Senkosam
Member
I'm sure most anglers know this, but finesse fishing depends on a slow retrieve to allow fish in general to become annoyed with a foreign, manmade moving object it doesn't have a clue what it is. One thing that is essential for a fish's survival is its senses and particularly vibration/ movement detection no matter how slight. You've probably seen videos of a fish smashing a bug on the surface. Bugs produce minimal vibration and surface disturbance yet enough for a predator to take notice and attack. Finesse lures are subtle and slow in presentation though far clumsier in a fish's environment than a bug. Bladed lures and chrome finishes have the same effect except visually, similar to a strobe light flashing at a concert.
Many anglers use lures that thump the lateral line such surface poppers, lipped crankbaits with rattles and buzz baits. Fish sense their approach from a distance and may or may not attack something moving past them at a steady speed. Finesse presentations and lures are just the opposite: very slow and in-place. They force a fish to pay attention while at the same time irritating it to the point of striking.
I was messing around yesterday and reeling a finesse, soft plastic lure very slowly. I noticed that I unconsciously turned the handle slightly with pauses. occasionally i would raise the rod tip slightly during a pause, but slight reel handle turns with pauses caused the lure to dart and glide a bit - similar to a minnow's action. I would never suggest that any lure represents any living creature, but prey don't want to disturb fish enough to eat them and fish sense the thing (lure) as really stupid or brazen.
I was shocked to find that a 3" curl tail grub that lost its tail, still - caught - fish! With the tail gone, the lure had a much different action used with a retrieve different than the steady one that concentrates on a curl-tail flapping/ body vibrating while usually swimming on a horizontal plane.
Here's an example of a no-action tail lure (grub body):
Here's one I wacky rigged on a 1/32 oz jig:
The slight reel handle turns with pauses and slight rod tip up & down motions, have accounted for over a thousand fish of all kinds and sizes. Something to consider.
Many anglers use lures that thump the lateral line such surface poppers, lipped crankbaits with rattles and buzz baits. Fish sense their approach from a distance and may or may not attack something moving past them at a steady speed. Finesse presentations and lures are just the opposite: very slow and in-place. They force a fish to pay attention while at the same time irritating it to the point of striking.
I was messing around yesterday and reeling a finesse, soft plastic lure very slowly. I noticed that I unconsciously turned the handle slightly with pauses. occasionally i would raise the rod tip slightly during a pause, but slight reel handle turns with pauses caused the lure to dart and glide a bit - similar to a minnow's action. I would never suggest that any lure represents any living creature, but prey don't want to disturb fish enough to eat them and fish sense the thing (lure) as really stupid or brazen.
I was shocked to find that a 3" curl tail grub that lost its tail, still - caught - fish! With the tail gone, the lure had a much different action used with a retrieve different than the steady one that concentrates on a curl-tail flapping/ body vibrating while usually swimming on a horizontal plane.
Here's an example of a no-action tail lure (grub body):
Here's one I wacky rigged on a 1/32 oz jig:
The slight reel handle turns with pauses and slight rod tip up & down motions, have accounted for over a thousand fish of all kinds and sizes. Something to consider.
Last edited:
