What are some of the best finesse techniques to fish a heavy pressured pond where the night is tough?

10 Finesse presentations;

Nail weight worm

Split or slip shot worm

Drop shot worm

Darter head jig

Ball head or Shakey head stand up jig

Wackey rig jig

Fly lined weightless worm

Brass n glass T -rig worm

Ned rig

Float n Fly

Take your pick, they all work.

Tom

Using 4 or 6 pound test on a spinning rig the techniques can include anything for flipping and pitching the following to your targets with the goal of having a very quiet water entry. Use a light or medium rod as long as the rod is rated for 4 or 6 pound test.

 

Use spinning reel that can accommodate 4 to 6 pound test. Do not overfill the spool or you will have a mess on your hands when the line spins off. Use your fingers to reel in the line tight when necessary. Use a braid backing to secure your fluorocarbon line to the braid on your spool to stop any line slippage.

 

Use a 1/16 tungsten weight where necessary.

 

Drop Shot with small drop shot worm or finesse worm

Shaky Head with Swamp Crawler or finesse worm

Texas rigged finesse worm

Light weight crankbait

Light weight spinnerbait

Swim jig

Small jig with a pig

Crappie baits

Rooster Tails

Small Flukes unweighted

Baby Brush Hogs

Ned Rig

Rage Tail crawfish

 

Fish these baits slow on the bottom or as slow as possible for your moving baits. Let the flukes and other plastics sink slowly to the bottom. Check out the smaller crankbaits at your favorite tackle store.

 

Keep finger on line to feel strikes.

 

Bring bottom baits back to you slowly. Experiment with the speed of your moving baits.

 

Flip or pitch your baits into any blow downs you can find. Target anything that looks a bass would be holding on it. Throw to the outside first and then go inside the target. You will lose some setups but that is where the bass will be holding.

 

Do not overset the hook. Use normal pressure on your rod when setting the hook. No slack in line when fighting any fish. Let the fish play itself out in deeper water. Try to keep fish away from shallow water and any structure that would cut the line. Stick rod tip in the water to keep fish from jumping.

 

Experiment. Throw as many different baits as you can to try to find a pattern.

 

At night you want a dark color bait. Go with Junebug or blue/black when you can. Small black crankbaits if you can find them or paint some small cranks (crappie size) black with hobby shop paint or Hard as Nails nail polish with a clear Hard as Nails coat on top of the new paint to secure the paint to the lure.

 

Remember, the bass are seeking cover, safety, and a good ambush point just in case something interesting swims by. They usually use sight as their first sense to see their prey and then follow up with the prey's vibrations and noise. At night their sense of sight is diminished but they can still see your baits if close enough to them.

 

Let us know how you do.

 

Merry Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bankfisher, let me add one more thing that I just thought about.

 

You have to be double quiet while fishing from the bank at night.

 

The usual water background noise is at a minimum and the bass can tell you are on the bank via your vibrations when you move or walk.

 

So be as stealth as possible. Move very quietly. Don't talk. Move as far from the bank as possible when changing locations. Creep up to the water's edge as softly as possible. Watch where you shine your flashlight. Be a ghost.

 

The only sound you want the bass to hear is your bait hitting the water and what it does while under water.

 

Now go out there and show those fish who is boss!