It's true that 2006 was the year of finesse. Wispy fishing began to take off last year, and definitely gained momentum as the Bassmaster Elite 50s progressed. But it definitely reached a full-fledged explosion this year, when it seemed everybody was throwing some version of the shaky-worm.
And the fact that Mike Iaconelli spun his way to a BASS Angler of the Year title was no small matter, either.
Most often, the best finesse anglers come from states where the technique dominates. Think Iaconelli and New Jersey, Kevin Wirth and Louisville, or Aaron Martens and California.
But don't forget about finesse player Bill Chapman. He's a Bass Cat and Evinrude pro who hails from West Virginia, where the waters are small, and the baits smaller.
One of his killer deals is to throw a tube in jig-land. At venues like Murray and Kentucky Lake – or anywhere ledge and deep-structure fish are heavily pressured – he's found that a finesse tube will often outfish a jig.
Too Many Jigs
"Don't get me wrong, I still use a jig – it's my moneymaker – but a tube will catch fish that a jig won't," Chapman said of the technique. "There's just so much fishing pressure now, something different can be a real advantage."
He brought up a specific example – this year's Murray FLW Tour. He had a late draw, and when he got to his area, there were 10 other boats within sight.
"I could see everybody was flipping jigs and throwing spinnerbaits," he noted. "I pulled out my spinning rod with an 1/8-ounce tube-head and caught 7 pounds right in the middle of those boats. When you do stuff like that, it really gives you confidence in a bait."
That was an example of fairly shallow water, where fish were on brush and other cover. But as noted, he likes to go deeper with the setup too, especially when fish are on ledges. "One of the best times to fish a deep finesse tube is during the winter drawdown." In other words, right now.
The Setup
For a tube, Chapman prefers a 3 1/2-inch Cabin Creek, which is about the same size as a Bass Pro Shops Tender Tube. "But the Cabin Creek finish is slicker than Bass Pro's," he noted. "I don't know if that makes a difference, but it works, and if it's not broke, don't fix it, I say."
He fishes pretty much two colors – watermelon and green-pumpkin. Inside the tube, he stuffs either a homemade insider head, or a 1/8-, 1/16-ounce or 1/32-ounce store-bought head with a weedguard (either by Oldham or Bite-Me).
"If I'm fishing just rock, I use the exposed-hook head I pour myself," he noted. "It has a 60-degree line-tie, and I seem to get a better hookup ratio with that. A 90-degree head won't get hung in the rocks as bad, but you definitely get more hooking power with a 60-degree."
The one key to all the heads is a weight-distributed design – the lead is strung out down the hook shank – which forces the tube to spiral more on the fall. And occasionally, if the water's dirty, he'll add a rattle.
He throws the tube on a 7-foot medium-heavy Cabela's rod with a Cabela's Prodigy spinning reel. The reel, he said, has a larger spool, which cuts back on line memory.
His line of choice is 8- or 10-pound Izorline mono, but he will step down to 6-pound in very clear water.
Working It
When Chapman fishes a deep finesse tube, he experiments each day. It's the same basic approach – he casts the tube to whatever deep structure or cover he's targeting, then drags it back toward the boat. But his specific retrieve does change.
"Of course it changes every day, but I like to just pick the tube up real slow off the bottom, shake it a bit like I'm working a shaky-head, then let it drop. If the fish don't want it that way, then I change tactics.
"Sometimes I like to jerk it off bottom – from 3 or 4 inches to 3 or 4 feet – then feather it back down. The reason I got to doing that is, I noticed that when I was drifting and got hung, the line would tighten, and when the bait popped loose, a fish would smash it.
"I try to match that presentation by jerking it off bottom, especially when I'm fishing ledges."
Notable
> Although he prefers mono, he will change to braid if he's pitching the finesse tube around docks. In that case, he switches to 20-pound Izorline braid.
