I'm addicted to finesse. I know I'm not the only finesse nerd around here...

My latest haul:

Into micro-jigs at the moment, trying out a variety of brands. The Yamamoto Covert Craw is my favorite trailer, buoyant and perfectly sized for a micro-jig. On a Molix 1/8 oz Nano Jig:

What's down in your latest rabbit hole?

For some reason or another I’ve had to get more finesse. I threw a Neko rig for the first time today and it saved my butt.

The power fishing techniques that I cut my teeth on almost ten yrs ago are going by the way side. I don’t know if it’s pressure related or I’m just not willing to cast all day waiting for that 1-2 good bites that generally result from power fishing.

I bought a vmc Neko kit this spring to get me going. After today I’m looking for more nail weights.

10 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

I'm addicted to finesse. I know I'm not the only finesse nerd around here...

My latest haul:

Into micro-jigs at the moment, trying out a variety of brands. The Yamamoto Covert Craw is my favorite trailer, buoyant and perfectly sized for a micro-jig. On a Molix 1/8 oz Nano Jig:

What's down in your latest rabbit hole?

Fishing pretty much what you’re fishing. Keitech 1/8 oz jig, rage bug for trailer or some kind of craw trailer.

Lots of bites but not much size.

I have done better on a Bitsy jig or a tube for fish size.

Own Kast King BFS Zephyr rod and reel and thoroughly enjoy fishing with it. Like a kid again. Mostly casting 1/8oz spinnerbaits using 10lb. braid with good results. Looks like Tackle Warehouse has committed to BFS, too.

Good Fishing

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=20&searchtext=BFS

Never tried it until this year when post spawn and hot temps killed the bite. It worked great and I enjoyed the process of fishing ultra-light on my Shimano Clarus rod and Miravel 1000 reel with 4lb test. Unfortunately, even that is not working now. I may try dynamite next.

We moved to GA from So Cal in '99 and finesse was the only way I knew how to bass fish. I met a guy I fish with today soon after we got here. He was a power fisherman while I wasn't and usually outfished him by a large margin. 6lb line 1/16 or 1/8oz bullet weights, a 1/0 hook with a Zoom Finesse worm was/is mostly what I use.

Right in the finesse time of year here. Got 3 spinning rods on the deck and 2 light casting setups. Dropshots, doodling and splitshots.

@Bass Rutten , what are you using for rod, reel and line for your finesse fishing?

@SJS I’ve got 4 finesse setups currently, all casting/bfs, I haven’t owned any spinning gear in about 3 years now.

Daiwa Seth Feider Tatula Elite rod (6’9” ml/r) this is one of those cases of using something for a completely different purpose than it was “designed” for, it’s labeled as a jerkbait and topwater rod but I found it a little noodley with straight fluoro or mono, then I tried braid/leader and that was ok for topwater but didn’t like how it handled jerks, then on a whim I tried some smaller underspins and swimbaits on it and she found her purpose. I also use it for small squarebills/cranks on occasion. A more versatile rod than I anticipated when I bought it, it’s paired up with a Alphas 800 sporting a Ray’s Studio long cast spool (Sufix 10lb 832 braid), and Roro Air BFS ST bearings. Capable of casting down to 1/8oz+2.75” plastics this is my run n gun finesse setup. Pictured with a jig rigged up for my next outing for experimentation. 

Kistler Helium 7’ Med-light/fast paired up with another Alphas 800, this one has a KKR t37m spool (fixed rotor, 5.6g w/bearing), roro bearings. Spooled up with X-Braid PE# 1.0, 8lb fluoro leader. The most sensitive of my rods so naturally it’s my main bottom contact setup. Used for jigs and neds mostly, testing with splitshot rigs right now though.

This one’s a fairly new addition (rod not reel), it’s a Abu Garcia Salty Stage KR-X Prototype Baitfinesse XKRC-73MLS-BF. It’s a jdm rod designed for inshore saltwater light game fishing, when I ordered this I was unaware it had a solid tip and have been pleasantly surprised by it. Although I have tried some fishing plastics with it my original intention was to use it as a mid-cranking rod and it has not disappointed. Between its length and the soft solid tip it can absolutely bomb 1/4oz hardbaits, it does really well with 3/8oz too (dt6, wiggle warts). It’s paired with a jdm zillion fitted with another Ray’s studio long cast spool and Hedgehog Studio Air BFS-SI bearings. I fish straight 6lb Yo-Zuri hybrid on it.

