Decent day out on the water this afternoon, with finesse jigs accounting for over 3 dozen bass in just a few hours.
When you mention finesse jigs to most bass anglers, the first thing they think of is either small or lightweight. While those can be two important elements in a good finesse approach, bulk/density and profile are at least as important as the previous two attributes, if not more so.
Bulk or density in this case is in reference to the skirt of a jig. If you look at a jig and feel a bit uncomfortable about the lack of skirt material in the tie, chances are you are probably just getting to the point of the jig being tied right. Less is more when it comes to finesse jigging, whether rubber or hair. If you look at the jigs in this picture, they have between 20-35 individual strands of rubber depending on the material (one is tied with thicker strands (20), one thinner (35) strands). Notice they are also single strand, with the bottom "second" layer removed. Hold them up and they look a bit skimpy, but this is exactly what you want in a finesse jig.
A finesse jigs profile is also critical, and it is a result of the combination of the sparse tie and the right trailer. Get it wrong and a 30 fish day might just become a 6 fish day. Again, a thinner, more streamlined trailer is the way to go in most cases. Bulk is usually a bad thing, unless you're in muddy water, in which case, you probably don't want to be tossing finesse in the first place. Play with different trailers to find the one you like, or more importantly, the one that triggers the most bass to bite. The best combo today was a 3" punch type craw paired with the jigs pictured. The correct profile leads to the right action. Don't forget to consider downsizing your line also. It's all a package deal.
Where do you get good finesse jigs? One option is to find a tyer/company who knows what they're doing and just buy them like the jigs pictured (Terry Anderson/AFS). Another is to tie your own correctly if you're into that kind of thing. Lastly, you can simply take an existing skirt and either pull off or trim excess strands from stock baits to get them to where they have the right bulk for the size and weight jig you're throwing. Not ideal, but it works. It's easier to just buy them right from the get go, when you can find them.
Looks and sounds like you have and are super busy right now. Just curious if you have or know of any of the local tournament results from Morse Geist Coon or any others. Thanks again for your efforts. Skeeter.
Posted by: Skeeterowner | May 31, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Tourney on the 'Coon 2 weeks ago took 13# to win, but 2nd was only 4# and most guys blanked. Word has been that the bite got tough once they started hauling water out of it. Waveland has been taking 15-17# to win recently, mostly coming shallow. Geist has been running 14-16# with lots of limits, but it's been a lot of smaller buck bass that are probably fry guarding making up the sacks. Big girls haven't shown up much since they spawned. Haven't heard much from Morse, though it was really tough out there early in the year. Crappie bite has even been way off this spring. EC has also been fishing tough, taking just 10# to win earlier this week. No reports from the Cat, which is flooded big time right now.
Posted by: Big Indiana Bass | May 31, 2013 at 05:06 PM
Thanks. Wife and I caught our limit of crappies at patoka 4 out of 5 days. During turkey season. Biggest 16 in. Avg 8-10 and threw a gazillion back of small ones. Anglers choice morse 2 weeks ago took almost 13. Outdoorsman direct had a tournament that day I believe but don't know what it took. Also a club I've heard u mention on here was there don't know there weights either. Anyway thanks for updates. Skeeter
Posted by: Skeeterowner | May 31, 2013 at 05:25 PM