Finesse rig...

[Eric J]

Concerning finesse fishing, given the same rod, ie; same length, weight, action etc... What does a spinner reel offer over a caster?

 

Eric J

[Russ E]

The ability to throw light lures and use light line. 

If a baitcaster could do that, I would never use a spinning rig

[frogflogger]

For me it is a no brainer if I'm using 1/16 to 1/8 0z, lures on 6# line. The spinning rod shines for this - I have baitcasting tackle that can handle 1/8 but I wouldn't use it for anything but tiny hard baits.

 

[Eric J]

8 minutes ago, frogflogger said:

For me it is a no brainer if I'm using 1/16 to 1/8 0z, lures on 6# line. The spinning rod shines for this - I have baitcasting tackle that can handle 1/8 but I wouldn't use it for anything but tiny hard baits.

 

Thanks flogger and Russ as well. Follow up question; I have a spinner set up, the rod is a Med Lt 6.8. I'm thinking about a second spinner which may become my primary finesse rig for representation reasons. WOuld I be better off with a Med or is even that too much for finesse?

[haggard]

43 minutes ago, Eric J said:

Concerning finesse fishing, given the same rod, ie; same length, weight, action etc... What does a spinner reel offer over a caster?

Light lures & line. One reason the spinning reel is better than the baitcaster here is on a cast the line basically "falls" off the spool on a cast, whereas on a baitcaster the line is pulling/rotating the spool which introduces resistance. So a light lure on a spinning reel will cast farther. Also, when the lure hits the water it will more easily drop down vertical (because line falls off the spool), whereas on light lures the baitcaster's tension can cause the lure to pendulum back towards you as it drops, unless you strip line off the spool.

[Spankey]

11 minutes ago, Eric J said:

Thanks flogger and Russ as well. Follow up question; I have a spinner set up, the rod is a Med Lt 6.8. I'm thinking about a second spinner which may become my primary finesse rig for representation reasons. WOuld I be better off with a Med or is even that too much for finesse?

I would think it should fit in perfect with the ML you already have. A medium rod 6’9” - 7’ range is great for weightless senko fishing, lighter t-rigs and your smaller crankbaits. Maybe look at a fast action. The x-fast may not be as all around. The x-fast May fall more in line with just plastics. I’m thinking more mono or Fluor use on it. One of my spinning set ups I really love, I bought a spare spool for my reel. One spooled mono, one spooled Fluor. I can fish top water, lighter side crankbaits and large variety of soft plastics. I find that I can fish the majority of my day with it but I’m usually throwing a few setups while I’m out. 

[Spankey]

The set up is nothing special just a St. Croix Avid 7’ Med. Fast, with a Shimano Nasci 2500. The reel ratio is only 5:1 but I don’t find that to be an issue. Good luck on your search. 

[Oregon Native]

This is a memory maker.  Since moving out east I've joined a club and have been given flak about spinning tackle.  I've seen what they call finesse spinning in their boats and it's OMG stuff.  Granted theirs a few but Oh so few.  Most of em consider 30 pound braid with a 12 or 15 leader and that's fine....perfect.  I like eight and ten pound braid with six and eight leaders.  ML fast tip rods around seven ft...with a 2500 size reel that's light in weight so you can fish all day and every fish is an adventure.

[WRB]

West coast and Indiana finesse appear to be similar using 4 lb to 8 lb FC or mono line leader or main line with size 1000 and 1500 size reels. Great Lakes area seems to be similar with longer rods and 2500 size reels and I understand that with big smallmouth bass and off shore fishing. The heartland or southern bubba finesse is a different mind set but seems to be changing with spinning being more excepted using size 3000 and 4000 reels with 12 to 15 lb leaders and 30-50 lb braid, line most anglers use on traditional baitcasting outfits. What maybe changing how various regions see as finesse is MLF and the pros fishing more off shore deep structure in lieu of a cast away from the shoreline.

When the average size bass is 2 1/2 to 3 lbs why not down size your tackle to enjoy fighting these bass?

Back to ML vs M, fast vs moderate fast finesse rods, no standard exist between mfr's. As long as the rod can cast the lighter weight lures and you can get a good hook set and control the bass to land it the differences are a personal choice. You get better lure action using lighter line with light weight lure and different input form different regional areas.

