Operation "finesse"

[KansasAngler]

So after a 2 week dormant period of fishing this summer i started fishing off the kayak almost every other day out at the local lake.  First evening a I caught a 5lber and several 2-3lbers but ever since the bites and fish have been decreasing to where yesterday i only landed 3 puny shad size bass.  I tried switching colors and different techniques but none of them have worked so im gonna try downsizing my tackle and see if i can get some more strikes.  

 

The arsenal:

 

2 UL 6' and 5'6" poles - with a 4" berkly power worm in red shad on a 1/8 shakyhead and a rapala UL minnow in trout color

1 Light 5'6" pole - with a 4.5" yum yumphibian in Big O craw color, T-rigged with a 1/8 weight

1 ML 6' pole - with a 2.75 strike king bitsy tube on a 3/16 weight in sandy candy color

1 M 6'9" pole - with a 3/8 acme Kastmaster in silver/blue

 

Hoping to have some better luck than i have been lately.  If you guys know any good lures, etc for light tackle fishing let me know!

[aceman387]

I like using the yamamoto shad shape worm. I like to texas rig it weightless and throw it  around cover and let it slowly fall down. Some times i will add a small worm weight to give it a faster drop.

[Sam]

Flipping?

Pitching?

Drop Shotting?

Shaky Heading?

Wacky Rigs?

Casting?

Water Clarity?

Water Temperature?

Any Structure?

Any Holes?

Any Grass, Pads or Weeds?

Any Shad?

Any Bluegills?

Any Minnows?

Any Crawfish?

Any Rain with Runoff?

Any Cold Fronts?

Any Topwater Action?

 

Your choice of Shaky Head is excellent. Great jig head weight. But try Junebug and Green Pumpkin with Black Flake in a Zoom Trick Worm or a Swamp Crawler or any Shaky Head plastic.

 

Try a Drop Shot with any color of your choice to find out what colors they want.

 

Wacky Rigged Senkos or Zoom Trick Worms fished weightless on the bottom.

 

Do you have any jigs?

 

Do you have any small Chatterbaits?

 

What about wake baits or 100 size crankbaits or #5 Shad Raps in silver with black backs?

 

Tried spinnerbaits?

 

Your goal is to go hunting. With your mind and think like a largemouth bass. Where are they?

 

Gone deep for cooler and more oxygenated water? In or around any structure? On the bottom or just above the thermocline? Are they eating as the sun comes up and goes down and not during the day? Did a cold front shut them down? Are you making too much noise and spooking them? Are you using braid or fluorocarbon line? Have you downsized your line test to 6 pounds?

 

Just a few questions so we can help you solve the puzzle. 

 

Give us your input and jus a little more data and we can give you some suggestions in addition to what has already been posted.

 

Thanks.

[KansasAngler]

Flipping? -Yes

Pitching? -Yes

Drop Shotting? - No

Shaky Heading? -Yes

Wacky Rigs? - No

Casting? - not really

Water Clarity? -stained

Water Temperature? - High 70s - low 80s

Any Structure? - Mostly rocks

Any Holes? - some

Any Grass, Pads or Weeds? - not where i fish

Any Shad? -yes

Any Bluegills? -yes

Any Minnows? -yes

Any Crawfish? -yes

Any Rain with Runoff? -yes

Any Cold Fronts? -no

Any Topwater Action? -yes

 

Your choice of Shaky Head is excellent. Great jig head weight. But try Junebug and Green Pumpkin with Black Flake in a Zoom Trick Worm or a Swamp Crawler or any Shaky Head plastic. -Most luck ive had out there has actually been in Junebug color

 

Try a Drop Shot with any color of your choice to find out what colors they want. -  Def need to do this

 

Wacky Rigged Senkos or Zoom Trick Worms fished weightless on the bottom. - havent gotten around to it yet

 

Do you have any jigs? -yes 

 

Do you have any small Chatterbaits?- dont think so

 

What about wake baits or 100 size crankbaits or #5 Shad Raps in silver with black backs? - yes on everything except the shad raps

 

Tried spinnerbaits?- a little

 

Your goal is to go hunting. With your mind and think like a largemouth bass. Where are they?

