question How does finesse fishing work good?

[Caiden24]

I have a question about finesse fishing. How does it work? I thought bass are aggressive and ambush, how do they like a bait that just sits and holds still? I mean I know they are also opportunistic feeders but I feel like they would rather ambush something that moved like a fish. I also have heard from Mike Iaconelli that it triggers a reaction bite. How does it do this when it finesse is supposed to be subtle and finesse and not reaction style? Thanks!

[islandbass]

I think your current perception of what finesse fishing is not accurate.  
 

Finesse fishing isn’t a do-nothing style. Far from it. To me, finesse fishing usually involves going down in bait size, line strength or both. 

 

Bass aren’t  as active as you described 100% of the time. They can be inactive or less active or could be a skittish, cautious state or so pressured by power fishing that they might not be willing to bite on those bigger baits. 
 

This is where finesse just might work. We’re offering something different (smaller in scale/size) than recent things they might have grown to be reluctant to bite or snatch. 
 

And from that old rap song whose title I have forgotten but there’s that line, “And please don’t knock it, until you try it.” 😎

[OmegaDPW]

My idea of finesse fishing (which is my preferred way of fishing) is more along the lines of downsized baits and lighter tackle. Technically, I'll fish a 4 inch worm the same way I would fish a 10 inch worm. Weightless, weedless, maybe a split shot rig if I don't get any bites weightless. M rod, 6-8lb test line, spinning reel. Works well for me year round. The slow fall of a weightless finesse worm just screams easy meal to a fish. In winter, where they don't want to move around too much, it's very productive. 

 

 When you cast and then don't do anything but wait- that's called "dead sticking". I cannot fish that way. I get bored way too easy. I'll do it for catfishing but not for bass. Others have good luck with it. 

[Reel]

Most good finesse baits don't sit and hold still.  They move even if you don't move them.  They oscillate, they wriggle and that's how most live bait moves.  A crawfish isn't always on the run.  Most times it sits in place and just moves it's legs.  A minnow does the same thing moving it's fins.  For me finesse isn't even about size... it's about mouvement.  You don't get bored if you get bit.

[Mobasser]

Bass are not always real aggressive. They don't chase after everything you throw. Finesse is usually downsizing baits, lines, and fishing slower. And yes it works.

[Craig P]

You go eat a great meal, you’re stuffed, then you walk past a candy dish that has some peanut butter cups, you know you don’t need it, you may even pause a second….but just one little one won’t hurt right

 

To me, this is finesse fishing. Oh, add in a bunch of pricey dishes to hold the goodies too. lol 

[TnRiver46]

Bass love baits that are sitting still, check out some underwater footage . A senko has caught a few bass 

[Captain Phil]

3 hours ago, islandbass said:

I think your current perception of what finesse fishing is not accurate.  
 

Finesse fishing isn’t a do-nothing style. Far from it. To me, finesse fishing usually involves going down in bait size, line strength or both. 

 

Bass aren’t  as active as you described 100% of the time. They can be inactive or less active or could be a skittish, cautious state or so pressured by power fishing that they might not be willing to bite on those bigger baits. 
 

This is where finesse just might work. We’re offering something different (smaller in scale/size) than recent things they might have grown to be reluctant to bite or snatch. 
 

And from that old rap song whose title I have forgotten but there’s that line, “And please don’t knock it, until you try it.” 😎

Finesse fishing means downsizing.  Downsizing works because smaller lines and lures look more natural to fish.  From my experience, it works best in clear water. It can also get more bites in highly pressured waters or when fish are inactive.  When I was tournament fishing, along with my regular tackle I always carried a spinning outfit loaded with 8 pound line.  Close to 30% of the tournaments I won were won finesse fishing when everyone else was throwing big stuff.  Except for flipping, it's probably the most all around effective way to catch bass.  Two lures come to my mind when I think about my days of finesse fishing, Zoom 4 inch worms and 4 inch lizards.  If you really want to get good at finesse fishing, Google Mojo Rig.  It's a downsized Carolina Rig and it's deadly on bass. 

[LrgmouthShad]

“reaction bite” 

and 

“finesse” 

are two of the most overused, inconsequential terms in bass fishing

[Spankey]

I sort of know where you are coming from but their feed patterns change. There is probably not a soul on this site that likes to fish a crankbait more than me. But for me that bite is down to nothing these days. Heat wave? Water temps? Baitfish or lack there of. Slow finesse presentations of soft plastics is catching some now. I’ll stick with that for a while. But continue to throw a Rat-L-Trap around some. 

