Kevin Hawk fishes his nail-weighted worms on light line and a spinning rod to better handle and feel the finesse presentation.
“I’ll use 15- or 20-pound braid with a fluorocarbon leader ranging from 6- to 15-pound, depending on the cover I’m fishing,” he said. “The braid provides increased sensitivity and almost no stretch, which helps for solid hook penetration on long casts.”
Gary Dobyns spends most of his time on the finesse-friendly waters of California, but his Dobyns Rods are used nationwide.
For nail-weighting, he prefers his DX 743 SF spinning rod, which has a fast action and good back-end power that facilitates solid hook sets in deeper water.
Some might opt for lighter spinning rods, but Dobyns said he can better work his bait and detect light bites with a stouter model.
At times, in fact, a baitcasting outfit might be the way to go.
“If I’m fishing shallow or on a body of water with really big fish or heavy cover, I’ll go with a casting rod,” Dobyns explained. “For pitching this bait to docks, reeds and grass lines, and to any visible cover, I prefer a Champion 735C. Our most-popular rods for this are the Champion 733C and 734C, but I like the faster and more-powerful 735C.”
