NEXT LEVEL BASSING: Finesse Fishing In Winter

“The outside air temperature was 30 degrees at about 07:00 and the water temperature 45 degrees. Ned landed 30 bass and missed nine strikes!” 

WORDS: George Robey lll  IMAGES: Supplied

Finesse fishing can be extremely productive in southern Africa and certain local anglers utilize it regularly. Finesse fishing originated in the upper Midwest of America more than fifty years ago, created for the clear water lakes of the region. The technique gained regional popularity and slowly fanned out across much of North America. It’s a tactic centered on small jigs, soft rods, light line and large numbers of bass. Top bass anglers who utilise this technique include such bass luminaries as Guido Hibdon, Drew Reece and Roland Martin.

There is much confusion surrounding the definition of finesse fishing. Some anglers misinterpret the technique to mean any down-sized lures, while others identify it as any technique to coax bites from unresponsive fish.

True Finesse Fishing originated in the 1950’s, most likely around the sales counter of Fincke’s Tackle Store in the Rosedale section of Kansas City, USA. Store owner Ray Fincke and a host of talented anglers, such as Guido Hibdon, Drew Reece, Bill and Virgil Ward and Chuck Woods were fully immersed in the art. It is said Woods caught more bass than any angler has or ever will in the Kansas region.

Woods caught thousands of bass on light spinning tackle using lures of his own creation, such as the Beetle, Beetle Spin, Puddle Jumper and Jigworm. Woods also created a small jig with a long hook shank which became the predecessor of the Shaky Head. These products were manufactured and sold throughout the 1950’s by the Bass Buster Lure Company, owned by the Ward brothers. Bill Ward created and sold the tiny finesse Marabou Jig in 1957.

The notable tournament successes of finesse anglers like Hibdon and Reece popularized the technique in the 1970’s and opened the door for brothers Ron and Al Linder to begin publication of In-Fisherman magazine in 1975. The brothers published many stories of their upper Midwest exploits using finesse tactics.  

In the mid-1970’s, Conrad Peterson created the mushroom head jig and acquired a patent in 1978. He became deluged with orders and in 1981 established The Gopher Tackle Company and began selling the jig heads in earnest. The Gopher company closed shop in 2017 but their mushroom jig head remains the inspiration for many of today’s finesse jig styles, including the Ned Rig.

Ned Kehde, American finesse angler and originator of the popular Ned Rig, spent his entire fishing career developing and employing American Midwest finesse tactics. Aptly named “the king of finesse” he converted many anglers to this unique style of fishing by example and through his writings in the In-Fisherman magazine.  

Finesse fishing for him is about catching lots of bass. In fact, the experienced angler set a personal goal of catching 101 bass every four-hour fishing session and used a clicker to keep track. He found joy in catching many bass on light tackle without concern for size which is the goal of many social anglers.

It rings true that fishing downsize lures produces lots of moderate size bass, but finesse fishing regularly produces trophies and should never be discounted. Ned Kehde and others have landed hundreds, if not thousands of monster fish on finesse rigs, light rods and gossamer line.

“Midwest finesse tactics are employed in shallow-water, year around,” he explains. “We focus primarily in three to eight feet of water, but there are times when we focus in one to two feet or nine to 12 feet.  We fish shorelines, points, and shallow offshore humps. But nothing deeper than 12 feet.”

 Finesse fishing shines during cold water periods. Ned reports fishing a Kansas lake in winter when the outside air temperature was 30°F (_-1,11°C) at about 07:00 and the water temperature 45°F (7,3°C). He landed 30 bass and missed nine strikes!  

The Kansas angler began finesse fishing more than fifty years ago when he met Chuck Woods, Guido Hibdon and others who frequented Ray Fincke’s Tackle Store. Ned threaded many of their finesse tactics into his fishing strategy and began writing about it on the pages of In-Fisherman magazine and local newspapers.

“Ron Lindner introduced me to Gopher Tackle’s 1/16-ounce mushroom jig and it became our favourite jig,” Ned says of a fishing trip he took with the In-Fisherman publisher to Milles Lac Lake, Minnesota in the early 1980’s.

“We found that the flat head of the 1/16-ounce Gopher Tackle’s Mushroom Head has no peer . . . and we have been wedded to Gopher Tackle’s Mushroom Head for many years,” Ned told me from his home in Lawrence, Kansas.

Unfortunately, Gopher Tackle closed shop and no longer produces their signature jig. The disappearance of the gopher jig led to a new range of marketable products, among them the ZMan ShroomZ Mushroom jig. Ned began using this product and paired it with some of the ZMan ElaZtech plastics with outstanding results. 

“We didn’t design any of the jigs we use,” the 78-year-old angler explained, adding that ‘Ned rigging’ is about much more than one specific product.

Ned continues to use a stockpiled supply of Gopher jigs, the ShroomZ head and a few other brands that he pairs with a wide range of ElaZtech plastics. As an example, Ned identifies his most effective cold-water finesse rig as a Z-Man green-pumpkin TRD HogZ on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig.

The ‘Ned Rig’ name was coined by Steve Quinn of In-Fisherman magazine to describe the Midwest finesse fishing style famously popularized by Ned Kehde. The outdoor writer and fishing phenom reminded me that his finesse approach dates back nearly half a century and encompasses the efforts of many other anglers.

“So, it is more than just me,” Ned humbly asserted when asked about the origins of the Ned Rig.

Ned has a few words of advice for anglers who want to start fishing finesse style. He says to get a package of either Strike King Lure Company’s green-pumpkin Zeros or a package of Z-Man Fishing Products’ ZinkerZs, cut them in half and make them 2 1/2-inches long.  Affix them on a 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and begin fishing shorelines and points in 1 to 12 feet of water.

The experienced finesse angler warns newcomers not to use too heavy a jig head. In fact, the best results occur when there is no feel.  It is best to err on the side of lightness. It will take most anglers practice to become acclimated to a no-feel presentation, but it will pay great dividends once acclimated.  

As for its effect on the bass, even Ned struggles to define the power of a Ned Rig. “All we can tell you is that it works. Other than spawning, we do not know why bass do what they do. Therefore, we focus on how, where and when we catch bass.”

Next month: Part Two – Top local anglers explain the mechanics of finesse tactics and Ned Rigging to pull bass consistently from our pressured dams.

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