In these days of multimedia, the “information super highway” and endless other modern means of communication, the modern-day bass angler is well armed in his pursuit of that elusive green fish known affectionately as the Black Bass. Today’s bass fishermen have the opportunity to learn in several months what it used to take several years of on-the-water experimenting to learn. This isn’t necessarily bad, mind you. But it does have its disadvantages. For those of you who might be frowning to yourselves, wondering how all this information could possibly be bad, just stop and think about how many bass you catch on your average day on the lake. Remember, I said average. Not too encouraging, is it. This is where that deluge of information can do just as much harm as it can do good.
- Smart Fish?
- I personally don’t give bass a lot of credit for being highly intelligent creatures. They are, however, a highly efficient predator with an incredible God-given instinct for survival. Along with that survival instinct comes the ability to sense danger. Getting a hook in your face and being jerked from your home turf and into a foreign environment could, without question, be categorized as danger. After having this happen to them a few times, especially when the same lure is involved, the bass begin to become conditioned to this and learn to avoid the same situations that got them into trouble those first couple of times. Those that don’t learn usually end up in someone’s frying pan. Thus, the “dumb” fish are selectively removed and only the “smart” ones are left for you and I to try to catch. This is where the sayings come into play that we hear so often; “The fish in that lake are pretty smart” or “boy, those fish are a tough bunch to catch.” More often than not, the fish that people are referring to as being smart or tough to catch are residents of a lake that sees a constant amount of intense fishing pressure. Either way, all this fishing pressure takes its toll on the bass. Our job, as bass fisherman, is to figure out ways to get around this and get those same, highly pressured bass, to bite and find their way into our boats or livewells. This is where the word “finesse” comes into play.
- Average or Beyond ?
- If you ever want to advance beyond the point of being just an “average” bass fisherman, in terms of your ability to locate and catch bass under a variety of conditions, you must come to terms with the fact that the days of heaving a spinnerbait toward shoreline cover every time you put your boat in the water are a thing of the past. The bass that fall for these types of tactics day in and day out have either been taken home and thrown into someone’s Frydaddy or have smartened up and watch with disdain as that fluorescent, flashing, vibrating thing goes flying by for the 29th time that day. Throw a small, subtle bait into the same areas, though, and you’ll stand a whole lot better chance of getting these fish to bite. The differences between the flashing, throbbing spinnerbait and the finesse bait are many. And, before I go any further, I want to let you know that I’m not against using spinnerbaits. As a matter of fact, I spend many hours each year making my own spinnerbaits and many more hours each year throwing those same spinnerbaits. And they will catch some hefty stringers of bass under the right conditions. But that’s the key to the whole puzzle of fishing: knowing when to throw a lure such as a spinnerbait that has its own distinct (should I substitute the word distinct with the word “identifiable”?) characteristics or a smaller, more subtle (less “identifiable”) bait that the fish aren’t so apt to associate with that past experience that caused them to be hooked, pulled from their environment and possibly even transported miles away from their home turf in someone’s livewell.
- Identifiable Characteristics
- Now, back to the differences between the subtle finesse baits and the not-so-subtle “muscle” baits. Finesse baits do very little on their own. They normally have little or no action built into them. The only action they have is what you give them with the movements of your hands and your rod. Muscle baits, on the other hand, have most of their action built into them. They can and will catch bass simply by casting them out and retrieving them. Adding some of your own unique action or movement to these baits can sometimes make them more effective but it isn’t always necessary to catch fish. The built in mechanical action of these baits is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing for those who don’t have the talent or the patience to work the finesse baits slowly and methodically across the lake bottom. But the mechanical, rhythmic motion of these baits is a dead give away to fish that have been hooked on them before. Therein lies the curse. Have you ever watched a small baitfish move through the water ? They don’t just set their sights on a distant target and move at a steady pace toward that target without changing speed or direction. These fish normally move in small bursts forward with many changes in speed and direction, almost like they have nowhere in particular to go. And they’re in no great hurry to get there. This is where we start to see the beauty of the finesse baits, with their slow, gliding, darting, almost undetectable movements. It is these natura movements that make them such great fish catchers under even the most adverse conditions. Without the strong visible and audible characteristics to give away their falsehood the fish will usually inhale them without giving a second thought. Even fish that have been caught on these baits repeatedly will continue to fall for them because they have few, if any characteristics to reveal them as being anything other than a quick, easy meal. The Baits Finesse lures are their own category of baits. But, like any category of lures they could probably be divided into several different subcategories. We won’t worry about that, though. We’ll just take a look at a few of the different kinds of baits and cover the characteristics of each one.
