Making Magic with Finesse
Finesse fishing for smallmouths has ignited angler interest. More anglers are turning to long spinning rod and high-capacity reel set-ups for achieving long casts with light line presentations. Browse across the internet, and search through your favorite online retailers and manufacturers. From rod selection, to line choices, baits, and everything in-between, everyone is prioritizing the marketing and sales for long-line finesse fishing. I used to be of the belief my 20-pound Cortland Masterbraid main-line on a 7-foot MF was light enough for my spinning set-ups. It has the break strength of 6-pound mono. When I started fishing this line in 2011 it was the only line size I’ve ever needed until 2018. While 20-pound is still a big player for me, especially in most snaggy-bottom and monster fish regards, it’s presently considered heavy. Nowadays, this 20-pound line gets spooled on my baitcasting reels that I use for heavier jigging and casting applications for both smallmouths and largemouths. Each winter off-season, I find myself going on a main-line decrease, downsizing my reel spools to a greater variety of 10, 8, or 5-pound Masterbraid. It’s crazy to th