Finesse vs Power Fishing

[KSanford33]

I know finesse fishing can produce bites when power fishing can’t, but can finesse fishing still produce even when power fishing produces a bite?

 

Basically, can you get bit on finesse fishing all the time?

[king fisher]

Not even live bait gets bit all of the time.  Every method has a place and time that it works best, but when they are biting, usually multiple techniques will work.  Anglers tend to fish their strengths, and remember what worked in the past, without considering maybe something else might have worked also.  Two anglers on the same lake may be crushing them.  One with finnesse the other with power.  Both are convinced their method was the only way to go.

[MickD]

Nothing works all the time.  If this doesn't work, try that.  If they are not here, they must be there.  If they are not shallow, they must be deep.  etc etc etc

[KSanford33]

Correct, I shouldn’t have said all the time. But I’m wondering if there’s a time when finesse fishing wouldn’t work and power fishing would. 

[MickD]

Of course.  When the fish are really active.  Finesse might work, but not as well as faster presentations.

[WRB]

I don’t know many bass anglers that prefer slow finesse fishing vs faster power fishing or pitching lures into heavy cover. 

If the bass are cover your odds of landing bass using light line finesse techniques is nearly zero.

If the bass active feeding they eat a finesse presented lure just as fast as a power heavy line presented lure, match the tackle to the conditions. 

The goal is putting the bass in the boat.

Tom

[Bird]

Right now with our water temps under 50* I've caught every fish on Spinnerbaits and jerkbaits.

it also depends on the water your fishing and bottom composite.

Pressured water, Gin clear with hard bottom, Neds and drop-shot produce well here but still prefer power fishing overall.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, KSanford33 said:

Correct, I shouldn’t have said all the time. But I’m wondering if there’s a time when finesse fishing wouldn’t work and power fishing would. 

 

There will multiple patterns working on any given day, on any given body of water.

 

All bass ain't doing the same thing at the same time.

 

Watch any Major Tournament, the entire field ain't doing the same thing.

[Bluebasser86]

Very dirty water would be difficult to get bit finesse fishing when power fishing would be optimal. Also very heavy cover like standing timber or thick grass. You might get bit finesse fishing, but kind of defeats the purpose when there's no chance of actually landing the fish.

 

Otherwise I'd say you'd generally be able to get bit on finesse tactics more often than power fishing and that they'd still work while power techniques are working as well. 

[CrashVector]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

I don’t know many bass anglers that prefer slow finesse fishing vs faster power fishing or pitching lures into heavy cover. 

 

 

Me.  It's practically all I do, and it works well.

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, WRB said:

I don’t know many bass anglers that prefer slow finesse fishing vs faster power fishing 

Well you know me so there’s one 

[Mbirdsley]

Need to be good at both 

[gim]

I prefer to power fish but there are times when its just not effective so I have to bust out the finesse gear.  Rarely is it the other way around.  If the fish were biting on a more aggressive, power fishing approach, switching to a finesse one really wouldn't make much sense to me anyways.

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, Mbirdsley said:

Need to be good at both 

Maybe one day! I’m approaching the old dog that can’t learn new tricks status 

[DinkDreams]

I usually go out with one power fishing presentation and one finesse presentation. I’ll hit a spot with my power technique and if I fish it thoroughly with no luck I’ll pick up the spinning rod and make a few casts. If no bites, I move down the bank and repeat. 

[TOXIC]

On our trip to Okeechobee a couple of weeks ago, the shiner guides at Roland’s were complaining they couldn’t put clients on fish.  If you can’t get them on shiners, then they are shut down.  Period.  I was able to catch a few with a weighted Senko during that time. I am first and foremost a finesse fisherman but will adjust to the hot bite like cranks, traps and jerkbaits. 

[KSanford33]

2 hours ago, DinkDreams said:

I usually go out with one power fishing presentation and one finesse presentation. I’ll hit a spot with my power technique and if I fish it thoroughly with no luck I’ll pick up the spinning rod and make a few casts. If no bites, I move down the bank and repeat. 

You hit on something interesting for me. This is what I usually do, however I almost never catch anything on the power presentation and anything I do catch is on the finesse presentation. That got me wondering if I should just start out with the finesse. But like everyone else, I want to be versatile and able to adapt, so I still bang away with cranks, chatterbaits, etc.

[detroit1]

I usually start by power fishing mainly because i'm geeked ... i am  OUT ON THE LAKE FISHING! (i don't get the chance to nearly enough) It also allows me to cover more water faster. I can count on 1 hand the # of times i powerfished the whole day.....

[ajschn06]

6 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

Need to be good at both 

Why?

[DinkDreams]

1 hour ago, KSanford33 said:

You hit on something interesting for me. This is what I usually do, however I almost never catch anything on the power presentation and anything I do catch is on the finesse presentation. That got me wondering if I should just start out with the finesse. But like everyone else, I want to be versatile and able to adapt, so I still bang away with cranks, chatterbaits, etc.

Yeah, that’s usually how it goes for me too lol. But by god I’m gonna try to power fish first.

[Mbirdsley]

4 hours ago, ajschn06 said:

Why?

What do you mean why?  Why pigeon hole your self into one style of fishing.  If I’m going to spend 6-8-12 hrs out on the lake and they don’t want to eat a crank, spinner  or jig ( I really really really love fishing cranks).  I’m pulling out the wacky rig, mojo rig, and Ned rig.  I’m not waisting my time on fishing a technique they don’t want that day.  

My objective is to catch fish on the days that I can which, means warm front, cold front, post cold front, sunny days, cloudy days, warm days and cold days.  Fishing Great Lakes ,big lakes, little lakes,  big rivers, small rivers, and trout streams.

 

 

In conclusion  repeated dives into the insanity of throwing something the fish don’t want is waisting my time. 

[Big Rick]

Ever since I dipped my toe in the BFS water finesse fishing is much more palatable to me. I still prefer power fishing, but I sure don't mind finesse applications with BFS gear. 

[Nelson Delaney]

So what makes “power fishing” powerful? 

[DinkDreams]

10 minutes ago, Nelson Delaney said:

So what makes “power fishing” powerful? 

“Power fishing” is pretty broad but usually defined by moving baits, heavier weights, or faster presentations on heavier line. This can be anything from punching mats with big sinkers or jigs, crank baits, spinner baits, chatter baits etc. Most of your reaction bite presentations are considered “power fishing”

 

finesse is arguably more broad because it’s more of a subjective thing. About the only thing people can agree on is finesse is almost always a light line technique (~8 lb test or less) Personally, anything over 1/8 oz I wouldn’t consider “finesse” but some people think anything under 1/4 oz is finesse and some think its a term reserved for things 1/16th oz and under. Exceptions exist of course but that’s my general experience.

 

Most would consider a Texas rig “power fishing” but most also wouldn’t consider it a “faster” presentation. Conversely, an 1/8oz jerkbait may be finesse to some but I wouldn’t personally consider it “finesse fishing”

[Mat_ski]

It’s like asking a carpenter to use only one type of saw.