- Worms:
- These are probably the most popular and most versatile type of finesse bait. 4 inches has almost become the standard size for finesse worms. Most of them have extremely thin bodies with a flat tail or no real tail at all. If you were to cast the lure out and retrieve it steadily it wouldn’t do much. Finesse worms are made by many different companies such as Charlie Brewer’s Sliders, Zoom, Bass Pro Shops, Luck E Strike and a host of others. Most models are injection molded in mass quantities. Others are poured by hand to create color combinations and variations that are not possible with the mass-production methods. The hand-poured baits are a bit more expensive than the mass-produced goodies. Whether they catch more fish or not is entirely speculative and based only on opinions. There are some people who will use nothing but hand-poured worms. Its what they have confidence in. And sometimes this can make a big difference in how well you fish. Finesse worms can be rigged in a multitude of ways, from Texas style with a small bullet weight, to split shot, carolina rig or even on a small leadhead jig. Base your color selection on the type of water you are fishing. Clear water calls for subtle colors such as smoke, cotton candy, pumpkinseed or watermelon seed. Darker water baits come in hues such as Black, Junebug, Black/Blue Tail, Black/Chartreuse Tail or Black/Pink Tail. A good in-between color is Electric Blue.
- Grubs:
- Grubs are considered by some to be the original and the ultimate finesse bait. Grubs come in many different sizes, ranging from 1″ to 6″. For bass, however, the most productive sizes for finesse fishing are in the 2″ – 4″ category. Styles range from the standard and versatile swirl or twister tail to the flat-tailed stingray grub. There are a myriad of variations between the two. Grubs are usually rigged on a small leadhead jig in the 1/16 oz. to 1/4 oz. sizes. With 1/8 being the most popular. Some grubs, particularly the 4 inch models, are occasionally Texas rigged and flipped or pitched into heavy cover. Other times they may even be rigged Carolina style for deeper water applications. When it comes to colors, the grub is best in subtle, natural colors. White isn’t really a subtle color but it is a natural color. And it works very well under a variety of conditions. Smoke is probably the ultimate in finesse grubbing. Pepper colors work very well in most applications. Smoke w/black pepper, Pearl w/black pepper, Blue Pearl w/black pepper or Smoke w/gold flake. Bluegill is also a good color in all but the darkest water. When fishing a grub, don’t make it to complicated. As far as presentation is concerned, the grub works best when you do next to nothing with it. The more you try to work it, the less natural it looks. Keep your retrieve simple. You’ll be surprised at the number of fish you’ll catch.