 

Gone deep for cooler and more oxygenated water? In or around any structure? On the bottom or just above the thermocline? Are they eating as the sun comes up and goes down and not during the day? Did a cold front shut them down? Are you making too much noise and spooking them? Are you using braid or fluorocarbon line? Have you downsized your line test to 6 pounds? - all fluoro  anywhere from 4-12

 

Just a few questions so we can help you solve the puzzle. 

 

Give us your input and jus a little more data and we can give you some suggestions in addition to what has already been posted.

 

Thanks.

[I.rar]

Love me some finesse/light tackle. Here's my tackle box staples...

4.5" straight tail roboworms

4" cut tail yamamotos

Super fluke jr

Rebel teeny popr

Size 3-5 rapalas

T rigged with as light as you can get away with or 1/16 oz Shakey heads. If I can't get bit on those, I go home.

[KansasAngler]

Love me some finesse/light tackle. Here's my tackle box staples...

4.5" straight tail roboworms

4" cut tail yamamotos

Super fluke jr

Rebel teeny popr

Size 3-5 rapalas

T rigged with as light as you can get away with or 1/16 oz Shakey heads. If I can't get bit on those, I go home.

Def gonna check out the roboworms

[Darren.]

A solid catcher for me in tough times is the Zoom Finesse worm, especially in green pumpkin with a chartreuse tip. I fish it weightless wacky most of the times. But I will use it on a weighted wacky, TX rig, and split shot.

 

I don't drop shot much in my lakes anymore. Hasn't produced enough for me, but it is definitely worth a try.

 

Yamamoto shad-shaped worms are absolutely awesome. I like Watermelon Gold Flake, Green Pumpkin Red Flake. They do garner a lot of strikes from smaller fish, and the little tail can get eaten off in such strikes, but they are solid catchers.

 

Plenty of good advice from others, as well.

[tatertester]

I've had game changing days by downsizing to a small 3 inch or so subtle creature type bait slowly pulled across the bottom. I use just enough weight to get to the bottom to allow for lure movement....Many crappie size baits will work.

[Bluebasser86]

Finesse isn't always the best option either, sometimes it's your presentation/location with normal bass lures. Last Thursday we found that bass were all off the end of the docks, not the sides or corners like usual. We also found that the jig had to be drug extremely slow along the bottom, basically never lifting off the bottom at all. 

[Bankbeater]

It's starting to get into fall, and the bass may not want finesse any longer.  I have seen the bass in my local lakes turn their noses up at 1/8, and 1/4 jigs.  When you throw a 1/2 or 3/4 jig with a huge trailer they'll tear it up.

[0119]

In-Fisherman's website has a blog by contributor Ned Kehde called the Midwest Finesse.  He has tons of really good articles in it about Kansas area fishing specializing on tough bites and seasonal issues.  I bet they hold some good info for you in Kansas. 

[JeziHogg]

The KVD 1.0 Squarebill is a fun "finessish" crankbait

[senko_77]

It's starting to get into fall, and the bass may not want finesse any longer.  I have seen the bass in my local lakes turn their noses up at 1/8, and 1/4 jigs.  When you throw a 1/2 or 3/4 jig with a huge trailer they'll tear it up.

 

This is exactly what I'm thinking.  Fall is when the forage fish are reaching their largest sizes of the year, so you need to actually upsize the baits your throwing.  You can still "finesse" a 1oz jig or a 10" worm.  Finesse is more about how you present your bait than the actual bait itself, imo. 

 

So my suggestion to you would be to take the medium light rod and put as big of a popper or spook style bait as it can handle and on the medium power rod, put on a 1/2oz jig or a spinnerbait with big blades to mimic those larger baitfish.

 

I would focus on finding the retrieve speed and type of forage they are feeding on (shad, bluegill, crawfish) on that given day and base your lure selection off of that.

 

Good luck, man!

[evobowhunter]

might try a weightless fluke