Scott Petersen |
As the long bass season goes on you have to make changes
during the season to stay on an active bass bite. When we
reach the late summer months of the fishing season the waters
we will be fishing will be filled with all kinds of small
fry that have hatched and made it through the spring season.
Just walk the shoreline by the boat landing of your favorite
lake and you can see all the small fry just swimming around
in the shallows. These fry are what many of the bigger fish
in the lake and river systems are calling food.
Many fishermen have learned the hard way through the years
that when the bass action gets tough and slows down you have
to downsize your offering to stay on active bites. Some fishermen
say this has to do with the bass seeing a constant parade
of lures past then everyday during the summer months, while
other fishermen blame the slower bite on an endless wealth
of food swimming in the water come the summer months.
So with
these facts at hand how do you cope with the different bite
for bass during the summer months? You have two options
you can continue on the same path of power fishing and try
to keep switching gears to see if you can’t stay on
the fringe bass bite. For me it is time to switch gears and
make the move to the smaller side of the tackle box and tie
on an Outkast Finesse Jig.
During
the summer months it has always been a viable way to get
bites, through the use of smaller baits and with the introduction
of Outkast’s
new Finesse Jig it seems to be a no brainer to choose when
it comes to reacting to the summer finesse bite. The Outkast
Finesse jig comes in 3/16oz and comes in 4 different colors.
When switching gears put down the heavy line spooled baitcasters
and pick up your spinning setups. I generally use a 7 medium
action spinning setup teamed up with a matching spinning reel,
spooled with 6lb to 8lb P-Line Halo line. Halo is a fluorocarbon
line that gives me added sensitivity to feel extra light bites
and has added abrasion characteristics to make this finesse
presentation more of a viable summer weapon. If the bite is
super tough you will get more bites from the 6lb line option
than you will with the 8lb option. So if you are faced with
a tough bite or are fishing in high pressure conditions you
will get more bites if you go with the 6lb line option, keep
this in mind.
If I can beef up my presentation a little I will choose to
use 8lb test on a spinning setup if I am fishing around weeds
or cover, this will put a few more odds in my favor when it
comes to getting bigger bass to the boat. If I am fishing
with off color water conditions I may even push the envelope
a little and use a baitcaster setup spooled with 10lb line,
I will only use this option in stained water conditions.
Trailer choices for your Outkast Finesse Jig play a big part
in fine tuning your finesse presentation day to day. Small
chunks and craws lead the way as my first choice in a trailer
for my Outkast Finesse Jig. You have two rigging options when
it comes to chunks one is to rig the chunk on your jig so
it hangs off of the hook like a traditional chunk. I will
rig the chunk this way when the bass are eating the finesse
jig. When the bite is more subdue I will rig the chunk or
craw onto the jig more and this will slow the fall of the
jig down more than when rigged in a traditional way. This
slight rigging adjustment will make a world of difference
in how the jig will fall and act.
Another
great trailer for your finesse jig presentation is a simple
3” grub tail or a 4” ringworm.
These two options give the finesse jig a totally different
look and action. Make sure you give all these trailer options
a try to see what works best for you in your day of fishing.
Make
sure you put the Outkast Finesse Jig into your bass fishing
options, you will soon find that the finesse jig will be
a viable bass option during the summer months when this
presentation will shine but you will also see that it will
catch bass during the spring as well as in the fall.
Even though it has a name like finesse that does not mean
it will not catch big bass. My Outkast Finesse Jig it is one
of the top baits I turn to when I not only need to get bites
but big bites.
Create
some memories please remember to practice CPR (Catch, Photo
and Release). The future of fishing is in your hands. For
more timely bass tips and tactics please log onto www.fishinginsider.com
If you would
like to read more from Scott Petersen, visit his web site Fishing
Insider
