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Oh someone knows something sneaky. Knows how to catch 'em and won't tell. Or figured out how to catch 'em using some deal that we mighta heard about but never tried. Well, here you go – some of 'em!
YOU might know about one or more of these sneaky little deals, but what about your fishing bud? Would you tell him?? 😁
Some of it is stuff for this time of year (any colder water), some could work in pressured situations. Hope you dig 'em! Here we go with part 1!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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You know a bunch of sneaky stuff is finessey! No particular order:
1. Mojo rig, aka finesse Carolina rig
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Lake Greeson, AR and Opens angler Matt Baker says:
> "This is a tool you can use to find a school of bass as the water temps fall. It's best employed on deep points, humps and channel drops.
> "You want to fish this rig painfully slow, feeling every little bump on the bottom trying to identify where a school of bass might be set up."
Gear: Great Lakes Finesse Drop Worm (his personal faves are gp and "frosted shad"), 1/0 EWG hook, 20-30" leader depending on water clarity of 8-lb fluoro 🤯 (which is the mainline too), 3/16 or 1/4 tungsten weight, 7' 8" ML spin rod (the longer the better).
2. Splitshot rig
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An even MORE finesse C-rig. Lunkerhunt's Josh Gullion with some deets:
> "...a splitshot-style bullet weight (weight according to conditions) and a 1/0-2/0 offset EWG hook – light braid to a small steelheader-style micro swivel to a 5-7 lb fluoro leader."
His sneaky bait is the 3" Lunkerhunt Hive Hellgrammite: It's got a bunch of legs and like all HIVE-series baits is made with Lunkerhunt's UDSP (Ultra-Durable Soft Plastic) which floats.
> "The benefit of using a floating plastic as opposed to a standard plastic is when you reel in the rig, the buoyant bait will be pulled toward the bottom and when you stop, it floats back up. Standard PVC will sink and stay on the bottom.
> "That slow-floating bait coming off bottom triggers 'em! Great technique for pressured fish in all conditions and a great presentation in rivers for drifting through deep holes."
Seems like that bait might go great with a Ned, dropshot, jighead and Neko too. Comes in 10 colors. YT vid on the bait here.
3. Ultra-finesse A-rig
Fish-catcher and can be a secret weapon in tournaments that allow A-rigs, a fave of AR bass-head Dustin Elder:
> "Wind-blown banks, especially channel swings or anywhere with access to deep water close by is the target. Chunk and wind and you will be surprised at how many bites you get over a traditional spinnerbait."
Gear: YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr – "Get a CO blade Flash Mob Jr because it is more compact and easier to fish shallow. Attach willowleaf blades in place of the COs, with your choice of jigheads and tiny swimbaits or grubs. 20-lb fluoro line, 7:1-8:1 speed reel, 7' 3" MH casting rod.
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4. Crappie-size baits
Few facts for you:
- Every couple years a YUGE largemouth (or some other species) is caught by mistake on some crappie/panfish-size bait. A jighead with something on it.
- The Ned rig is small. The fuzzy dice is smaller. You get the picture.
So...if you need some bites, a crappie jig should do it. No float 'n fly needed, just the fly.
Last winter I was in the boat with Mike Iaconelli and because we were in NJ we couldn't buy a bite, even with a pro fisherman with FFS on the bow of the boat! Anyhow, his cameraman (whose name escapes me, sorry!) tied on a Berkley PowerBait Power Switch and spanked us (not hard!) from the back deck.
Believe it was the 2.5" and he was catching every species in the lake. No bigs, but bites! Pre-rigged, hangs and swims horizontal and that tail moves a little:
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5. The Tiny Child Rig??
Not sure if it was made "official" by Mike Ike or W2F's Kyle Peterson, and also not sure who gave it that strange name (knowing both of 'em, could be either lol). Anyhow it's basically a Texas-rigged Neko Ned rig. Got that? 😁 Pic makes it clear:
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The key to it is that's it's a small, weedless presentation that stays down, even with that Z-Man Finesse TRD or whatever little bait you wanna use.
Btw, did you know Z-Man TRDs are available in 30 packs now?
6. Tiny crankbaits
Few options for you that you will need either spin rods or BFS (finesse baitcasting) gear for:
Norman Deep Tiny N – From OK regional and Opens angler Eric Porterfield:
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> "This is killer for cranking steep banks after a rain when bass get pushed up to rocks to feed on crawfish.
> "With the help from a BFS casting setup you can easily launch this bait and achieve 8' cranking depths."
Gear: Norman Deep Tiny N ("red swamp craw or "holy shad"), 8-lb fluoro with a BFS or other small-spool casting reel with a L-action rod.
