Top 3 Inshore Fishing Finesse Presentations For The Summer
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
Contrary to common belief, you definitely want to have inshore finesse presentations with you for summertime fishing!
Usually, larger profile baits are best for summertime fishing.
But here are a few scenarios when fishing with a smaller, finesse bait might be better.
Check it out!!
Inshore Fishing Finesse Presentations [VIDEO]
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Featured Equipment:
- Power Prawn U.S.A. Jr.
- Z-Man Mag ShroomZ Jighead
- Slam Shady 2.0 Paddletail
- Gold Digger Paddletail
- Flamingo Joe Paddletail
- F.R.E.D. Paddletail
- Z-Man Slam Shady Finesse TRD
- Hoss Helix Hooks
There are certain scenarios where a larger profile bait just isn’t getting it done and you need a 3-3.5 inch lure to throw out.
Highly Pressured Fish
This is more specifically for sight casting at highly pressured fish.
In this scenario, fish are most likely seeing the same lures over and over again or they are keen on your casts.
It can be difficult to offer a presentation that does not spook the fish off and this is when you need a finesse presentation.
You want to use something small with a light jighead on it to create a soft presentation with which you can lead the fish.
This approach will often yield better results rather than tossing a large lure right in their face.
High-Pressure Weather Pattern
On those dog days of summer during high-pressure weather patterns and no wind, sometimes all it takes is sizing down your lures.
Go small and slow in targeting high percentage targets that will produce bites.
Predator Fish Feeding On Smaller Bait
In the spring, a lot of the smaller bait gets flushed out from the backwater creeks.
As a result, it is common practice to use smaller profile lures in the spring.
But in the summer, we step our lure profiles up a notch because the baitfish typically grow larger during the spring and into summer.
However, the fry bait or smaller bait hatch will continue all spring and summer long.
What can happen during this time is the fish can key in on just the size of the fry bait and ignore larger bait.
If you observe these behaviors, switch over to a smaller bait you would typically use in springtime.
Species-Specific Situations
This scenario specifically applies to juvenile tarpon fishing.
One of the best juvenile tarpon lures, in my opinion, is the Gold Digger Paddletail with its tail pinched off rigged on a Z-Man Mag ShroomZ jighead.
This is my go-to lure choice for targeting juvenile tarpon in the warmer months.
Top 3 Summer Finesse Presentations
1. Power Prawn U.S.A. Jr.
The Power Prawn U.S.A. Jr. can be rigged in several different ways.
My favorite way to rig this lure for finesse purposes is on the Z-Man Mag ShroomZ jighead.
This is the Ned Rig setup.
This type of presentation is downright excellent for finesse summer fishing, especially in sight casting scenarios.
Ned Rigs are designed to stand straight up vertically so the lures tail wiggles in the current like it’s waving the fish over to it.
You can also rig this lure up on a weedless weighted hook like our Hoss Helix Hooks.
You definitely want to go with a 3/0 size hook to match with the Power Prawn U.S.A. Jr.
2. Salt Strong Slam Series 2.0 Paddletails
My go-to color choice is the Gold Digger paddletail but either the Slam Shady, F.R.E.D., or Flamingo Joe will also work well.
When rigged on a Z-Man Mag ShroomZ jighead, this is an excellent bait presentation.
All of these lures work extremely well and create an excellent finesse presentation for just about any time of the year.
3. Z-Man Slam Shady Finesse TRD
If you are not familiar with this setup, this is the original rig that started the Ned Rig craze at its beginning.
The TRD rigged on a Mag ShroomZ jighead is a proven fish-catching magnet.
Another great feature about the material Z-Man uses to assemble this lure is that it will stand straight at the bottom and wiggle in the current as intended no matter the speed of the current.
There are not any extra appendages or features to this lure which makes it the ideal finesse presentation.
Rod/Reel Outfit Choices
You don’t want to throw these lures out with a Medium-Heavy rod because you probably will not get as much distance on your casts.
It is best to drop down to a Medium or even a Medium-Light setup.
I prefer to use a 2500-size reel as well for this type of fishing.
My favorite setup is the Daiwa Ballistic MQ 2500 on a Medium-Light 7′ rod spooled with an 8 lb braided line tipped with a 12-15 lb leader depending on the situation.
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Conclusion
Keep in mind you are dealing with finicky fish so your presentations must be downsized in order for you to succeed.
Clunky, larger lures are not going to get the job done when targeting pressured fish.
Be sure to keep your tackle light and focus on softer, finesse presentations that trigger reaction strikes.
Do you have any more questions about the top 3 inshore fishing finesse presentations?
Let me know your favorite summertime finesse presentations down in the comments!!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about inshore fishing finesse presentations, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Thanks for the great info. I’ll have to keep it in mind on my next trip. Keep the videos coming, they are teaching this old man. Thanks again Pat
Glad you’re enjoying them!
Great info Pat. Sometimes less is more.
I’m a big believer in that statement!
I do keep 2 ultra light rods on my boat all year long mostly for trout that I have observed sometimes busting small shrimp and minnows under the dock lights at night I have been wondering why my presentations have been refused lately and I havent been catching reds and trout like I usually do and I believe that one of my favorite areas that I go to is now getting fished alot more then it used to so the fish are more pressured so I’ll try as and scale down and see what happens I also have a few small topwaters I could try out as well thanks for the info and all you do😉👍
The Power Prawn Jr in those lights should work well! Let us know how you do!