Refining the Finesse Approach

Fall is finally delivering some cooler temperatures that have made days on the water much more pleasurable. We are still seeing air temperatures in the 80s most days, but a huge difference between the 80s and the 90s we have been enduring. Along with cooler days, cooler nights are providing cooler water temps during early morning hours. The water temperature was 75° this morning but warmed to nearly 80° by day’s end.

Along with lingering warm water temperatures, I have also recorded unseasonably high tides over the past month. Multiple factors have contributed to these high water levels; basically two significant hurricanes in the Gulf and a full moon during the fall equinox period.

In this month’s article I want to talk about what I call finesse fishing. When we hear the term finesse fishing we tend to think more along the lines of bass and fly fishing. I had to really think about this article before writing it, to make sure that finesse was the right word for the pattern I see during periods of weather that create light winds, clear water, and high atmospheric pressure.

As fall turns into winter, we will see more frequent frontal passages and with many of the fronts high atmospheric pressure will prevail in the days right after the front. Tides will drop, winds will often diminish to near nothing, and waters will become air-clear on shallow grass flats and in spoil areas. Last week we had extremely high tides during the full moon phase. Water temperatures had cooled to 73° and winds were light out of the northwest. While these conditions are not uncommon, the continuation of extremely high tides certainly was. Bait activity was unbelievable, and birds of all species were actively working the areas we were fishing. There were even a few small slicks popping, marking areas where fish were present and feeding.

Topwater baits, suspending baits, and soft plastics were all being used with very little production. Skipjacks and needlefish were also present and presenting problems. For the record, when we encounter these two species in the areas we are fishing we must be mindful of monitoring our lures and leaders. No matter whether you use monofilament or fluorocarbon, you must constantly inspect the knot and the last 6 to 8 inches of leader for damage. Skipjacks are the world’s best at cutting and creating scuffs and nicks in leader material, and slicing soft plastic baits to ribbons. Quite often there will be trout and reds under these guys and failing to inspect the leader and re-tie as necessary after tangling with one can cost you a prized fish and a lost lure. This is especially true in-between feeding periods when the game fish are not as active.

On this day, the major feeding period was early, with a minor feeding period later in the afternoon. The area we were fishing had everything the fish needed but bites were just not being received. I am big on communication between anglers, especially when wading and covering lots water. I believe it’s important for anglers within a group to share observations, enabling others in the group to adopt techniques that are working. As the morning went on I noticed the guy closest to me jerk his rod tip in my peripheral vision. “Was that a bite?” I asked. “If it was it was super light,” he replied, “and probably not a good fish.” I made mention of the fact that large trout often pick up a lure very lightly as it falls, and what seems like something small might actually be a very large fish.

The same thing happened a few minutes later and I couldn’t help but think he had missed another bite. I instantly reeled in and fired my lure across a large area of deeper potholes and scattered grass beds. The Lil John XL hit the back edge of a large pothole and I lightly dusted the bottom toward the edge nearest me. I thought to myself, “dust the bottom and barely tickle the top of the grass as the lure exits the pothole.” As the lure tickled the first blades on the front edge of the pothole I felt a light but distinct peck. A quick crank into the fish followed by a stiff hookset produced a boil on the surface and a 5-plus pound trout.

So, my instruction to the rest of the group went like this. “Let the lure settle and slowly dust bottom as you twitch it across the pothole. Then lift slightly and let it tickle the tops of the grass as it exits the near edge. The take is very light.” For the next few hours we worked areas of both small and large potholes that had well-defined grass edges, and sometimes small patches of grass within the potholes themselves. The key to our success was the ability to decipher the type of feeding pattern the trout were in and be able to communicate that intel, develop a strategy, and then execute it.

I have said many times that I am blessed to have anglers that possess higher degrees of fishing savvy than most. It is true that I have helped coach many of them to this level, but it is also true that many came to me with good skills already in hand. I have become big on allowing all my guys to throw whatever lures they have the most confidence in, despite what I already know will likely work better for them.

In earlier years, I was stuck on guys throwing what I told them to throw and that was wrong of me. First, it started the day off wrong with them. And second, my way is not always the only way.

To restrict anglers in the usage of certain types or brands of lures is limiting them in their ability to learn. I am not a topwater fan but I do throw them at times. Today, I always try to allow those wishing to throw them to get after it.

Jeff Steckler handed me “my you know what” in a tournament last year with a Super Spook. I got to see it up close and personal. Had I chose the lures I thought would have been the most productive; which I did and caught nothing, we would not have gotten a check that day. Had I listened and thrown what he suggested from the beginning, we would have gotten an even bigger check. Lesson learned. If we pay attention and we have an open mind, we will continue to grow our fishing knowledge and our fishing abilities.

On the day I was describing earlier, the trout only wanted to feed in the lower portion of the water column. On multiple occasions throughout that two-hour period, one of us would switch back to a suspending or topwater type of lure and would not get a single bite. The reason for the change was that the trout we were catching were solid fish at just under 6-3/4 pounds; fish that typically eat something like a topwater, Double D, Custom Corky Soft Dine, or Custom Corky Fat Boy.

However, on that day, that was simply not the case, and it was of great value to the group to see the importance of being able to react to the way the fish wanted the lure to be presented and the portion of the water column in which they were most comfortable feeding. The finesse part of the day was the way we worked the lure through the strike zone and the patience the group exhibited once the presentation and technique was established. My conformation in this finesse pattern became even more evident after the third day of applying it in several different areas with similar structure and conditions – and receiving the same results. Fishing smart works!

May Your Fishing Always Be Catching! -Guide, Jay Watkins