Midwest Finesse?

[FlipaYak]

I read these three articles on In Fisherman's website:

http://www.in-fisherman.com/2014/03/05/six-midwest-finesse-retrieves/

http://www.in-fisherman.com/2012/01/11/a-month-by-month-guide-to-midwest-finesse-for-bass/

http://www.in-fisherman.com/2013/01/17/a-short-history-of-midwest-finesse-fishing-for-black-bass-1955-2013/

and many others on Midwest Finesse.

The articles got me interested. My focus this year is on catching fish - period. I've wasted a lot of time in the past trying to be Kevin VanDam, and I didn't learn much about how to fish from all those fishless hours.

I fish from a kayak or the bank and I don't have electronics so my fishing style needs to be based on catching the fish that are in the area I'm fishing.

I like this Midwest Finesses style because of its roots in such lures as the Beetle Spin, its references to Charlie Brewer's slider fishing, and the focus on numbers of fish over size of fish.

Has anyone else tried this style of fishing?

[Buccaneer]

Charlie Brewer's slider baits are some of the best baits you can fish. Although generally considered finesse baits, they are actually a power bait in early spring when the shore line grass begins to green up. Perfect bedding bass baits in shallow waters.

[spottedbass]

Buccaneer...sshhhhh. :rolleyes: A lot of people have forgot about the slider. It does catch a lot of numbers of fish but it catches big fish too. I've caught a fair amount of 4 - 5 lb. largemouth on 4" slider worms.

[Travis C.]

I fish from a kayak or the bank and I don't have electronics so my fishing style needs to be based on catching the fish that are in the area I'm fishing.



How good are you at reading the "lay of the land" above water. The better you get at doing this with or without electronics your productive water and in turn fish % will go up.

Work on that as much as new catching tactics. It will pay off long term.

[Jim]

I haven't fished exactly like they describe, but use a light spinning rod with 10lb braid to a 6 to 10lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/8 oz sliderhead jig with a small worm, craw, or creature bait almost year around on Old Hickory. I move up to 1/4 oz in deeper water or in the wind. It catches plenty of bass both big and small. That said I also catch a bunch on spinnerbaits and crankbaits also.

The real key is to be fishing around bass. I have fished Old Hickory a ton and know a bunch of good spots and good patterns. If you are just learning an area, then use a jig that you can feel the bottom clearly. Rig it weedless so that you can throw it anywhere. It will help in understanding the "lay of the land" as Travis describes as it continues out underwater.

From the bank or a kayak, you can't cover a ton of water so pick an area apart and you will begin to see what is holding the bass or any other species you want to catch.

Refining your technique, like in the in-fisherman articles, can make you go from 5 fish to 20 fish days, but you first have to be able to catch 5 consistently.

The best example I have is Alphahawk and his trout magnets. He can wear the fish out on those almost everyday. He will even fish them in 30 ft of water with special tungsten head jigs. This is not easy at all and takes a lot of practice, but he already knows where the fish are. But anyone can use the standard trout magnet setup and catch fish. It works - no doubt. He has just refined and practiced it to an art.

For bass, choose a major creek off the lake and focus on it for a while. I would just pick a 1/4 oz slider in green pumpkin and fish everything from the shore to the creek channel. You will find bass somewhere in there almost every day of the year.

Good luck,
Jim

PS - use scent, it helps when fishing slow.

[tkwalker]

I haven't fished exactly like they describe, but use a light spinning rod with 10lb braid to a 6 to 10lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/8 oz sliderhead jig with a small worm, craw, or creature bait almost year around on Old Hickory. I move up to 1/4 oz in deeper water or in the wind. It catches plenty of bass both big and small. That said I also catch a bunch on spinnerbaits and crankbaits also.

The real key is to be fishing around bass. I have fished Old Hickory a ton and know a bunch of good spots and good patterns. If you are just learning an area, then use a jig that you can feel the bottom clearly. Rig it weedless so that you can throw it anywhere. It will help in understanding the "lay of the land" as Travis describes as it continues out underwater.

From the bank or a kayak, you can't cover a ton of water so pick an area apart and you will begin to see what is holding the bass or any other species you want to catch.

Refining your technique, like in the in-fisherman articles, can make you go from 5 fish to 20 fish days, but you first have to be able to catch 5 consistently.

