When fishing heavily pressured fish, or fishing for fish in cold weather conditions, what are your go-to techniques for success on the water? Texas rigging soft plastic worms is my go-to, but I'm looking to expand my arsenal with more finesse techniques. Please leave some suggestions below, thanks! 

You are going to get a lot of suggestions.  For me it’s a dropshot, shakeyhead, Ned, and small swimbaits. 

Hard to deny a Ned, it always catches but I’ll give a close second to a t-rig craw. 
 

My favorite thing BFS though is throwing small spinbaits like a pond magic.

Ned, shaky and small jigs are my choices.

Im fishing for spots. I wacky rig a 5.8” Jackall flickshake worm in green pumpkin on a 1/32oz jig head. I’m using 4# line. 

Weightless and split shot rig.

Shakey and Ned

 

Why Ned? Need you ask?

Weightless 7 inch Senko, because that is as far down the finesse road I ever need to go.

21 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Weightless 7 inch Senko, because that is as far down the finesse road I ever need to go.

 

I've had good luck with those weightless 7-inch Senkos too.

 

 

I really don't have much preference with soft plastics. I think they all work.

When my river is really cold mot soft plastics form ice while casting.

At my most finesse im throwing the deadly black marabou jig.

I tie it in 1/8 to 1/32 oz and sometimes i throw on some chartruese ice dubbing.

 

Edit - while fishing i often add a stub of a senko for wt 

Many of the lakes I fish are gin clear and I've found nothing better than a Jackall flickshake 4.8 on a 1/16 wacky head.

Drop-shot and Shakey head are also productive where I fish.

You also mentioned cold water conditions so it's 2 questions in your post.

Cold water, I like jigs, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits.

My number 1 is the Ned, followed by small lures and paddle tails

My favorite is probably a small soft plastic bait on a ball head jig around rocky shoals where smallmouth frequent. 

Don’t love it but cant deny the effectiveness of  a wacky rigged senko. 
 

 

Slip Shot rig (finesse C-rig) / reaper or hand poured worm.

Drop Shot / wacky or nose hooked worms.

Dart jig w/ 3 1/2”- 4 1:2” ribbon tail worm or swimmer.

Weightless 5” wacky rigged Senko.

The above using spinning tackle w/ 5# UG mono & 7# Sniper FC.

Tom

 

 

Neds and tubes.

Weightless Fluke, hollow frog,  weightless Mag Speed Worm, swim jig.

This thread has struck me with a bolt of inspiration to do an all finesse day tomorrow... off to the garage I go to tie on a 7inch senko and hollow body frog, wish me luck!

I’m most confident in the dropshot (Have one with on most trips) in all water conditions. Mainly using a 4.5” fat Roboworm t-rigged or a 3” Hazedong Shad nose hooked.

 

I’ve been using the split shot rig a lot more over the last few years though based on WRB talking about it in threads like this. It’s great!

28 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Weightless Fluke, hollow frog,  weightless Mag Speed Worm, swim jig.

 

I like weightless flukes too, Pat. I want to like hollow frogs. 

 

WANT! 

 

Here's video of me when a frog hits:

 

 

I'm also comfortable fishing just about any soft plastic T-Rigged.

 

 

Live bait. Live bait will usually show you what you're dealing with. Also checkout the Bobby Garland Slab Hunt'r 2.25 inch. Pair that with a crappie magnet 1/16 jig head, trim the collar off, it's a size 3 hook and this bait swims phenomonally

 

https://youtu.be/QaoHBMeCbqc?si=_hxb6w8W4sJ-0cmA

Neko Rig

Free Rig

Dropshot

 

Ned or lite ball head with twister tail grub

 

small tubes

and lastly 

 

My Mike Ike panic box has charlie brewer small slider grub with slider head

Catch ton bass on slider grub

has tiny paddle tail.

 

oh i also use Shad flies on drop shot

cost me small fortune because of how many I have.  Soaked in Baitfuel

Best kept secrete…. Well no more lol

7 1/2” ribbon tail, Texas rigged, because it’s so weedless. It’s got to be about my favorite. I like tubes too, stupid rigged, I like the profile when casting or pitching. Haven’t caught as many fish with them as Texas rigged, but I like fishing them.

Big fan of ned rigs, caught my pb of 6.5 LBS on one up here in massachusetts. plenty of other solid bass. great for both smallies and largies.

Weightless wacky, drop shot, or fluke for me.

I'm automatically skipping over the responses that include the words "drop shot." 🤮

 

In recent years, my top finesse plastic situations have been a Neko, wacky, ned, and tube.  A wacky rigged stick bait skipped under docks has been a favorite presentation of mine, and very effective.

 

The live bait shops near me have closed so its a pain the rear to locate any, and usually way out of my route.  Plus it's just way too expensive for a one time use and half of it dies on the way to the lake.