frogging or – most of all – wielding a flipping stick in and around the heaviest cover possible. He’s won hundreds of thousands of dollars with lures like the Missile Baits D Bomb, Baby D Bomb and Destroyer.
Ish tries to keep it fairly simple and therefore a core four colors rarely if ever leave his boat:
Black/Blue Flake
“This is my number one color. You can go anywhere and catch bass on this color. I don’t care about the water color or the location or what soft plastic it is.”
Green Pumpkin
“This is probably number two. It’s a color that works all over, on any style soft plastic.”
Watermelon Red
“I choose this over green pumpkin in gin clear water, where the transparency helps.”
PB&J
“If you have to have something with red in it, but you don’t want a mostly-red lure, this is the one. It doesn’t always work so well in Florida, but it’s a staple in the Midwest.”
After a little bit of prodding, he admitted that he has some other colors that come into play situationally. Ignore the following at your own risk:
Pink Belly
“This has been a sleeper for a long while, especially on the Tennessee River, probably for the same reasons that Morning Dawn works so well.”
El Diablo
“It’s a combination of red and black and yellow.”
“Ricky Shabazz designed this one for Fisherman’s Warehouse in Southern California. It’s great when the crawdads are really red in the summertime.”
Flipping Notes
Ish uses straight black tungsten punch weights.
The only hook he uses for flipping is the River2Sea New Jack Flipping Hook that he designed. It has a straight shank and a keeper that doubles as a line tie, so you don’t have to tie a snell knot to maximize hookups.
What’s the biggest mistake you can make flipping behind Ish? “Using the exact bait and color that I’m using,” he said. Keep the basics handy and a few secrets of your own ready to go.