- Tubes:
- The tube is also known as the Gitzit. It isn’t much to look at from a human point of view. But from a bass-eye view, its a beautiful creation. A dying fish slowly descending to the bottom of the lake, just begging to be sucked in and digested. “Snoozers are losers. Get to me first before someone else does!!” Most bass are too big of a sucker to ignore this and will readily (reflexively) open their cavernous jaws and inhale. Mission accomplished. Gitzits come in a host of sizes ranging from 1 inch to 4 inches or bigger. The 4 inch bait is by far the most popular and productive for bassin’ applications. Like worms and grubs, tubes are manufactured by an endless number of companies. Some of the most popular are Bass Pro Shops and Luck E Strike. Tubes can be rigged much the same as the other finesse baits already mentioned. A leadhead jig is the most popular method and probably the most productive for everyday use when it comes to hooking and landing bass. Heavy cover demands a more weedless rigging method. The HP hooks manufactured for Luck E Strike are the ultimate in weedless rigging for tubes. A small wire clip attached to the hook eye keeps the plastic from sliding down the shank of the hook when working the bait through cover or when setting the hook. Tubes are at their best when used as a “drop” bait. Cast to a particular target, let it fall to the bottom. If it goes all the way to the bottom without being eaten, give it a few subtle shakes with your rod tip. If nothing bites it, reel in and make another cast. Tubes usually work best in subtle colors. Smoke with black flake, Pumpkinseed or Bluegill are very productive. Some brighter colors also work well under the right conditions. Chartreuse w/black flake, Brown & Orange or Electric Blue. Be sure to place your casts as close to the intended target as possible. In finesse situations you need to put the bait right on the fish’s nose if at all possible. If casting to individual targets where you think a fish may be holding, try to feather the cast just before the bait hits the water. This will quiet its entry into the water and be less apt to spook the fish. Equipment: Finesse fishing being what it is, finesse, requires equipment that is matched to the task at hand. Light to medium action action rods in the 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 foot range are best. Rods that are too stiff will not properly present these light baits, and casting accuracy with stiff rods is nonexistent. Line should be matched to the rods and baits with 6 – 10 lb. test getting the call to duty. Take into consideration the type or absence of cover when deciding on the line strength. Open water presentations with little or no cover to worry about will be fine with 6 lb. test. Light cover should be tackled with 8 lb. test. If you plan on fishing around a lot of docks, rocks or other forms of abrasive cover, 10 lb. test is a necessity. Hooks should also be kept on the light side. Leadheads with light wire 1/0 hooks are good bets for the grub and the tube while a 1/0 light wire worm hook is a good all-around choice for small worms.
- Grubs:
- Grubs are considered by some to be the original and the ultimate finesse bait. Grubs come in many different sizes, ranging from 1″ to 6″. For bass, however, the most productive sizes for finesse fishing are in the 2″ – 4″ category. Styles range from the standard and versatile swirl or twister tail to the flat-tailed stingray grub. There are a myriad of variations between the two. Grubs are usually rigged on a small leadhead jig in the 1/16 oz. to 1/4 oz. sizes. With 1/8 being the most popular. Some grubs, particularly the 4 inch models, are occasionally Texas rigged and flipped or pitched into heavy cover. Other times they may even be rigged Carolina style for deeper water applications. When it comes to colors, the grub is best in subtle, natural colors. White isn’t really a subtle color but it is a natural color. And it works very well under a variety of conditions. Smoke is probably the ultimate in finesse grubbing. Pepper colors work very well in most applications. Smoke w/black pepper, Pearl w/black pepper, Blue Pearl w/black pepper or Smoke w/gold flake. Bluegill is also a good color in all but the darkest water. When fishing a grub, don’t make it to complicated. As far as presentation is concerned, the grub works best when you do next to nothing with it. The more you try to work it, the less natural it looks. Keep your retrieve simple. You’ll be surprised at the number of fish you’ll catch.
- Little Baits…. Little Fish?
- Too many people make the mistake of thinking that little baits catch only little fish. This simply is not true. I’ve hooked and landed many bass in the 4 – 5 lb. class with a couple approaching the 6 lb. mark……. all on 4 inch baits and 10 lb. test. I especially recall a fish, during a tournament, that hit a 4 inch worm. I set the hook and absolutely could not budge the fish. We had a little tug of war for a few seconds before the fish rubbed the line heavily on the rock cover where it had staked out its turf. Needless to say, the fish won the tug of war. This was no little fish, mind you. This just goes to prove that big fish will hit a little bait if the bait is placed directly in front of them. Sure, you will catch a lot more little fish than you would if you were throwing a bigger bait, but this does not take away from the fact that big fish will eat little baits.
- Cold Fronts:
- You should remember that all of these finesse baits will excel when a cold front has passed through and gives the fish a case of lock-jaw. Under post-frontal conditions a slow, methodical presentation with small baits and accurate casts will sometimes get bites when nothing else will. Then again, there are days when it seems like absolutely nothing will work. A good time to load the boat on the trailer and lay in the hammock in the back yard! By the way, that fish I mentioned earlier that won the tug of war? It was hooked in just the type of situation that this article was written about. A tournament, where all the cover in the lake was being picked apart inch by inch. In fact, that fish was hooked only a few minutes after two other boats had pulled away from that same spot. Does finesse fishing work? Do finesse baits catch quality fish? You bet!!!