Thread: Rich Zaleski's Thoughts re: lures and my comments

Rich Zaleski (God rest his soul), was my favorite writers that produced articles for many magazines going back decades. One written by Rich for In-fisheman magazine was shown on another forum - one I hadn't read when it was published.
His book - Knowing Bass - gave me a start in understanding why fish strike lures and lure use in general. The following quotes are from that article from which I'll include my opinions - pro or con - though more con. Note: fish in general, not just bass, are a given.

"How about the exhilaration you feel when your crankbait stops dead as it's attacked for invading the territory of a lunker bass?"
I agree it's a reason fish strike a lure.

"Techniques designed to exploit the aggressive tendencies are exciting to use."
Another reason I agree with.

"The catchability of bass depends on the specific environment (habitat) being fished, the calendar period, curren weather and water conditions. Even in a best case scenario, bass may exhibit a trully aggressive nature only 50% the time and in most waters, 10%-20% is more reaslistic."
Couldn't agree more except in the waters I fish, over 50% of the time applies.

" How can you catch bass that seem uncooperative? One tactic that works for me is a system and fishing philosophy based on finesse. From the fishing dictionary, finesse is defined as:
1. The cumulative effect of the subdued, slow , simple and seductive aspects of certain lure presentations used to catch stubborn, finicky, spooky and/or inactive fish.
2.That presentation that uses techniques which incorpoarate finesse or, in other words, to finesse fish into striking.
3. Descriptive of a lure or technique that depends on all aspects of finesse such as lure size being on the small side.
4. Set of conditions that are best fished using finesse

"Using presentations that minimize negative stimuli is the first step toward maximizing your catch. Many other presentations serve as negaive stimuli to nonaggressive fish."

"The key factors in finesse presentations are 1) subtlety, 2) forage representation * and 3) ease of capture.
When you suspect there a fish in the area but aren't catching them, subtle up your presentation and cut down at least a few notches on size, color* (visibility, speed and vibration. Couple this with a slow-motion techniue to increase strike potential."

*forage representation
He states just the opposite later in the article

*less color - (visibility)
Hue take a back seat when it comes to finesse or any presentation.

When used as part of a total finesse system, small, dull colored*, slow-moving lures that don't produce excessive flash or vibration will catch negative fish.

"The appearance or action of these lures are particularly good at vaguely representing a bass' natural forage. In finesse fishing, a vague representation is often more productive than an exact duplicate." *
*But then he goes on to say:
"Finesse lures are not designed to mimic any specific natural prey but hit something that seems alive and edible.""


"In fact, they will appear natural to fish, but will look, sound, move or somehow act out of the ordinary.* In the midst of a bounty of natural forage, a finesse lure will identify itself as an individual target - easy prey which make them attractive to the predatory instincts the bass."

"Odds are good that a bass will suck the lure in, even if only out of curiousity."*

Fish aren't curious just like they aren't fooled by lures. They see something and bite it or not. I'm guessing when something is stated as fact via speculation to back it up, it may not necessarily be true or factual.

Tackle he uses/ short list:
Plain unpainted, round jigheads in different sizes. Two sizes, 1/8 oz and 1/4 oz
Pork rind lures
Hair and feather jigs
Short soft plastics: 4" worms with flat or twister tails; Sassy Shads and other swimbaits

(1/8 and 1/4 oz IMO are too heavy for finesse fishing - especially for panfish.)

Note: Of all the lures he mentions, none are natural looking or move naturally regardless the presentation.

"If a lure does a specific job, I don't need half a dozen different ones to do the same job. My motto: save the best lures and trash the rest."
Yet he mentions over 30 different lures in different colors that he keeps in his box.

Fish locations are mentioned - none necessarily best fished with finesse lures. Again, my experience has shown me that finesse is a great consideration when choosing lures and techniques but tha casting non-finesse lures can do great on the same day and water.

I guess my fondness for Rich Z's writing was based on my inexperience, though he does make some good points when not spreading it on a bit thick.