While finesse jigs have become more common for bass fishing they have recently risen in popularity. There is no wonder why when fishing gets tough, or the bait is small, these baits produce both numbers and size.
The really cool thing about it is that due to the rise in popularity the offerings for finesse jigs have expanded too. I began my finesse jig journey with the Strike King Bitsy Bug, but now there are many more options. I still love the Bitsy Bug jig for bass fishing. It still produces and did again for me today on a trip to the local creek.
Finesse Jigs – What Makes Then Finesse?
There are finesse jigs with the top of the skirt trimmed and they are great, but what really makes a finesse jig is the compact size of the bait. They are much smaller than your general jig and this makes them either match the hatch at times or, just produce a more compact meal for bass in a negative mood.
Finesse Jigs – Versatility for Bass Fishing
The cool thing about jigs is that they are versatile. There is no difference with finesse jigs. While some may have a football head that restricts them to hard-bottom situations, most finesse jigs can be thrown in heavy cover, dragged on hard-bottom, or even swam like a swim jig.
I have been able to be successful with all of the above.
The other piece of the versatility puzzle is the abundance of amazing trailers that allow the jig to do so many things. From beaver-style baits, to small swimbaits, to hard thumping flapping craw trailers, they can be equipped to match almost any situation.
Another flexible aspect of the jig is the wide variety of colors available. From white, to green pumpkin, to black and blue and everything in between, there is a color for every situation. Between different colored trailers and skirts, finesse jigs can really be fished in almost any water color or condition.
If you are fishing a shad lake, white jigs with swim jig trailers can be the ticket. If you are fishing for bass where the major forage is bluegill then you can match a skirt with greens and blues to it with a bulkier craw trailer. If you are fishing crawfish, match the color of the craws with green pumpkins, or cinnamon brown colors. You get the idea…
Finesse Jigs – How to Fish them for Bass
There are countless ways to fish a finesse jig as have been lightly touched on above. I will cover four of my favorite presentations. These will work well at different times and conditions.
- Throw a finesse jig into or around heavy cover such as laydowns or reeds and drag it back out with little pops of the rod tip. Sometimes, I just slowly drag them out and give it slack for them to fall back down after they come over a branch or reed. At other times I will be more aggressive and pop it over cover to seek a reaction strike. Both work at different times.
- Another way the finesse jig shines is to be drug on hard bottoms. This can be sand and rock, or an arm that juts out into the water. There are so many times when simply dragging a jig on the bottom with sweeps of the rod tip can produce amazing results. Think of a crawfish, or baitfish just feeding along the bottom.
- The next tactic kind of falls in line with the second, but with a twist. This is a variation of dragging where I will hop the jig and let it fall. I have found that sometimes this approach will trigger a response when simply dragging won’t. If a fish is trailing your jig as it crawls across the bottom but isn’t committing, sometimes a strong reaction can be triggered by popping the jig off of the bottom. This can look like a fleeing crawfish or baitfish, making the bass commit if it doesn’t want to lose its prey. Again, this comes down to experimenting until one approach works better than another.
- The last in this list, but not the only other one is swimming a finesse jig for bass. You can put on either a small swimbait trailer or a flapping craw-style trailer and swim your jig through cover by simply reeling it in, or gently pumping your rod tip while you reel. For more details on swim jig fishing go here.
Finesse Jigs – Bass Fishing Story
This isn’t an isolated incident, but today the conditions were rough and I was able to get the bass to commit by downsizing to a finesse jig and saving a fishing trip.
I went to a local creek today and started with a full-sized jig. I had one follow it to the surface but wasn’t getting any bass to commit. This is when I remembered that I had some Strike King Bitsy Bugs in my bag and made the switch. I threw on a cut-down Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw for a trailer and it did the trick.
I was able to catch four bass in 15 minutes whereas I had just spent 30 minutes with a big fat zero. The finesse swim jig saved the day. This has happened on many occasions.
I was able to catch all of my bass by casting right to the edge of the bank, where the reeds were thick and giving it light hops off of the bottom. After I got about three feet off of the bank, I would reel in and make another cast. All the bass were tucked up in the thick cover but were coaxed out by a tasty finesse jig.
Finesse Jigs – Final Thoughts
If you haven’t tried jigs, finesse jigs are a great way to start. They fish well on a medium or medium heavy rod so you don’t need special gear.
A lot of the time the bite feels like a tick on your line. When this happens give them heck. Don’t give them time to spit that bait. If you don’t have confidence just focus on fishing the jig for a while and you will become familiar with the feel and the bite. The finesse jig could become a favorite bait for you like it is for me when I’m bass fishing.
To your fishing success,
Jonathan Burke