Another fairly new addition (rod not reel). It’s a Abu Garcia Salty Stage KR-X Prototype Baitfinesse XLRC-69LT-BF, also a jdm inshore light game rod. I was originally going to order only the 7’3” version above but added this shorter lighter power one to the order on a monkey fueled whim since I was already paying the shipping. It’s becoming kind of a utility rod and probably the one I’d grab for a single rod outing due to its versatility. I’ve been using it mostly for flickshakin’, mid-strolling minnows, and neko rigging 4in finesse worms recently, but it’s also fantastic for 1/8 to 1/4oz jerkbaits and crankbaits. Paired up with a stock daiwa ss air reel with X-Braid PE# 1.0, 6lb fluoro leader. This rod/reel combo weighs in at 7.7 ounces, very light and fun.

We caught 26 today. If you weren’t throwing a Ned with a green pumpkin TRD you were wasting your time. We also used swim baits, shaky heads, jigs and weightless worms for nothing.

13 hours ago, Jig Man said:

We caught 26 today. If you weren’t throwing a Ned with a green pumpkin TRD you were wasting your time. We also used swim baits, shaky heads, jigs and weightless worms for nothing.

Fishing yesterday, and dug out a green pumpkin Ned. About the only thing the Smallies would hit. Not much size though.

On 6/22/2026 at 10:22 PM, Mbirdsley said:

I threw a Neko rig for the first time today and it saved my butt.

This is a very effective technique here right now. The largemouth are setting up on the edge of the deep weedline (usually around 12-16 feet) and the faster fall rate of the nail-weighted stick bait gets down to them quicker. The bass tend to school up in these locations too, so if you find one of those with bigger fish, you can really catch a bunch of bucketmouths quickly. Be sure to mark these locations, as it often occurs year after year in the same spots in June/July.

I'm 100 percent finesse. I don't own a rod heavier than "Light".

I have 4 rods, all light spinning.

-Shimano Expride Poison Adrena for my Neko.

-Simano Expride Poison Adrena for my Free Rig

-Shimano Expride for my light bladed jig (1/4oz and less).

-Shimano Expride for my poop/bug/mushi baits.

These cover everything I need. The Free Rig in particular gets multiple use due to the incredible flexibility of the rig: Jigging, dragging, swimbaits, etc and of course Free Rigging.

21 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

This one’s a fairly new addition (rod not reel), it’s a Abu Garcia Salty Stage KR-X Prototype Baitfinesse XKRC-73MLS-BF. It’s a jdm rod designed for inshore saltwater light game fishing, when I ordered this I was unaware it had a solid tip and have been pleasantly surprised by it. Although I have tried some fishing plastics with it my original intention was to use it as a mid-cranking rod and it has not disappointed. Between its length and the soft solid tip it can absolutely bomb 1/4oz hardbaits, it does really well with 3/8oz too (dt6, wiggle warts). It’s paired with a jdm zillion fitted with another Ray’s studio long cast spool and Hedgehog Studio Air BFS-SI bearings. I fish straight 6lb Yo-Zuri hybrid on it.

Another fairly new addition (rod not reel). It’s a Abu Garcia Salty Stage KR-X Prototype Baitfinesse XLRC-69LT-BF, also a jdm inshore light game rod. I was originally going to order only the 7’3” version above but added this shorter lighter power one to the order on a monkey fueled whim since I was already paying the shipping. It’s becoming kind of a utility rod and probably the one I’d grab for a single rod outing due to its versatility. I’ve been using it mostly for flickshakin’, mid-strolling minnows, and neko rigging 4in finesse worms recently, but it’s also fantastic for 1/8 to 1/4oz jerkbaits and crankbaits. Paired up with a stock daiwa ss air reel with X-Braid PE# 1.0, 6lb fluoro leader. This rod/reel combo weighs in at 7.7 ounces, very light and fun.

