Finesse Fishing

[TOXIC]

Rather than tie up a lot of threads stating my humble opinion, I thought I would start a new one to get some other opinions/clarification.  Here's my question:

 

Does anyone really "finesse" fish anymore?

 

I'll readily admit, I'm old school in a lot of ways but every thread I read that has something to do with finesse fishing it has it's fair share of comments that include...braided line up to 50lb test and non braid up to and over 20 test .  All throwing baits designed for finesse presentations.  To me, that's not finesse, that's throwing a finesse bait on a heavy rig.  Make no mistake, I have heavy setups with 35lb braid for fishing in the slop, bed fishing and dragging baits but for the most part, I use 12lb test mono/fluro on my crankbaits, topwater, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits but for "finesse" baits including; Senko, Dropshot, Ned, Shakeyhead, Fluke and a few others I use MAXIMUM 8lb test mono on spinning gear.  To me and this is just my opinion, finesse fishing includes your line.  It makes a difference with finesse baits (leaders aside).  In 15 years of going to Michigan and catching 3-4-5lb hard fighting smallmouth, I have only had one breakoff due to line and that was due to my buddy wrapping the line around his hand while helping me land a big smallie.  He thought it was spooled with braid.  I have had the inevitable musky/pike bite offs as well but heavier line doesn't help with that.  I fish the heavily grassed Potomac with these same setups.  With the quality of line and drag systems on the reels today, why do we feel like we have to overpower the fish to that degree?  I realize I'm not in SoCal and not fishing for that 15+ pounder but that's a pretty small population and I would upsize if I was going there.  I've landed my share of 8 and 9 pounders on 8-12 pound test depending on the rig.  Just for reference I attached a 14lb Northern Snakehead I caught on 8lb test mono and a weightless Senko on the Potomac, buried in the thick grass.  Some bass as well on my normal setups.

 

Is true finesse fishing dead? 

[N Florida Mike]

You basically just described how I fish...most of the time.

[J Francho]

8 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Is true finesse fishing dead?

Search for the Ned Rig thread, and you'll see it's alive, and extremely complicated.

 

It's definitely alive around here.  I Have four spinning  rigs for drop shot alone.  I do not go higher than 6# fluoro. 

 

Also, there's "finessing" a 3/4 oz. jig through a laydown, and there's throwing a 1/4 oz "finesse" jig into a laydown.  I'm not really sure what's finesse anymore, either.

 

Good Topic.

[Turtle135]

In season, I no longer finesse fish. I would rather take my chances with a jig and see if I can coax something north of 5 pounds to bite rather than target a bass that might go a pound.

 

That said, in the winter when the water is below 40 degrees I do see the advantage of using a tiny presentation on 4 pound test mono.

[J Francho]

Hmmm.  My 2nd largest LMB (7-1) came on a 4" Flick Shake worm and 1/16 oz. wacky jig.  Personal best smallmouth (5-12) on a drop shot 4" worm.  I suggest that location , not lure size is why smaller fish are caught.

[Pro Logcatcher]

Yes, it is still alive! I recently fished a tournament where we caught a TON of dinks on a glide bait, but as soon as we switched to a Ned rig, the bigger fish started rolling in. We also hooked a 4.5 pound bass off a bed on the Ned rig.

[All Day Fishing]

I finesse fish like 75% of the time.  I love finesse and power fishing both but I seem to do more finesse.  10 pound fluoro for weightless worms/drop shot/ned rig/texas rig/jerk bait/top water.  I love it all though! ordered a new baitcaster, so I will probably not finesse fish as much here soon but will always have the spinning rod on hand!   

[WRB]

The term finesse fishing was coined to discribe 2 west coast tournament bass anglers by Michael Jones; Dick Trask and Don Iovino who were winning California bass tournaments. Don became known as the Father of Finesse fishing and is in the Fishing Hall of fame with that title. Don Iovino products are sold on TW, all for finesse fishing.

