Black bass in "Finesse": a strategy that can pay off!

© Julien Lecouple

The black-bass is a fish that is always more popular in France. Unfortunately, its distribution in France is uneven, so that many sectors have a high fishing pressure. The fish become difficult and in this case the "Finesse" techniques often make the difference.

The "Finesse" of Japanese culture

The "Finesse" philosophy has been imported from Japan to Europe and all over the world. Under the combined effect of the development of more and more advanced and efficient fishing techniques, the rise of the Catch and Release and the clear water typical of Japan, the Japanese had to face the fact that black bass were becoming more and more wary.

So they looked for an alternative to thwart the distrust of the fish and continue to catch them. It is logically by reducing the diameter of the line, the size of the lures, by reducing the weight of the weights to the minimum, all that obliging them to use a very light material, that they found the solution. The "Finesse" was born.

Black-bass pris sur un montage Wacky, un standard des pêches "Finesse".
Black bass caught on a Wacky rig, a standard of "Finesse" fishing.

Finesse" in France

After passing through Italy - the Italians being the European specialists of "Light" fishing - this approach gathering a multitude of techniques inherited from black-bass fishing has been emulated in France where fishermen are finally facing the same problems. The " in all seasons

Une sélection de leurres "Finesse" pour la pêche du black-bass mais pas seulement !
A selection of "Finesse" lures for black bass fishing but not only !

There will be no season more favorable than another to fish " has been applied to a good number of other species of carnivorous fish than black bass.

Streetfishers were certainly the first to adapt and appropriate this approach to search for perch and chub in particular. Then we saw the development of Rockfishing. The advent of the " since the primary goal is to thwart the suspicion of " techniques was so successful in France that the term " fish. There are therefore techniques that will meet the needs of fishermen throughout the year depending on the behaviour of the fish. Among the main " was then somewhat extrapolated, many fishermen using it when it is a light approach.

We hear a lot about fishing for pike-perch or sea bass in " techniques we find the Wacky (1), the

Un échantillon de techniques "Finesse".
A sample of "Finesse" techniques.
(2), the Weightless Texas Rig (3), the Drop shot (4), the Neko Rig (5), the Microjig (6) but also the Split Shot, the Weightless Nose Rig etc.

Material side

The ", even if it is the use of shads on lead heads up to 10g. In this case it would seem more accurate to speak of a " techniques, whatever they may be, are more demanding than most other techniques in terms of the quality of the material to be used. Since it is a question of precisely propelling light mounts, of implementing certain tactile techniques (all the techniques where the mount is in direct contact with the bottom), no element of the assembly that one is going to use must be left to chance.

The power of the rods will vary between Ultra Light and Medium Light depending on the techniques. An association with a reel equipped with a precise brake is necessary. The equipment is not dimensioned according to the size of the fish sought but according to the lures used and a fight with a powerful fish on light equipment does not forgive mistakes!

The line can be either directly in fluorocarbon or in braid with a fluorocarbon tip. Staples are to be avoided for a better presentation and a better feeling of the evolution of the assembly under water.

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