How to finesse largemouth bass around the weeds—with spinning gear!

So many largemouth bass techniques involve stout gear to flip and pitch heavy jigs, but my buddy Matt Straw recently dialed me into an outrageously effective finesse approach instead.

He starts with a 1/8-ounce Terminator Finesse Jig, which he dresses with a soft-plastic skirt (a quality pre-skirted jig will work almost as well). He then adds a Kalin’s Lunker Grub or PowerBait Power Grub and slowly swims the rig through emerging weed tops and along weed edges.

Every so often, he twitches his rod tip—or stops reeling altogether—letting the offering fall to the bottom. Both manoeuvres cause the skirt to flare, triggering violent strikes in the process. A seven-foot six-inch medium-action spinning rod and reel spooled with six-pound Maxima Ultragreen monofilament is ideal, with the long rod letting you make longer casts and cushioning the light line.