Dick Trask passed away several years ago, credited for introducing finesse split shot and darter head jigs with 3" to 5" soft plastic worms using 4 lb to 6 lb test line. Dick Trask quietly won more bass boats then any other California tournament bass angler, Don was better at marketing his skills, won 7 boats along with being a guide and sonar expert. If you ask Aaron Martens who his mentor was, it's Dick Trask.

If you are a serious tournament bass angler in SoCal you need to be good using finesse presentations.

Tom

[Team9nine]

Can't answer the question until we agree on what "finesse fishing" is. That won't be easy. Better to regionalize the answer(s) than to blanket statement them in this case, IMO. It's not dead, but it's not as prevalent as some would have you believe. That's my short answer for now 

[Turtle135]

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

Hmmm.  My 2nd largest LMB (7-1) came on a 4" Flick Shake worm and 1/16 oz. wacky jig.  Personal best smallmouth (5-12) on a drop shot 4" worm.  I suggest that location , not lure size is why smaller fish are caught.

both bass would have been larger if you stuck to the jig! 

[OkobojiEagle]

2 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Does anyone really "finesse" fish anymore?

Is true finesse fishing dead? 

 

43 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

Can't answer the question until we agree on what "finesse fishing" is.  

Sure you can..."I do, I do!"

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Turtle135 said:

both bass would have been larger if you stuck to the jig! 

I know you're poking fun, but these are NY fish, lol.

My largest LMB (7-2)came on a 12" worm.  Maybe you should be using a worm.

[WRB]

Before the term finesse fishing was coined to define fishing with light tackle, light weight lures in a precise presentation anglers like Guido Hibbon and Charlie Brewer just called it bass fishing. The original Ned rig is finesse fishing.

Now someone looks up the word finesse and uses that to define finesse fishing. Flipping a 3/4 oz jig with 80 lb braid is a precise presentation but it's not what Michael Jones called finesse fishing.

I agree with Team9nine, the term has been lost in the fog as so many other have.

Tom

[Further North]

Sounds like the question might be more about what the goal is.

1. If the goal is making a minimal presentation to the fish because they are not interested presentations that are not..."finesse" enough, then it's line diameter, and lure size that matters, not line strength.
2. If the goal is push the limits of the equipment for whatever reason (it's what the person fishing enjoys, for bragging rights, line class records, or other stuff I can't think of), then the strength of the components does matter.

Example of the first one:  My BFS rig is set up with 30# Suffix 832 to a leader of 8# Lake Forks copolymer.  Why?  I strongly dislike braid thinner than that because it takes way to much to fill my spool and it slices my fingers...and most important, it is roughly the same diameter of the copolymer line I like to fish.

 

I've never been a fan of trying to catch big fish on light tackle...for one thing, I dislike the stress it puts on the fish...if you land a 36" pike or musky on 6# test on a medium light rod...by accident and blind luck, because no one in their right mind does it on purpose, or with any real skill...odds are good you've killed the fish, even if you manage to get it to swim away.  For another, the "fight" has never been the reason I fish.  I like to "use enough rod"...and line and tackle, to quickly and efficiently get the fish to the boat so I can release it with a high chance for survival.

 

I can accept that others enjoy that.

 

Just my thoughts...

[soflabasser]

I do a lot light tackle fishing with 8-12 pound test line in the ocean since its very fun fighting a fish this way. I do put a short leader to protect the line from cutting off from the sharp teeth many saltwater fish tend to have. Have caught some very nice bass on 4 pound test line with small lures, but I only do it in areas I have plenty of open water and few obstructions.

[Armtx77]

The largest lure I have thrown this year is 1/8oz. The largest lure I will throw for bass this year will be 1/8oz and the smallest a 1/16th.

My lure selection is as follows:

-1/16-1/8oz silver minnows

-2.5 Keitech Swim Impact

-2.8 Keitech FAT Swim Impact

-1/16-1/8oz rooster tails.

-Various jig heads in 1/16-1/8oz with #1 or #2 hooks.

