|
Finesse fishing is a fancy term for nothing more than
"downsizing" a particular type of bait or lure. When it
comes to winter fishing, or times throughout the year that bass
are considered to be relatively "inactive", then most
anglers will find more success at catching bass by downsizing or
finesse fishing. Finesse fishing patterns are usually fished at a
much slower rate as far as "technique" goes due mostly
to the inactivity of the bass during these periods. The biggest
factor an angler should be aware of is that the bass’s
metabolism slows way down in colder water temperatures thus
making them very inactive or lethargic, and a bass will not
extend great amounts of energy during these colder water
temperature periods. By nature, it seems that a bass will always
expend the least amount of energy for the greatest amount of
benefit - that’s why a bass is considered to be more of an
ambusher than a chaser. There are a few tricks, or shall we say,
a few "how to" tips when fishing a finesse pattern, and
I will explain some of the techniques or patterns used for
finesse fishing that may help you to become a better angler when
it comes to these "cold water" or inactive periods for
bass.
First, lets talk about soft plastics. 4" soft plastic
baits such as french fries, centipedes, grubs, worms, craws,
tubes, or any other smaller types of plastic baits are a good
choice to use for finesse fishing. The most successful techniques
or patterns for using these small plastics would be:
1) Rig these baits like a Texas Rig using a thin wire hook and
by using the lightest weight possible (just light enough so that
the plastic bait barely falls through the water, let the bait
completely fall to the bottom, and just make a slow twitch,
slowly reel the bait back in, then do it again.
2) If the water is more than 40’ deep, try to find any
structure within this depth, a steep bank, rocks, or any
irregular drops, positioning your boat in the deeper water, cast
over these areas and let your bait pendulum fall (swing) itself
back under the boat.
3) If you have underwater structure areas like tree tops, old
buildings, rocks, and underwater vegetation, a technique known as
"doodling" can be successful at catching bass. When
doodling a finesse bait, let the bait go down to where it
suspends just over these structure areas. Just lightly twitch the
bait and let it hang. Repeat this over and over again leaving the
bait in the water just above the structure and hold on!
4) A Carolina Rig can also be used for finesse fishing. Just
use lighter hooks, weights, and baits.
5) Another rig that has proven to be deadly is the
"Double Rig." Sometimes when you’re not sure what
type of baits to use, this "double rig" allows an
angler to use two baits at once. First, tie a jig 'n pig on your
line, Then tie a 2’ to 4’ leader off of the jig 'n pig. Tie a
hook on the end of the leader (making sure that you use no
weight) and rig a soft plastic bait on the hook. Work this
pattern just as you would a Carolina Rig. Now, you have two
choices for the bass to zero in on.
Also, when fishing a crankbait during these cold or inactive
periods, and you can see by looking at your graph that the bass
are in the 20’ to 40’ depths, and the shad or bait fish are
only small in size how would you get a small crankbait to dive
down to these depths? Easy! Tie a small crankbait on a Carolina
Rig!
There are more techniques and patterns to use for finesse
fishing, but these are a start for you to try! Finesse fishing
can be fished in cold water or year round (whenever fish seem
inactive), and will bring success to you when nothing else seems
to work. Try these methods and see! Don’t forget, any questions
about finesse fishing, please email me at the address provided
below. Until next time! God bless!
"The Bass Coach".... Roger Lee Brown
|