[TnRiver46]

53 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

“reaction bite” 

and 

“finesse” 

are two of the most overused, inconsequential terms in bass fishing

You’ve been watching tactical bassin 😂 

[Pat Brown]

I think there's a lot of times where subtlety wins and a lot of times where smashing the door open with guns blazing works.  There are tons of factors that determine what kind of presentation is going to appeal to a population of fish and it's important to be in tune with all of them!  Water temperature, water clarity, wind, flowing water, cover, forage, fishing pressure etc. etc.

[LrgmouthShad]

11 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

You’ve been watching tactical bassin 😂 

Actually no. Not for a few months. I agreed with Matt Allen? 
I take that back entirely

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, LrgmouthShad said:

“reaction bite” 

and 

“finesse” 

are two of the most overused, inconsequential terms in bass fishing

 

"Finesse" sure muddles me. I think this is because I use spinning rods 99% of the time and throw all my lures with them. 

 

I do think that reaction bite is a real thing. Sometimes I'll cast a lure and land it on a bass and the bass immediately hits. It's as if my lure landed in an open mouth. That's a reaction bite because the bass had no time to consider my lure. 

 

16 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I think there's a lot of times where subtlety wins and a lot of times where smashing the door open with guns blazing works.

 

For about the 57,000th time, I agree with Pat.

[Mobasser]

It's been said here on BR that we can't force feed the fish. It's 100 percent true. We have to give the fish what works, and, it can change day to day. Depending on things, a smaller bait can work well. Examples are clear water, fronts passing through etc. 

[gim]

I'd love to catch all my bass with an aggressive, power fishing technique.  Chuck and wind with wrist-jarring strikes.  Unfortunately it just doesn't work that way all the time so you have to slow and down size with a slower, more-finesse type presentation.

 

Not every bass in the lake is willing to chase food either.  Some are more patient, ambush-type predators.

[Bird]

Since the water I mainly fish is gin clear, finesse is the way to go most of the time.

I think smaller soft plastics on lighter tackle fished slow and in my case, a flouro leader is finesse fishing.

 

I don't know if a 1/8  beetle spin or a small Jerkbait like a rip stop is considered finesse.

Does increased movement eliminate a bait from being considered finesse. Idk

 

 

 

 

[Mobasser]

Caiden24, I suggest you Google Charlie Brewer, Billy Westmoreland, Guido Hibdon, and Don Iovino. There are more. Look these guys up and read about how they fished finesse style.               You can learn how finesse fishing got started and, the how and why of it all. Learning about these guys can help you get a better understanding of finesse bass fishing. The term different meanings to different folks these days.

[Bankc]

If you throw a ball, your dog chases after it.  That's because your dog is a predator and it's in its instinct to chase down prey that is trying to escape.  If you drop down a plate of food, the dog eats it.  That's because it's a predator and it's also in its instinct to conserve energy and eat an easy meal when it's available.  Most predators have two modes, lie around and conserve energy and actively hunt. 

 

Same with fish.  Sometimes they have to be coaxed into eating, by the sight of fleeing prey that triggers their instincts to hunt.  Sometimes, they're not in the mood to chase, but will still eat something that's look delicious and easy. 

 

If a big bass wants to eat, it will probably find food pretty quickly.  Just about anyone can catch fish when the fish are out looking for food.  What makes a good angler a good angler, is that they can convince the bass to eat when they weren't actively looking for food.  And sometimes that's done by appealing to their instincts to hunt, and making them hunt when they weren't already in the mood to do so, and sometimes that's done by appealing to their instincts to conserve energy and eat an easy meal. 

[Catt]

One of Takumi Ito's winning lures. 

Saikoro Dice Rubber 

 

[Spankey]

I’m not that great when it comes to remembrance of particular years or time lines but when the term finesse fishing back some time ago and more recently the NED fishing term thing came about, I did get a good laugh about it. We’ve been fishing like that since the late 70’s. Many of a Mr. Twister and a Culprit worms became a NED bait by cutting the head back. Over the years the hooks and jig heads became more sophisticated. And more expensive. 

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Actually no. Not for a few months. I agreed with Matt Allen? 
I take that back entirely

Hahaha no they just break down all fishing into reaction vs finesse 

[TnRiver46]

20 minutes ago, Bankc said:

If you throw a ball, your dog chases after it. 

Not this one……

[Spankey]

10 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Not this one……

Couldn’t put a rabbit past him. 

[TnRiver46]

He’d better get a whiff of it , definitely a scent hound not a sight hound