-Various tungsten bullet weights in 1/16-1/8oz for T-Rigging the 2.8 FAT with a #1 hook.

 

My set up has been a 7' ML-F HMG with a 1500 BG and 8lbs NanoFil. My presentations are not  "finesse" per say, but I have wanted to go "light/finesse" for a long time. Im going to spend the entire year, fresh water fishing cloae to home. Including the city lagoons and lakes.

[Bluebasser86]

First tournament I placed well in was at Table Rock. I got 4th fishing a 4" Yamamoto Cut Tail worm on a 1/16oz Slider head on 4lb fluorocarbon. 

 

I fish a Ned rig a lot, with a 1/16oz head on a ML rod, 10lb braid to a 8lb leader, I'd consider that pretty finesse. 

 

Biggest fish of the year so far was taken on a spinning rod with 8lb mono, 1/8oz shakyhead with a green pumpkin candy Zoom mag FINESSE worm, 7.43 pounds. 

[J.Vincent]

I say yes there are plenty of anglers (weekend and pro) who utilize finesse tactics. As to what finesse is.....I employ the term whenever I'm using 4,6,8 lb monofilament or fluorocarbon line with lures weighing less then 1/4oz. I'm not sure if this is what the original term referred to? But that's finesse fishing in my book, and here in Michigan its still very much the favored option amongst Smallmouth anglers. In fact every bass tournament angler, during Lake Erie, St Clair and Detroit River events, will have a minimum of two or three spinning rods rigged on deck for light line presentations. It's sort of a popular and proven approach in these waters !

[Mobasser]

I fish a spinning rod with 8lb mono probably 70% of the time. 4 inch worms, 1/8 ounce bucktail jigs etc. This works well in the clear water lakes I fish the most. To me, this is finesse fishing. I reach for my casting rods for heavier lures.My finesse setup is a med action fenwick hmg. Reel a 2000 or 2500 size.This has been more productive for me overall. 

 

[Darren.]

I'm with you, @TOXIC, and @J Francho, the term is

convoluted, but I think John, you hit the nail on the 

head with "finesse" and "finessing", at least to my 

mind.

 

There is Finesse fishing with light tackle and smaller

baits.

 

And there is Finessing a presentation with heavy tackle.

 

So for me, I finesse fish 95% of the time. Medium and 

ML rods, 10 or 15# braid plus a leader of 6-10# (mostly)

on 1000 size reels.

 

I also finesse with a ML casting rod and Chronarch 50e,

but will swap that rod out for a MH and go non-finesse.

 

Craig DeFronzo's article on light tackle fishing is good on 

this topic, IMO.

[EGbassing]

I prefer power fishing, but when the conditions call for it, I would rather finesse fish and catch bass than power fish and never get a bite.  

[All about da bass]

On 4/27/2018 at 3:20 PM, J Francho said:

I know you're poking fun, but these are NY fish, lol.

My largest LMB (7-2)came on a 12" worm.  Maybe you should be using a worm.

That's what my pb bass was caught on, but worms have put more fish in the boat, depending on the way it's rigged.

[TnRiver46]

I have to fish all light and dainty quite often because our fish are so pressured and the water is mostly clear. I’d much rather land a fish with a baitcasters but sometimes they just won’t eat my popR in January..........

[3dees]

I always have at least one finesse rig on my deck. I just can't get over how many different set ups there are. guess I'm just old fashion and also old. besides a drop shot rig, my finesse is a 1/8 oz or 1/16 oz jig with a 4" worm. can't count the number of good fish I have caught over the past 45 years including pike and muskie. I read about the other ways to finesse fish, but just don't see the need to do anything different. to me, it's less confusing and less equipment to store in my boat. I have way to much as it is. my motto is K.I.S.S.

[soflabasser]

I would consider this finesse fishing. Landing a 40 inch redfish on a barbie rod is far more difficult than landing a 1-6 pound bass on 4-8 pound mono.