Hey, guys, Michael Neal here with BassResource. Spinning tactics and finesse gear has been, you know, really one of the most popular things out on tour and, just in general, to get bites. It seems like anymore you either have to go really big, throwing really big baits like glide baits and things, or go really small and get finesse with them, and that tends to be the way that I want to go is that finesse route.
You seem to get a lot more bites, have a lot of fun throughout the day. Used to people didn't think that finesse gear was going to get big bites, but, especially, certain times of year, it's a great presentation to get those bigger bites that have been wary from a lot of baits.
And, you know, starting in the springtime, a shaky head is one of my go-to's no matter what's going on. If it's high water, low water, clear water, stained water, it really doesn't matter, but somewhere in that 1/8 to 3/16 range is where I find myself landing most of the time.
This one right here is the Big Bite Limit Maker in 1/8 ounce. For the bait, I've got a Skinny Stick. It's a 5-inch bait. Basically, it's, you know a smaller cut-down version of just a regular soft plastic stick, and it's just a do-nothing bait.
You don't want something on a shaky head very often that's going to create a lot of turbulence or really have a lot of action. You just want something that's going to be, just a basically, a slow do-nothing fall, and when they're pre-spawn, that's going to be a place that you want to or a bait that you want to throw on points, channel swings, offshore humps, things like that when you think that the fish are on the bottom.
And that's when the shaky head is really going to shine when you think they're just being lethargic staying down on the bottom not wanting to chase baits, or have seen a ton of baits, or if you've got a place, you know, that you've really worked on with a jerk bait, or a crankbait, or things like that you want to have some of these spinning tactics, finesse tactics on deck to clean up with. But it's not always a cleanup bait it can be a go-to as well, but, you know, for a shaky head rod, this is something that you're going to be throwing offshore as well as up on the bank skipping docks and things like that.
So I've got one that I just rely on pretty much no matter where I'm throwing that shaky head, and this is the Denali N3. It's a 7-foot medium action, so it's short enough to still maneuver under docks around the cover, around the bank, but long enough where you still make long casts and get a good hookup percentage on those fish.
For line, I use 10-pound SX1 as my backing line, and just as a general rule of thumb, I use 8-pound Shooter for my leader. And, you know, leader can vary depending on whatever you like, if you like to tie an FG, where it comes through your guides really well and sits well on your spool you can have, you know, a 20, 30-foot leader or if you're a guy that likes, you know, an Alberto knot or something like that you can go with just a 6-foot leader. It really doesn't matter. Those fish are not going to see above that 6-foot line to where your bait, and your main line, and your braided line are, actually, all connected together.
So that's the one thing with a shaky head, for a pre-spawn, again, points humps offshore places, but during the spawn, a shaky head really gets overlooked a lot. And, you know, a lot of guys go to wacky worms and things like that up around the bank, but this shaky head will, actually, be down in the bed where those fish don't want it to be.
If you've got that spawn bite going on and you're, especially, trying to fish for those fish that you can't visually see the bed whether they're spawning, you know, a little bit deeper in that 4 to 5-foot range and a lot of lakes that you can't see or, you know, even out in that 10-foot range and you're really clear lakes, it's just a great bait from, you know, the start of pre-spawn and February, March, all the way through the spawn for the springtime in April and May.
And, like I said, do-nothing presentations seem to be the way to go, and I don't want something on this bait or on this shaky head that's going to make any kind of turbulence. I just want a real natural fall, and natural goes with colors, too.
This is smoke purple it's a little bit different from what I feel like, you know, most people really throw. And a lot of people go with your green pumpkins, your watermelon reds, things like that those are all great options as well we've got all those colors too, but to me just having something a little bit different just to get a few more extra bites. And this plastic has got the sensation mixed in with. So it's just an all-around great lineup for that. Great rod. Great line setup.
Don't skimp on your line. That's the one presentation or the one connection you have with every single fish is your line. And if you want to skimp on it, it's probably going to cost you a few fish. So, you know, Sunline is the way I go, some people like Sniper. I, personally, prefer Shooter. You know, you buy one spool it's probably going to last you the whole year when you use the braided line. So don't use over a large amount for your leader just make sure you keep plenty of braid on there. Light, somewhere in the 10 to 16-pound range it's going to be way more manageable, way easier to cast, and you can see what you got going on with that.