Tom

[Hook2Jaw]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

The heartland or southern bubba finesse is a different mind set but seems to be changing with spinning being more excepted using size 3000 and 4000 reels with 12 to 15 lb leaders and 30-50 lb braid, line most anglers use on traditional baitcasting outfits.

Tom

I haven't seen any 3-4000 size spinners amongst serious southern anglers, and I run into a lot with all the public water I fish.  The only time I've seen reels that size and line that heavy is when I'm doing some inshore fishing, and the size 2500 reel dominates that in my area.  For redfish you'll see 20# braid to 20# fluoro.  For sheepshead we step it up to 25 pound plus leaders, but that's because we're dropping crabs down amongst structure layered with oysters.  They're line razors.

 

As for why I use spinning gear?  I can cast light lures much farther than I can with casting gear, use much lighter line to better enjoy a fight, and I just don't think of using light lures on casting gear.  Everyone else laid out better reasoning, thanks for the education, folks!

 

This southern bubba regularly drops down to 4# fluoro, though.  ?

[A-Jay]

5 hours ago, Eric J said:

Concerning finesse fishing, given the same rod, ie; same length, weight, action etc... What does a spinner reel offer over a caster?

 

Eric J

Several very informative responses here already ~

Here's my version of why spinning gear is my choice in many finesse type presentations.

Keep in mind that I am routinely using it to fish for big brown bass in the deep, super clear, natural lakes of northern Michigan. 

 Line management - When super light line is the deal, I'm using 8 to 10 lb braid as a mainline and a 4 - 10lb leader.  It's super thin diameter and this gear excels here.

 Speed - I can 'drop' straight down to fish graphed under the boat MUCH Faster with spinning gear.

 Casting - (especially for distance)  super light offerings (neg rig, hair jig, light drop shot) are easily presented on spinning gear vs casting gear - at least for me.

 Additionally I totally prefer 3000 size reels - the new ones are light, smooth in every way and manage & cast light lines for me well. 

 

A-Jay 

 

 

[KCFinesse]

I use both for light (6lb flouro) applications. Finesse baitcasting is much more subject to the equipment which is more expensive, hard to find etc. I purchased a JDM Aldebaran this spring as a means of helping deal with wrist and elbow issues (more or less to help add varity to my mechanics). Sourcing a suitable 'long' ML baitcasting rod was very difficult. I settled on a 6'8" lews speed stick more geared towards finesse top water applications. the set-up handles 1/16 oz ned rigs on 10lb braid to 6 lb flouro extremely well.

 

I favor the baitcasting set up for more horizontal finesse applications (shallow beds, covering long points, damiki) and I use it a bunch for Midwest finesse stuff. I really like the line control of a baitcasting set up, and in a pinch, I can upsize to a 10lb leader and pitch 4" weightless senkos with more accuracy than my other tackle.

 

The spinning set-ups are more versatile in 6lb test game and certainly excel in deep water or vertical applications, and I have a lot more finesse spinning set ups than my one finesse baitcasting set -up. If you do get a good opportunity for finesse baitcasting stuff, don't dismiss it completely, but style of fishing and definition of 'finesse' has a lot to do with whether or not you like it.

 

-Jared

[WRB]

Finesse bass fishing today is nearly impossible to define, each regional area has their own definition like so many bass fishing terms.

My definition comes from Don Iovino who is in the Fishing Hall of Fame as the Father of Finesse fishing. Don's paper back book Finesse fishing and the sonar connection is dated but worth reading and his Major Craft finesse rods, both spinning and casting, at TW are good quality at a reasonable price point.

Tom

 

[Oregon Native]

Was kind of interesting when I moved out here ten years ago there was hardly a spin rod in the club. I fished a three inch dinger on a 1/8 head and six pound leader for smallie and crushed it. Lots of TV fish...I will say...there were some fast learners

?