Berkley Frittside 5 Jr
2", 1/4-oz version of one of the most popular flatsides in the last few yers for good reason. Comes in 16 colors plus all the HD colors including "HD brown craw" which if I remember right is the color Bobby Lane won the MLF Redcrest with a couple years back:
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Yo-Zuri 3DR-X Series Flat Crank
2 1/8”, 3/8-oz real good crank (it's got that something, in my 2c) that gets down to 3-4'. Sneaky shallow bait for several Yo-Zuri pros:
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Bill Lewis Gnat
1.5", 1/8-oz crappie bait-size squarebill (is it the world's smallest squarebills? gotta be one of 'em), gets down to 3+' – but you need ultra-light gear to chuck it:
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7. Different finesse soft-plastics
Meaning not the typical do-nothing Ned baits:
2.5" Yamamoto Hula Grub – Deets from John Murray:
> "The 2.5 Hula Grub has a special place in my arsenal for many clearwater areas that get pressured. I’ve seen so many times when bass, particularly smallmouth, get off traditional-size baits and the only bait they will react to is a small Hula Grub on a 1/8-oz jighead!
> "Whether it’s a crawdad hatch or bait fatigue, the 2.5 Hula Grub is the best option."
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Has every bass in the world seen a Z-Man TRD yet? Doubt it 😁 but if they have, or you don't want to take any chances, the new TRD FattyZ – which is only available on TW – might be the bees knees.
That “hinged” midsection makes the tail section wiggle, and you know dang well the regular TRD does no such thing! Put it on a Finesse ShroomZ Jighead, or on a NedlockZ EWG Jighead, or Neko it – word is it catches and "the deal" and PB&J are the colors to get.
Here's Matt Allen from Tactical Bassin' signin' its praises.
8. Finesse topwaters
Yo-Zuri 3DR-X Pencil – Just 3" long and 1/4-oz. Brandon Card talkin':
> "This topwater bait works really well when bass are dialed into small baitfish. It’s much smaller than 95% of other walking baits on the market, which means the fish haven’t seen it.
> "It has a subtle walking action that triggers bass to bite even in a heavy fishing pressure situation. At only 1/4-oz, this bait lands softly in the water even on a long cast, which is a big key to not spook bass in shallow water.
> "I prefer to fish it on shallow flats, where baitfish congregate around isolated targets."
Gear: His fave 3DR-X Pencil colors are (bone, prism ghost shad, prism blue shad), 10-lb Yo-Zuri SuperBraid, Shimano Vanford 2500 Spin Reel, 7' 1" M iRod Genesis III Spin Rod.
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Real deal smaller-profile frog. Good hooks. All you need to know!
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Finessey rods, reels, lines
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Before getting to more sneaky baits, tweaks 'n techniques, when it comes to the above stuff obviously you need lighter gear to sling it. Here's some stuff that should help you do that, notably BFS stuff and lines.
BFS ("bait finesse system" = finesse/ultralight baitcasting) is catching on slowly but steadily. Kinda like the growth of finesse spinning, to do that Ned, stroll and whatever stuff.
Just like with spinning gear, you need the right rod, one that slinging light baits but also can fight decent-sized fish. And the reels need to be able to not backlash from light baits, and have a good drag – because those tiny line sizes are scary! 😱
Anyhow, I think all the major rod and reel companies now have BFS options, which tells you something.
Rods 'n Reels
Abu Garcia BFS rods 'n reels
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Abu has 2 options: Veritas level (reel $150, rods $100) and its top-level Zenon stuff (reel $550, rods $450).
Abu has pushed so much stuff from the Zenons down to their lower-priced lines I personally think we can't go wrong with the Zenon stuff. Lmk if you know!
KastKing BFS stuff
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😁
Lines
Man so many new lines are coming out. Here's a few to keep in mind, mainlines and leaders:
Sufix Revolve Braid
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> Optimized for FFS, Berkley Forward Finesse Braid gives you the ability to deliver baits with precision. Proprietary longitudinal construction maintains the cross-section integrity of this Berkley fishing line, producing longer casts than conventional braided fishing line and reducing fiber cross-over for exceptional sensitivity. The smaller diameter provides fast sink rates, ideal for finesse applications.
KastKing Hammer FFS Braid – Neutral density to help with FFS and other suspended- and deep-fish techniques:
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> Hammer FFS with a higher specific gravity is 55% heavier than water, allowing the line to remain neutral in the water. This higher specific gravity allows for more line control for maximum casting distance. Hammer FFS breaks through the water surface faster allowing the bait or lure to get in front of the fish more quickly.
Seaguar Pounce Fluorocarbon Bass Leader
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Made with custom Seaguar fluoro resins in Japan, built to be bulletproof with exceptional abrasion resistance and strength, built for max knot strength and is fast-sinking, and a good price point for Seaguar quality. 6-15 lb on 25-yard spools.
Here's Zona talkin 'bout it in a quick YT vid. Also, if you don't want your lines and leaders tangling in the boat, the Seaguar Leader and Line bags actually are helpful. Here's OCD Z demo-ing 'em:
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The deal you gotta know about this is it was first approved by Yo-Zuri’s SALTwater pro staff, so you know it's strong and durable. Made in Japan using premium raw materials.
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End of part 1 (of 2)!
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'!
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