Fishing can be broken down into two categories, one being power fishing the
other finesse fishing.
To better understand which type of fishing you should choose
let’s first define what each one is. First, for the most part power fishing
consists of using baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, jerkbaits,
and topwater baits and can include jigs. Power fishing is the type of angling
where you go after the fish making them bite though they maybe totally turned
off. It’s kind of like deer hunting. You can sit in a stand or blind all day and
wait for one to walk by or you can go after them. Power fishing is what most
guys do when they are prefishing for a tournament. They throw fast moving baits
covering water quickly to find where the schools of fish may be. Shallow water
fishing can also be considered power fishing. Most of the time you’re throwing a
shallow running crankbait like a Mann’s baby 1minus, a Pro Spin spinnerbait Pro
buzzbait or some type of slop bait like a tournament frog. Your throwing at
targets that should have fish on them. You are able to make multiple casts at an
exact target to make a fish bite out of reflex and aggravation. Power fishing
can be done with a jig also. When you have some spot on spot areas that have
fish on them, especially rock or hard bottom areas covered by milfoil or
coontail, I’ll take a 5/8oz – 3/4oz Outkast Tackle Prostaff or new RT Jig and
pitch the jig many times on the spot. Many fish will strike the bait out of
aggravation. Most bodies of water allow an angler the option to either power or
finesse fish depending on their preference in style of fishing. Though there are
those bodies of water that can dictate what style you may have to fish. River
fishing for example is very much a power fishing body of water. Those waters
that have a baitfish dominant forage base are also power fishing bodies of
water. This is where you would throw a lot of crankbaits, jerkbaits and burn a
spinnerbait to cover the horizontal water column the bait fish are in.
Over the past few years the word finesse fishing has had a
wider variety of meaning than in the past.
In general finesse fishing was something somebody did with
light line, small baits and medium action rods and reels. For the most part
finesse fishing is done with soft plastics. Jigs worms, tubes, carolina rigs,
and texas rigged worms or craws and the new drop shot technique. Finesse fishing
generally takes place in deeper water and your throwing the bait to a general
area fish should be. In this process you hope that a fish will see the bait and
come over, investigate and decide to inhale the bait. Now many anglers
especially tournament anglers will call any type of fishing that doesn’t include
a 7’-6” flippin stick with 50lb braid line finesse fishing. You will hear guys
say that they had to finesse the fish to bite a spinnerbait today or they had to
finesse fish their crankbait to get bit. They may have had to alter there given
presentation to draw a strike but they are not finesse fishing. Throwing a
plastic worm on 3/32oz. Jig head on 8lb test line in 10-15ft. of water on an
inside corner of a weedline is finesse fishing. Or casting a carolina rig over
an extend main lake point is finesse fishing. Probably the best example of
finesse fishing is the hottest new technique in fishing right now and that is
the drop shot rig. This technique has the sinker on the bottom and the hook – at
most a 1/0 – tied about 12-18’’ above it with a small plastic bait nose hooked.
Tournament anglers in the western U.S. use this technique to catch bass out of
30-50ft. of water.
Most anglers have a preference as to which type of fishing
style they are more comfortable doing and that is fine, but keep in mind that
different bodies of water call for different fishing styles. So the next time
you visit a your favorite lake or a new destination give each style of fishing a
try and you’ll be surprised by how many more fish you will put in the boat.
Tight lines,
Brian Brown
classicbass.com Field Staff