The best example I have is Alphahawk and his trout magnets. He can wear the fish out on those almost everyday. He will even fish them in 30 ft of water with special tungsten head jigs. This is not easy at all and takes a lot of practice, but he already knows where the fish are. But anyone can use the standard trout magnet setup and catch fish. It works - no doubt. He has just refined and practiced it to an art.

For bass, choose a major creek off the lake and focus on it for a while. I would just pick a 1/4 oz slider in green pumpkin and fish everything from the shore to the creek channel. You will find bass somewhere in there almost every day of the year.

Good luck,
Jim

PS - use scent, it helps when fishing slow.

Your input is always appreciated and respected !! ... <'TK>< :)

[FlipaYak]

How good are you at reading the "lay of the land" above water. The better you get at doing this with or without electronics your productive water and in turn fish % will go up.

Work on that as much as new catching tactics. It will pay off long term.

Average, but getting better. Bushwacking turkeys using terrain has helped some. I also go back and study topo maps and wintertime satellite photos of areas where I find a concentration of fish to see if there is an apparent terrain reason for why the fish were there.

[olddognewtrick]

I had always sorta went with finesse type of fishing. For years, I rarely used any line larger than 8lb and the biggest bait I threw was a rattletrap and the 1-minus(always slow rolled the 1-minus). Usually, I tied on a 4 - 6 inch plastic and thoroughly worked grass lines, points, and creek mouths from the bank.

If you are able to go to an area often enough, you will be able to 'follow' the fish as they go through their seasonal migrations. When in college, I fished 3 to 7 times a week, and I could go to three different lakes, or a couple of streams and know exactly what bait to throw, where to throw it, and how to fish it. Even if you can go once a week or two, if you go to the same area you should be able to find them again. That experience will assist you when approaching a new body of water.
Once you find fish in a particular area, record the conditions (time of year, temp, type of surrounding land/banks). It will help you remember them and recognize them on unfamiliar water, which will help you find a pattern quicker and result in more fish. I'm sure you've already read about all this, but it helped me in the past. :)

[FlipaYak]

I haven't fished exactly like they describe, but use a light spinning rod with 10lb braid to a 6 to 10lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/8 oz sliderhead jig with a small worm, craw, or creature bait almost year around on Old Hickory. I move up to 1/4 oz in deeper water or in the wind. It catches plenty of bass both big and small. That said I also catch a bunch on spinnerbaits and crankbaits also.

The real key is to be fishing around bass. I have fished Old Hickory a ton and know a bunch of good spots and good patterns. If you are just learning an area, then use a jig that you can feel the bottom clearly. Rig it weedless so that you can throw it anywhere. It will help in understanding the "lay of the land" as Travis describes as it continues out underwater.

From the bank or a kayak, you can't cover a ton of water so pick an area apart and you will begin to see what is holding the bass or any other species you want to catch.

Refining your technique, like in the in-fisherman articles, can make you go from 5 fish to 20 fish days, but you first have to be able to catch 5 consistently.

The best example I have is Alphahawk and his trout magnets. He can wear the fish out on those almost everyday. He will even fish them in 30 ft of water with special tungsten head jigs. This is not easy at all and takes a lot of practice, but he already knows where the fish are. But anyone can use the standard trout magnet setup and catch fish. It works - no doubt. He has just refined and practiced it to an art.

For bass, choose a major creek off the lake and focus on it for a while. I would just pick a 1/4 oz slider in green pumpkin and fish everything from the shore to the creek channel. You will find bass somewhere in there almost every day of the year.

Good luck,
Jim

PS - use scent, it helps when fishing slow.

It sounds like you are saying to pick a lure or style of fishing and master it. Is that correct?

That's kind of what I'm trying to do right now. TM for bluegill and anything that'll bite and these finesses techniques for bass.

I've really struggled in the past fishing any lake over 10 acres. Old Hickory has been my nemesis. I did better last year on Pickwick, and I plan to improve my skill set and confidence again this year.

[olddognewtrick]

It sounds like you are saying to pick a lure or style of fishing and master it. Is that correct?

That's kind of what I'm trying to do right now. TM for bluegill and anything that'll bite and these finesses techniques for bass.

I've really struggled in the past fishing any lake over 10 acres. Old Hickory has been my nemesis. I did better last year on Pickwick, and I plan to improve my skill set and confidence again this year.

