Finesse-Fishing.com has closed and has nothing left to sell, other than a few used books. I have decided to leave the website up as a resource for people interested in fishing with light rods, light lines and light lures - true finesse fishing.

Remembering Why JDM equipment is so much fun.

by Les Albjerg
(Caldwell, ID)

It was a cold blustery weekend. However, it was a rare 3 day weekend for me with no on-call at the hospital. Building a finesse casting system has been a real learning curve with thrills and frustrations along the way. Sometimes there is a need to just get out and enjoy!

Friday I went to Red Top Pond just to cast some mouse lures to observe the way they swim. I want to make some finesse mice. I took the Tenryu Rayz Spectra 51LL paired with the Shimano Cardiff CI4 1000SHG and Varivas 2.5 pound line.

I had two goals in mind for the hour and a half I had to fish. The first goal was to just relax and enjoy the day. My second goal was to simply observe the swimming action of these 9 gram lures. A bit heavy for my set-up, but that is why I want to make some smaller mice lures for stream fishing. On the 4th cast, a silvery shadow appeared and I saw the large mouth of a largemouth bass open and engulf the mouse! The fight was on! I was fishing about 2 feet from a line of rushes in about 2-3 feet of water!

I was inspired to share this story because of this fish. There isn't anything much more pleasurable than catching fish on a well balanced outfit. The fight was fun. The balance between the rod, reel, and line couldn't have been better. About 8 minutes of pure connection between the fish and the fisherman. It was a respectable 2 1/2 pounder. About 15 minutes later, I had the same experience with a fish that was slightly bigger! I had a follow about every 8-10 minutes even when I didn't catch a fish! It was such a relaxing time! There was a guy in a float-tube on the pond as well. I was able to chat with him, and he had a similar experience. I found out he worked for Fish and Game. He caught several bass up against reeds on poppers. He said the bass were seeking warmth. We both had fun.

Saturday I got a lot of chores done, and my autistic son really wanted to go for a car ride. I decided a trip down to Marsing pond would be fun. Luke was a little squirrely, and I ended up leaving with just the Tenryu setup with a Smith D-S line spoon. What a joy to fish a totally balanced outfit. (The day before the lure was a little on the heavy side.) The wind was from the northeast, and there where big rain clouds blowing through. Casting with the wind was easy. Casting into the wind was amazingly effective with this set-up. Nobody was catching fish.

This was my first time fishing the Smith D-S line spoons. Wow are they nice. I played with retrieves next to the fishing dock observing different speeds. I played with several different retrieves. I then remembered the video on this website, and decided to really SLOW down my retrieve. On the second cast doing this, I had a nice trout on! I had him up to the dock. Luke had wandered to the other side of the dock with the net, so it ended up being a long release! About 6 minutes went by, and I had another fish on! I can't call it a long release because I never had it close. Then the timer went off, and my hour session was over. Driving home, I reflected, this is what fishing is about. A time to relax, enjoy nature, and even catch fish. Having a nicely balanced outfit, makes it so much more pleasurable. Luke had a good time too.

On the way home we checked out Lake Lowell. They are filling it for the irrigation season. My carp spot is filling with water. It will be Kyogi time soon!