What Are The Most Effective Finesse Techniques?

[prjavelin]

Ive recently learned how effective a little plastic with a small weight being hopped can be.

 

Whats your most effective finesse technique? how do you present it?

 

 

Im wondering about weightless plastics(not senkos or ikas) and how effective could those be. How should you present weightless plastics?

[Darren.]

Hard to say most effective finesse. If I were to put them to a top 4, here's my try:

 

1. Green Pumpkin Finesse Zoom w/Chartreuse tip tail, wacky rigged

2. Watermelon Gold Flake Zoom Finesse Worm, wacky rigged

3. Yamamoto Watermelon Gold Flake Yamaminnow, wacky OR split shot rigged

4. Zoom Tiny Fluke, Watermelon Red, Wacky OR Split shot rigged

[Jay Ell Gee]

My number one finesse presentation is absolutely the split shot rig. #6/4/2 split shot 12-18 inches in front of your plastic of choice. I am a big fan or Roboworm 4.5 inch curly tails, Zoom dead ringers, Roboworm Zipper grubs, Zoom UV speed craws, finesse worms, etc. 3 inch Senkos also do well.

 

You can also get into small floating plastics. Something floating only a couple of inches from the bottom is simply something that most bass never see.

[The Rooster]

Zoom fluke (not super fluke) in pearl white color, nose hooked, wacky rigged, or texposed, on a 3/0 or even a 1/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, no weight. Work it like a jerkbait or freefall it near cover. Watch for line to run.

Zoom 7" U-tale worm texposed on a 3/0 EWG hook, no weight, let fall near cover. Twitch it a few times if no takers, then bring it back for another cast. Pumpkin/chartreuse tail is my best color, even in very stained water (surprisingly). Watch for line to run.

Zoom 4 1/2" finesse worm on a 1/8 oz. Ike Spike shaky head jig. Work by twitching the rod tip to impart action to the vertically standing bait on the lake bottom. Watch for line to run or feel for the bait to be sucked up by a bass. Only color I've tried was Plum, but it works. This bait was given to me, and I'm told since then Ike Spikes have become unavailable. It's a tungsten jig head.

[Teal]

My MOST effective finesse technique, a grub on a 1/8 ounce round jig head. tex posed. I use it alot under docks. Pitch or skip to the furthest pole i can get to and let it fall. Let it set on the bottom for a few seconds and then lift it up easy and let it fall again.

Shakey heads are next behind the grubs.

[Silas]

Micro Carolina rig:  small tungsten wt., tiny red bead, Carolina plastic keeper, 4 inches of line and a small Float it beaver on a 2/0 hook.  Beaver floats off bottom, as Jay Ell suggested.

[Bluebasser86]

shakyhead, finesse tube with a very light internal weight, weightless wacky rig, split shot rig. Which one is most effective will depend on the conditions/location/fishes mood. 

[flippin and pitchin]

dropshot

shakey head

flick shake

[Crestliner2008]

For me, I like the drop shot, split shot and shakey head....not necessarily in that order.

 

I do my split shotting a little bit different though; I use a mini Carolina rig set up. I put a 1/8 oz. bullet weight ahead of a #6 Spro Powerswivel, followed by a 2' section of quality fluorocarbon leader. The business end sports a 2/0 worm hook and a 6" Roboworm. Slow crawling this bad boy, along any kind of bottom, WILL get you bit.

[Will Wetline]

For me, I like the drop shot, split shot and shakey head....not necessarily in that order.

 

I do my split shotting a little bit different though; I use a mini Carolina rig set up. I put a 1/8 oz. bullet weight ahead of a #6 Spro Powerswivel, followed by a 2' section of quality fluorocarbon leader. The business end sports a 2/0 worm hook and a 6" Roboworm. Slow crawling this bad boy, along any kind of bottom, WILL get you bit.

 

Yup. I've fished this "Carolina Lite" rig for years with good results.

