Finesse never falls out of fashion

I recently shared a late-season walleye catching experience on the upper Fox River.

What I didn't tell you was that I also was prepared to go to a technique greatly favored by scads of Minnesota bass and walleye fanatics. Some of you know it and have used it.

It is basically a finesse rig - or jig-and-worm rig, or a jig-and-swim rig.

That's the great thing about fishing techniques.

There are a gazillion so-called experts out there in the angling world who do their best to reinvent the wheel … or lure, for that matter.

There are regiments of true believers who try their hardest to become the next Isaac Walton. Meanwhile, I just observe and take notes.

I enjoy chatting with finesse addict Ned Kehde in Kansas, especially when I listen to his stories about fishing this time of the year (fall) and using his beloved finesse rig and techniques.

Ned and his cohorts measure everything, from surface and subsurface water temperature to wave action and depth of the impoundments they frequent deep in the heart of the vast Midwestern sections west of us in Kansas.

A small, light jighead adorned with a small plastic grub or worm are the operating tools for Ned.

Even though I recently managed to find some walleyes on the upper Fox by keeping a sharp eye on my older Vexilar flasher and using live bait, I was ready to transition to a "shaky-worm" rig in case those fish needed a different kind of enticement.

Sometimes I go a tad overboard with the finesse setup when I use a 1/64-ounce jighead rigged with a plastic worm.

I note the word "overboard" because the jig itself is so light the plastic often keeps the rig from reaching the bottom. But the slowness of the drop also is a super tease for game fish and hungry bluegills as well.

I often use 4-pound mono when working this rig. Once the jig settles on the bottom and I know there are fish in the neighborhood (through indicators on the flasher), I'll start shaking the rod as to transferring motion down the line to the jig.

Some finesse devotees may call what I do a "shaky-worm" presentation.

If I were unable to locate the school of walleyes on the upper Fox last time out, I would have switched to this technique.

The late Bill Binkelman (Of Fishing News and Fishing Facts fame) instructed me on how to use No. 10 gold hooks, 4-pound mono, conditioned night crawlers or leeches and a very long rod to scope out very finicky walleyes and bass.

Binkelman's critics scoffed at the No. 10 hooks, always mouthing off how that small of a hook was the cause of more gut-hooked walleyes than anything else.

Of course, these were the same characters who expressed great disdain over the use of live bait in the first place.

Bill, on the other hand kept on spreading his "gospel" about finesse fishing and following structure points with the early red-and-green Lowrance flashers.

A technique still popular, in my book.

Fishing report:

Dare we ready the ice auger and shelter? Fishing conditions this past weekend were very good until the bottom fell out of the thermometer.

Lake Michigan (Chicago): Cold has slowed action near the city but it slowly continues for salmon and lake trout in Waukegan.

Kankakee River: Walleye action continues at and near the main dam.

Fox Chain: White bass and walleye activity continues; if you can brave the cold, fish the current areas.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.