Spring 2025
®
LAKE BIWA ’S “POWER BAIT FINESSE” STYLE
My next stop was Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest freshwater lake and home to some of the country’s biggest largemouth bass. I’d fished Biwa before with the “go big or go home” mindset, using massive lures that would turn heads in any American bass fishing tournament. But this time, my guide, Atsuya Asano, encouraged me to take a different approach with “bait finesse,” a technique I’d only heard about in passing.
Armed with an ultralight bait-casting rod, a Shimano Bait Finesse reel, and 6-pound-test fluorocarbon line, I rigged up with a #6 off-set hook and a 3.5-inch Ano Straight worm by BOREAS. When I first saw the setup, I had to ask myself, “Could this really land a Biwa bass?” But, as I’d come to learn, this technique was exactly what was needed to tempt bass out of hiding in heavily fished waters like Biwa.
Big Biwa bass
Jessop Petroski with
Biwa bass catch.
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FISHING DEEP WATERS IN LAKE BIWA
Our fishing spot was in 30-feet of water, about 500f-eet offshore, with scattered rocks on a hard bottom. The goal? Get the lure down deep, let it rest, and let it drift naturally with the lake’s bottom currents. There was no aggressive reel here, just a slow, twitching retrieve that made the soft plastic worm look like a small, curious creature.
On the first cast, I felt a subtle resistance. With finesse fishing, the hookset isn’t about hauling the fish in; it’s about careful, precise movement, which was a new challenge for me. Once I got the rhythm, however, the bites were steady, and by the day’s end, we’d landed over 10 fish. On a lake as challenging as Biwa, where catching even one bass can be a victory, finesse had done the trick.
ADAPTING TO JAPANESE FINESSE TECHNIQUES
What really caught me off guard was how effective these techniques were, not just on Japanese lakes but also in changing how I thought about fishing altogether. The finesse approach forced me to slow down, pay attention to the smallest details, and rethink my strategies in a way that American bass fishing rarely demands. Techniques like the N-Bomer, N-Shad, and bait finesse worked because they
were about precision, subtlety, and embracing the unique nature of each environment.
I would like to give a special thanks to Nakata-san and Asano-san for welcoming me out on the water with them and sharing these special techniques with me and allowing me the opportunity to pass along the knowledge to the readership of WesternBass Magazine. •
Biwa bass and Rocky
Island .