Bass Fishing Techniques

Big-bait fishing targets larger-than-average bass with oversized swimbaits and glide baits, presenting a big, realistic profile with a wide side-to-side glide or a jointed swimming action.

Hover strolling is a slow, near-weightless finesse presentation in which a small soft bait is kept hovering almost in place in the upper water column with tiny shakes, popularized in Japan around 2020.

The I-method is a dead-straight, slow retrieve of a minimal-action lure just under the surface, so it tracks in a perfectly straight line — an "I" shape seen from above.

Jerkbaiting is fishing a slender suspending minnow with sharp downward rod strokes and pauses; the Japanese approach emphasises varied cadence, long pauses, and finesse rod work in cold, clear water.

Mid strolling is a Japanese finesse technique in which a soft swimbait or minnow on a light jig head is swum through the middle of the water column while the rod tip is shaken continuously to keep the bait rolling and flashing.

The neko rig is a finesse worm rig with a nail weight pushed into the head of a straight worm and a hook set through the body, so the worm stands up and shakes off the bottom.