Drop-shots aren’t the only finesse rigs that can be beefed up to provide bass a bite-enducing curve ball. Here are some other options:
• Shaky heads — A leadhead jig designed for a bottom posture that stands the hook upward, the shaky head is a classic finesse tool for docks, natural wood and anywhere the fish might need a slow, steady presentation.
However, swapping the usual skinny finesse worms for a 5- to 6-inch Senko or a big ribbontail worm instantly expands the profile and offers the fish a bigger package in the same delivery form.
• Better with a bullet — Swimming a Senko around grass and lily pads might be considered a finesse approach, when compared to the intrusive tactics of pitching jigs and Texas-rigged creature baits into the vegetation.
However, making that finesse presentation a little heavier with a bullet weight on the lure’s nose changes the dynamics by allowing the bait to run deeper.
• Piling wrap — FLW Tour pro John Murray has a creative technique for fishing drop-shots around bridge pilings in current scenarios.
When wind, waves or river current pushes a drop-shot past the target zone too quickly, he’ll harness situational dynamics to create an enticing ruse.
Basically, Murray casts his drop-shot across the piling’s upcurrent face, let the water pin the rig against the structure and then drift past the piling a couple of yards.
With his line basically at a right angle, the drop-shot’s small worm or grub creates the presentation of a baitfish nibbling algae off the piling.
The reason this one qualifies for heavy finesse is the braided line and 15-pound fluorocarbon leader needed to hold up to the piling’s rough surface.
• Drop swimming — Pro Mark Maderos, adds an aggressive flair to his drop-shot rig. It’s the same basic concept as the power-shotting described earlier — heavier weight and a hefty creature bait or swimbait on the hook — but the difference is presentation.
Maderos isn’t pitching in and out of cover: He’s casting and retrieving (i.e., swimming) his dropshot along grass lines, docks and other likely bass haunts.
• Nail it — Wacky rigging a finesse worm or a soft stick bait is a year-round favorite in the finesse ranks, but one simple addition graduates this setup to the heavy ranks — a nail weight.
Slipped into the worm’s head, the nail weight not only makes the bait sink faster (and with a nose-first posture), but it also increases casting distance and presentation speed.
Essentially, the added weight adds the element of power fishing to your finesse rig.