@Bass Rutten I've been throwing that XKRC 73MLS for awhile now, absolutely love it. I followed up with the XKRC 79LT shortly after and it is also a winner. Appreciate your write up of the 69LT that has been on my radar, hard to hear any other real world opinions in english of these other than what @bulldog1935 owns. I was running into a niche for my shore bound smallies that was hard to fill, small 2.5-3.5" soft plastics t-rigged on a heavy jika rig to stay down in 25' fow with current, and picked up the Abu Salty Stage PT boat casting XBCC-732MML. It behaves like a +1.5 power XKRC 73MLS and has quickly become a favorite. I like it so much, I swapped out my jika rig hook for a 4/0 and pitched deep weedlines on a small inland lake and landed this pig yesterday.

scott

I work many of my usual baits in a delicate and methodical manner with no special tackle... finesse fishing.

12 hours ago, gim said:

This is a very effective technique here right now. The largemouth are setting up on the edge of the deep weedline (usually around 12-16 feet) and the faster fall rate of the nail-weighted stick bait gets down to them quicker. The bass tend to school up in these locations too, so if you find one of those with bigger fish, you can really catch a bunch of bucketmouths quickly. Be sure to mark these locations, as it often occurs year after year in the same spots in June/July.

Essentially, what the bass are doing here. Setting up on the weed lines after a sharp drop. They aren’t that deep yet but, in 8-12 ft. They should be that deep but, we have had a lot of cooler weather.

Forgot to add my finesse discoveries for mainly clear water great lakes smallmouth, the 6th sense 3.5" bodega, yama covert craw, 3" & 3.75" shad shape worm, GLF 2.5" juvy craw, and what seems to be discontinued; 3" jackall fivos and 3" i-shad. Various weighted ballheads in 1/0 and the decoy worm27 hyper mini in #2 and owner haymaker in 1/0 on various weighted jika and free rigs make up the vast majority of my rigging.

scott

23 hours ago, softwateronly said:

Appreciate your write up of the 69LT that has been on my radar, hard to hear any other real world opinions

More deets since you're considering it. I'd call it a mod-fast taper, slower tip and more progressive than the 73ml, it's tubular tipped not solid. It's sensitivity punches above its price point, but not extraordinary. Extremely light, weighing in at exactly 2.50oz, which make it very well balanced too. Mid-micro fuji guides, fuji seat (exact same as the 73). I love the ninja stealth aesthetic of this line. There's nothing really super unique about it, that said it's probably the funnest setup I've ever owned. Considering I paid $190 something for it I'd give it a very high rating on value/bang for the buck (before shipping and tariffs).

I drove cross country in a compact car to Illinois last month to see some friends and took only this rod, I haven't bought a 2-piece in over two decades, forgot how easy it made traveling, I see more 2-piecers in my future.

22 hours ago, Mbirdsley said:

They should be that deep but, we have had a lot of cooler weather.

That is going to change dramatically next week.

Looks like a blast furnace starting Monday

Greetings and Happy Friday All,

Yup, it is rather hot in most places. Southern AZ is one of them for sure. We have an entire weekend under 'Red Flag' warning. If the triple digit temps aren't interesting enough the winds ought to add that extra degree of difficulty.

I only just realized in reviewing this thread, that I've been 'finesse' fishing for a majority of my angling adventures for several decades. Yup, I enjoy catching fish and I don't want to work 'too' hard doing it.

Sure, I'll heave some of the larger presentations for a bit. Then go right back to catching them with the smaller gear.

The recent conditions have the weeds getting on the thicker side. Usually, I do a bit of weedless TRD using a 1/64 oz bullet weight. Just enough to get it sort of down there. It works really well for the multi-species bite.

I've also used that setup with and without the weight as a kind of jerkbait of sorts close or at the surface. That has been effective too for many of the schooling bass and bluegills. I had the wind blow it off course and had it land on a weed mat. As soon as I pulled it clear it got smashed! Wowza! that was a fun time on UL gear.

I'm mixing it up between the UL spinning and BFS casting rigs. Having a good time using both. It is interesting to see all the products out there you each are showcasing.

@GreenTrout That link you shared, THXs! Oh, the bait monkey!

Be well, Cheers!