[CroakHunter]

Like tom mentioned, its hard to narrow down exactly what finesse fishing is and isn't. To me finesse fishing doesn't just mean light weights and small baits, it's more of a speed and action, or lack there of, than weight and hook/bait size. If I'm throwing a drop-shot and I know thats the hot bite, I'm usually throwing 1/4 or 3/8 ounce weight with a 1/0 hook and a weedless rigged worm, craw, or lizzard on 12lb fluoro or mono and a medium power casting rod. If I am new to a lake or am not sure of the hot bite I will rig a spinning rod with 10-15lb braid with a 10lb mono leader with a drop shot, and rig the previously mentioned casting rod with a 1/4 ounce jig or senko style bait. Along with my other 5-7 rods with other stand by baits. One advantage of spinning rods that I see in my style of fishing is the fact that I usually work the bait less and retrieve my casts slower and casting into the wind with <1/4 ounce baits. 

[TOXIC]

I'm gonna be a little controversial here and many will disagree but to "me" finesse fishing is not done with a baitcaster, braided line or anything over 1/4oz weight.  I don't have any braid under 35lb test and although I do have it rigged on some spinning rods (WST Wide Spool Technology) I use them for flipping beds and dragging on St Clair.  I don't use leaders either.  Most of my braid is on baitcasters.  Finesse to me is max 8lb line, spinning rod/reel.  All the reasons mentioned are why I use spinning plus there's ease of skipping under tree lines and docks.  Finesse IMHO requires more skill from the fisherman with less reliance on the gear to overpower the fish although good finesse gear is a must.  

[TOXIC]

Just in case anyone doesn't know what Wide Spool Technology is, I have attached a pic.  i use those reels for braid and for long casting requirements on mono.  These are a couple of my older reels that I can't seem to wear out.  

 

 

[OkobojiEagle]

On 12/12/2018 at 6:44 AM, Eric J said:

Concerning finesse fishing, given the same rod, ie; same length, weight, action etc... What does a spinner reel offer over a caster?

 

Eric J

ergonomic comfort...

 

oe

[Hook2Jaw]

17 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

ergonomic comfort...

 

oe

Nothing about a spinning reel is comfortable for me.  I situate the reel arm, leg, whatever you wanna call it, between my pointer and index finger when casting and retrieving and it gets sore after a day of casting.

[fishwizzard]

1 hour ago, Hook2Jaw said:

Nothing about a spinning reel is comfortable for me.  I situate the reel arm, leg, whatever you wanna call it, between my pointer and index finger when casting and retrieving and it gets sore after a day of casting.

Me too, but now I just keep my entire hand in front of the reel stem. It's very comfortable, but only on rods who's reel seat is designed with that kind of grip in mind.  

 

[Steveo-1969]

49 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

Me too, but now I just keep my entire hand in front of the reel stem. It's very comfortable, but only on rods who's reel seat is designed with that kind of grip in mind.  

 

X2. I'm looking at buying a spinning rod and have eliminated quite a few based on the reel seat alone. I'm not buying a rod with the lockdown nut and threads above the reel. I'm using a spinning rod like that now and I can't get over how uncomfortable it is to hold.

[TOXIC]

Either one is going to tire you out.  A baitcaster chucking and winding is a lot more casts compared to spinning but I can tell you my forearms have gotten pretty sore from the weight of the rod holding it parallel while fishing slow plastics even though you don't reel as much.  And yes my rods are balanced.  It helps but doesn't eliminate it.  

[Oregon Native]

There are so many combinations out there on reel seats and I agree some are just not fit for the hand. I just made a purchase on a rod a couple months ago and we are becoming fast friends...it’s a Dixie Icon Series made locally and I love throwing small baits on this rod. Since I haven’t purchased a rod in many years I feel lucky

17 hours ago, fishwizzard said:

Me too, but now I just keep my entire hand in front of the reel stem. It's very comfortable, but only on rods who's reel seat is designed with that kind of grip in mind.  

 

Was kind of interesting when I moved out here ten years ago there was hardly a spin rod in the club. I fished a three inch dinger on a 1/8 head and six pound leader for smallie and crushed it. Lots of TV fish...I will say...there were some fast learners

?

[roadwarrior]

On 12/12/2018 at 7:07 AM, Russ E said:

The ability to throw light lures and use light line. 

 

[frogflogger]

As to reel seats - I cut factory seats off and put on pure cork and tape the spinning reel to smooth comfy handle.