[iabass8]

Shakey head and power shotting

[tate]

I've had good success with 1/8oz round ball jig head with a Zoom Fat Albert curly tail grub in Pumpkin w/red flake. With that weight it will have slow natural fall but fast enough for curly tail movement. Works well bouncing along the bottom. Can be rigged with weed guard jig head or without.

[bighed]

7" robo FL worm in A's magic on a 3/16 spot remover gets it done like none other for me.  Seems to be particularly effictive around docks.

[Jaiden]

4" senko wacky rigged.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

One of my most productive finesse techniques is to use either a walleye style ringworm, or a 7" ribbontail worm t-rigged weightless on a 3/O or 4/O EWG hook with a small worm rattle inserted into the plastic. I fish laydowns, weed edges and docks with this presentation. It's sometimes painful to wait on this bait to sink, but it just flat out produces. This bait also skips nicely into hard to reach places, and with a delicate entry to the water. 

[jhoffman]

On my lakes I have to find a balance because the panfish population is absolutely sky high. So I might want to fish a grub but cant at times because I cant keep the panfish off them. These panfish enhancement programs are terrible for the guy who likes to bass fish. It causes an over abundance of panfish. When I pull up on a 20ft deep road bed and my graph looks has a speck for every pixel theres no grub gonna be going in the water.

[J Francho]

Wacky jig and drop shot for me.

[OkobojiEagle]

On my lakes I have to find a balance because the panfish population is absolutely sky high. So I might want to fish a grub but cant at times because I cant keep the panfish off them. These panfish enhancement programs are terrible for the guy who likes to bass fish. It causes an over abundance of panfish. When I pull up on a 20ft deep road bed and my graph looks has a speck for every pixel theres no grub gonna be going in the water.

 

 

How small of a grub are you using that panfish become a problem when fishing bass?

 

oe

[HeavyDluxe]

Is dead-sticking a soft plastic considered a finesse tactic?  If so, I vote for that.

 

As has been noted in other threads, slowing down is often the most productive thing you can do in any presentation/technique.  Dead-sticking really disciplines me to do that.

[NEjitterbugger]

Well as far as weightless plastics go Slugos are my favorite, I hook the with the hook exposed...

 

You can either retrieve the bait fast - resulting in an erratic side to side movement on the top of the water....Or....

You can let the bait sink... twitch... retrieve a bit...sink...twitch....

 

Definatley my favorite and most successful way to catch bass on weightless plastics...

[Mike L]

Wacky and Shakey

 

Mike

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Is dead-sticking a soft plastic considered a finesse tactic?  If so, I vote for that.

 

As has been noted in other threads, slowing down is often the most productive thing you can do in any presentation/technique.  Dead-sticking really disciplines me to do that.

I'd say it is. Dead-sticking really tries an anglers patience and if one can overcome it builds patience. This technique excels for me on lethargic fish in the heat of summer, especially river smallmouth.  

 

Not many folks can truly dead stick an artificial bait.

[BassThumb]

For me, it's a 5" kinda-whitish-colored soft-jerkbait on a 3/0-4/0 EWG hook, or a 4-5" whitish grub on a 1/16-3/16 oz. ballhead jig. Simple, yet effective.

 

Last year, I threw the ballhead jig around all summer and hammered the fish during those heat waves.

[jhoffman]

How small of a grub are you using that panfish become a problem when fishing bass?

 

oe

 

4"? - Rage tail size... my one local lake I have caught 16" white crappies on crankbaits!

[MCS]

Ive recently learned how effective a little plastic with a small weight being hopped can be.

 

Whats your most effective finesse technique? how do you present it?

 

 

Im wondering about weightless plastics(not senkos or ikas) and how effective could those be. How should you present weightless plastics?

Wieghtless trick worms and grande bass rattlesnakes in the hot summer months work very well. I don't fish the trick worms on top like many do, I cast it out let it sink and slowly slowly drag or swim it back, pausing here and there. Rig them the same way at a Texas rig but with no wieght.