And then second off, we've got a drop shot. And this is gonna be, you know, typically, for your clear lakes, where you're fishing for more suspended fish or fishing out a little bit deeper, your spotted bass lakes, your smallmouth lakes, but you can catch some big largemouth on it too. And it's not an end-all by any means, but it's a very versatile presentation as well because you could control how far off the bottom your bait is gonna be.
So, typically, you know, I like to start with a, like a 12 to 14-inch leader. I want my bait to be up off the bottom, but not, you know, a couple of feet. I just want a little bit of space in there to where those fish, it kind of gets up in their face a lot of times. Sometimes they're not tucked right on the bottom, you know, with their tails touching it. And that's when the shaky head seems to be better. But if they're up off the bottom, or if you're making more casts, I feel like a drop shot is better.
So one way that I will fish this, especially offshore, is I don't want to just cast it out there and drag it. I feel like a lot of times, if you've got fish that can see the water somewhat clear, you want to make as many casts and make that bait fall as many times as you can in a day to get those reaction strikes.
So that's a little bit different tip than a lot of people you see just cast it out and work it back. But same with the shaky head too. You just get a more spiraled fall on it. This is more of just a straight downward fall, no spiral to it.
This is a Gamakatsu G-Finesse, number one, just a drop shot hook. That's a great go-to if you want a Texas rigged if you're fishing more around cover, around grass, around dock pilings, things like that. You can go with the light wire worm with the 10 keeper and the G Finesse lineup. Also, make this bait completely weedless. You can throw it in whatever kind of cover you want to.
But this to me is more of an offshore where you're not going down the bank kind of setup. And that's why I pick this rod for it. It's one that I, actually, really had a big hand in designing with Denali. It's a 7-foot-6 medium-action spinning rod. So it's a lot longer. And when I'm fishing offshore, I want as much length as I can get, but it's really soft. So it's going to be able to have that really light line. You don't have to worry about having too much power behind it. Somewhere in the 7 to 8-pound range is where I always tend to stay with a drop shot. I very rarely go any heavier than that, but having a good long soft rod for fishing those offshore places, whether it's humps or you're chasing suspended fish, you know, a forward-facing sonar, whatever it may be. This is a really great option for that, the drop shot. And, again, same setup, 10-pound SX1 Sunline to that 7 or 8-pound braid.
And with the springtime, you've got oftentimes a lot of changing conditions. And that can be high water, low water, dirty water, clean water, inflows, whatever it may be. So, you might have to change up your techniques or your colors a little bit.
It seems like the dirtier the water, the more the fish want to be keyed in onto an object. So if it's dirtier, they want to feel like they can get beside something up next to it. And that's when you want to slow down a little bit in that dirtier water, keep your bait in the strike zone where those fish can find it. And if you think about it with dirty water, shad don't make more noise, or more vibration, or crawfish don't have big spinner
bait thumper blades on them. They always do the same thing. And a lot of guys, when the water gets dirtier, people want to really change up their tactics. And I think, you know, at times it is necessary, it gets you some of those more bites, but you can also stick with this finesse gear. Just because the water is dirty doesn't mean that you have to power fish.
And, you know, there's been a lot of money won, a lot of tournaments won with finesse gear in that dirty water. You think of places like river systems, you know, Tennessee River, Mississippi River, any kind of place like that. When it rains, you're going to have a lot of water come in. You're going to have that water dirty up. And it's not something that you have to quit finesse fishing and go to big baits then.
So, again, you know, springtime, shaky head, around spawning fish, around pre-spawn fish, drop shot around those fish that are chasing bait more offshore, you can throw it in a bed as well. If you want to, again, with that leader, it's very, very versatile. You can change it to, I mean, you can make it 3 feet if you want to if you feel the fish are way up off the bottom, and you can make it, you know, 3 or 4 inches if you're fishing around fish that you feel like are spawning.
Two presentations for all three species in all parts of the country. It doesn't matter if you're in Florida, you can throw drop shot and shaky head on shell beds, or if you're on the Tennessee River, you can throw them around points, around spawning banks, or, you know, even up north if you're chasing smallmouth around. It's very versatile for the springtime. So don't forget your drop shot and shaky head next time you're out. Check out bassresource.com for more options.
