Finessin' Up Some Winter Bass
Late winter can be a tough time to bass fish. It can also be fantastic, depending on the conditions. More often than not in the winter and spring weather patterns, the conditions work against you on the water. You know the story: 3 days of sun with a decent bite and then a random low pressure front and the cold, bluebird skies that kill the bite. Its frustrating, and you’ll have to change up your fishing style to catch fish. Finesse fishing probably catches more winter bass than any other style of fishing during the winter. Here in California fisherman use light tackle and finesse tactics year round, but they come into their own during cold weather and tough bites. There are a thousand ways to fish “finesse”, from drop shot to weightless Senkos in 70’ of water. Here’s a nice general overview of the main stuff out there as far as finesse fishing plastics goes. Keep in mind that fishing is a sport that often rewards innovation, and there’s never a wrong way to fish (except not fish at all!):
• Drop shot- you know about the drop shot. Its easily the most widespread fishing technique in the West, if not the country. Drop shotting catches fish year round. Winter time is a great time to fish drop shot. The ways you can retrieve it are unlimited, and so are the array of baits that can be used. If I feel the fish are moving vertically (i.e. chasing baitfish up or down a piece of structure) or are suspended above the bottom, I will use a dropshot. If you aren’t getting bit with your standard shake and drag, mix it up: deadsticking a drop shot can be a skunk-buster.
• Split shot- the original finesse tactic. Split shotting allows an angler to really cover some water while still fishing slow. That makes it a better search presentation than a drop shot, as a split shot allows the angler to fan cast likely holding areas and fish the majority of it in a relatively short amount of time. Change your split shot weight size to your water depth. I prefer the Mojo weights, as they slide through rocks better than the split shot the technique was made around. A split shot doesn’t fish well with fluorocarbon, so I use a leader of green Maxima to the bait, as it allows the bait to slowly flutter to bottom in a way fast-sinking flouro does not allow. Any bait can be fished on a split shot rig!
• Darterhead- another old-school technique, and very effective. A darter head is a bullet shaped leadhead that balances out horizontally with the proper sized plastic on it. Darterheading is a good technique for fishing the entire water column, as you can start imparting action to the worm as it falls through the fishing zone. This is done by shaking the falling bait on a semi-slack line. I like to shake a darter down to the bottom, reel up and pull it towards me a bit, and repeat the shaking bit till I feel I’m out of the productive zone. This is also a great way to fish suspended fish eating bait, shaking a small active bait through fish. Don’t drag a darter, as the head snags easily. Even fishing it correctly, you can expect to lose a few darterheads. Lots of baits fish a darter well, though its hard to beat basic straight tail and curly tail worms.
• Shakin’- the favorite of finesse master Don Iovino, this is basically a modified Texas rig. Use a tungsten weight, or a brass weight with a glass bead. Both tungsten and brass made clicking sounds not unlike a crawfish up and about. This rig excels at spot on the spot fishing. Found a rockpile at 40’ with a 10’ sweet zone of chunk rock and some fish marks on it? Try the shakin’ rig. Drop it down and once it hits bottom, shake on a semi-taut line to shake the bait in place. This can work well in off-colored water. Don’t limit your shake baits to small worms and the like, bigger baits that one may not consider “finesse” can catch lots of fish with this tactic.
• Shakey head- basically a jig and worm, a technique stretching back to the roots of the sport of bassin’, with some modifications. Shakey heads allow you to fish a bait slowly on a horizontal plane, and unlike a split shot, you can deadstick the bait and it will stand up motionless. A lot of times, a shakey head gets bit after you go to pick it up and shake it again, when the bait settles and sticks there like a craw or dying baitfish on the bottom. Any bait, big or small, can be used to fish the shakey head.
• The Scrounger- the Scrounger head was an incredibly popular SoCal phenomenon during the 70s and 80s, that died off and was forgotten by many people. The unique shape of a Scrounger allows you to fish a finesse bait like a crank bait, covering water effectively while appealing to fish that may not eat a reaction bait. Scroungers work well when fish are chasing bait like shad or smelt. Fish it slow during slow bites, and the lighter the head, the slower you can fish it.
• Float N’ Fly- a technique that really got going in the Southeast smallmouth reservoirs like Dale Hollow. A FNF allows you to fish a small hair or feather jig at a certain depth. These small jigs have built in action due to their body type, and really excel in cold water and slow bites. Look up the Bill Siemental vids on Tacklewarehouse for fishing this one. You DON’T need a bobber, and if you have the patience, a 1/8oz hair jig in 60 feet catches tons of fish! Its gets a lot of desirable bycatch like crappie and gills too.
• Tubes- the tube has been around a while. They are another way to cover water. Stick a tube jigs head or darter head in the tube, and drag it around likely areas. Tubes are a particular bite. Sometimes the fish eat tubes well but not jigs, sometimes the next day they won’t eat tubes but jigs are the golden ticket. You can only find out by fishing, which isn’t a bad thing!
• Flick shake/wacky head- a newer technique that uses a weighted hook and a wacky-rigged worm. A flick shake (named after the original worms and hook system used) allows you to fish something like a Fat Roboworm or small Senko in deep water, with all the side to side action a wacky rig provides.
