It’s no secret that flipping and pitching a jig is a great way to catch big bass. To make the most out of this technique, a high quality flipping rod is essential. When I tested the 7-foot, 3-inch heavy-action Duckett White Ice Micro Magic, 5 characteristics made this a great mid-range rod:
• Sensitivity
• Strength
• Microguides
• Lightweight
• Parabolic bend
Sensitivity
The tip of this rod is extremely sensitive, making it a great rod for both shallow and deep fishing. While soft enough to flip jigs and large soft plastics under obstacles such as docks, the tip remains sturdy enough to rip big bass out of thick cover.
I have been fishing deep brush piles and offshore humps with football jigs on the 7-foot, 3-inch heavy-action Duckett White Ice Micro Magic and haven’t missed a bite yet. In cold water, bass don’t always hammer your bait, so the sensitivity of this rod has helped me catch a lot of sluggish bass.
Strength
It’s difficult to find a big flipping rod with the perfect balance of sensitivity and strength. When sensitivity is increased, strength is often sacrificed. This ultra-sensitive rod, however, is a workhorse and withstands harsh fishing conditions.
I put everything I had into my hooksets. I lowered the rod tip to the water and came off the floor with the biggest hookset I could muster. Time after time, the rod performed very well, giving me the power necessary to land the fish.
Microguides
This specific White Ice model is equipped with 10 microguides that aid in castability. Conventional guides tend to encourage “line slap” when casting, contributing to shorter, less accurate casts and excess line twist. The microguides on this rod allow you to make long casts with pinpoint accuracy.
When flipping shallow docks and laydowns, the accuracy of flips and pitches did, in fact, increase, allowing baits to softly land in hard-to-reach places. While fishing deep, offshore structure, I was able to make longer casts with half of the effort.
Lightweight
More often than not, heavy-action rods are just what the name suggests—heavy. Whether you’re flipping and pitching all weekend or bombing long casts with a football jig, you will probably feel it when you get off the water.
With a weight comparable to many of my high-end cranking rods, the 7-foot, 3-inch heavy-action Duckett White Ice Micro Magic is one of the lightest heavy-action rods on the market, allowing you to fish longer without fatigue or repetitive pain.
Parabolic bend
The parabolic bend benefits the angler in several ways. Regardless of the depth you prefer to fish, you will have more control of big bass. In addition, the rod loads nicely on the back-end of the cast, which also contributes to longer, more effortless casts.
I found the parabolic bend especially helpful when fishing shallow cover. Rods without this feature often have the tendency to rip the bait from a bass’ mouth during a hookset, which can cause a lot of frustration. The 7-foot, 3-inch heavy-action Duckett White Ice Micro Magic allowed me to set the hook as hard as I could while hooking each fish in the “sweet spot”—the hard, bony part on the roof of their mouth.
For jigs and larger soft plastics, I absolutely recommend the 7-foot, 3-inch heavy-action Duckett White Ice Micro Magic. Priced at $199.99, it has proven to be an outstanding rod for both shallow and deep applications.
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