Like Jim said, pick that lake/bay/creek apart and look for smaller areas similar to where you've caught fish before. Break OH down to 5 or 10 acre bits and throw out the water you are uncomfortable with and fish that which instills confidence. When you know you can go out and catch 15 or 20 of whatever fish, you will feel more confident about going for larger or different species fish, and more importantly, confident about trying an unfamiliar area.

[Jim]

It sounds like you are saying to pick a lure or style of fishing and master it. Is that correct?

That's kind of what I'm trying to do right now. TM for bluegill and anything that'll bite and these finesses techniques for bass.

I've really struggled in the past fishing any lake over 10 acres. Old Hickory has been my nemesis. I did better last year on Pickwick, and I plan to improve my skill set and confidence again this year.

I was just saying to not get overly technical on the method until you have the fish patterned well. The midwest finesse technique calls for some no feel or no bottom contact methods. Just cast out and let the lure swim back on the retrieve. But they say, keep with 6 inches or a foot from the bottom. If you don't know the spot great, this is almost impossible. Plus you may "swim" your bait right over a boulder, small dropoff, stump or other things and never know why the fish was holding there. For finesse fishing, I like to use a jig that is just heavy enough to feel the bottom. When you start, slightly heavier jigs are easier to control and feel, but they will snag a little more often. 3/8 oz has been a standard forever and it works great. For small baits and shallow water, 1/4 oz is fine. 1/8 oz will glide and slow fall better, but will take some practice to get the feel for what is happening.

A stiff 6 foot spinning rod with a light tip and the braid with fluorocarbon leader is a very sensitive setup that is also amazingly strong and abrasion resistant. You can pull big fish from nasty spots with this rig. And many times the lighter the leader (6 lb test) will get more bites as it doesn't drag on the light lure as much. But it will lead to a few heartbreaking break offs on big fish.

You have to get them to bite before you can land them so it is a trade off. A 10 lb leader is a good compromise.

Just have confidence that this rig works - I guarantee it does - and learn it well and you will catch bass. Plus it works all across the country for largemouth, smallmouth, and spots.

Best of luck,
Jim

PS - It definitely works on Old Hickory.

[Travis C.]

Great advice on this topic.

I will also piggy back on Jim's patterning the fish.

Since you mentioned KVD I am going to use him. KVD may be throwing a red eye shad and fishing it a certain way catching a ton of bass or just catching big ones so you in turn want to learn how he fishes the red eye shad. There is more to it that just "how" there is a "what" and "why" factor. As in what is he imitating then why.

To optimize your results in addition or I suggest prior to mastering a certain technique learn the fish's available food. If you can learn the shad's life cycle, pan fish spawning tendencies and crayfish molting cycles or habitat to name a few key ones you'll be able to put yourself in better situations on the water.

Example: Fishing a shallow soft bottom flat right now (which would be good for bluegill spawn) may not produce near as well as it would for bass 2 months from now.

[Jim]

Example: Fishing a shallow soft bottom flat right now (which would be good for bluegill spawn) may not produce near as well as it would for bass 2 months from now.

Well, not to disagree but shallow soft bottoms warm faster at this time of year and attract the shad big time. Where there are shad, the predators will follow. In fact they were so thick on the shallow mud flats this past weekend my boy was just scooping them out by the net full :)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fix8A8YrpQc/U0Rra9wU4hI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/waAy6Vydw_4/s640/nash_cats.jpg

[Travis C.]

Well, not to disagree but shallow soft bottoms warm faster at this time of year and attract the shad big time. Where there are shad, the predators will follow. In fact they were so thick on the shallow mud flats this past weekend my boy was just scooping them out by the net full :)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fix8A8YrpQc/U0Rra9wU4hI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/waAy6Vydw_4/s640/nash_cats.jpg

Wow, don't know whats more crazy the number of fish in the net or how big he has gotten so fast.

Interesting info Jim, always open to new info or debunking old. Thanks.

[Alphahawk]

A good thread...... Lots of info. Jim you catch more cats than anyone I have run into.

Regards


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[jallen67]

Threads like this remind me how little I know about fishing. This site isn't about "spots"; it's about this type of information to make you a better fisherman. Thank you all for your posts.