No doubt, Finesse fishing was originated from Japan. It's said why finsesse fishing thrived in Japan is because it had lots of anglers while rare resource so fishmen there had to turn to small fish fishing. It ofen meant using spinning rods, lighter lines, and smaller lures, but it's also much, much more than that, now the finesse fishing baitcast reels become popualr. Baitcast reels are lighter, more accurate casting. Some guys even challenge the middle-size snakehead, pike with finesse setup.
Nowadays, the finesse fishing has spead to worldwide including US, China, UK,Italy... But there are some difference in countries.
Traditional Japanese finesse gear, japanese-style, are usually with slow-action fiberglass rods. The hard lures are most used, using soft baits is a challenge, because several fishes have harder mouths and the rod lacks stiffness and sensitivity to deliver consistent small hooking.
Finesse fishing is fast delveloping in US, China where its concept and practice have been widely extended. In US, people use 'Bass BFS' rods and soft lure and in China, the ultra-fast action, very sensitive rods are used for GUI fish fishing, and light lines to be able to feel the mico strikes.
one of Japanese finesse fishing techniques is Ajing fishing.
"Ajing" is fishing for Aji, or Horse Mackerel, which are a common Japanese salt water fish that are generally about 8-10". The Japanese often fish for them at night with very light jigs, using very fast action, very sensitive ultralight spinning rods, and very light lines to be able to feel the strikes. Not only do anglers have to feel when a fish takes the jig and stops or turns, they have to feel when a fish takes the jig and continues swimming towards them. They have to be able to feel the weight and resistance of the jig - and when they no longer feel it, set the hook. That is a big challenge to rod and angler's skill.
It is much more difficult to catch Gui fish than to catch bass. ultra-light rod and single-hook soft lure(hard lures often snagged in Gui fish area), high speed reel and instant hook setting are all must for the successful Gui fishing.
BFS as a category is a very specialised form of fishing originated from Japan. It requires tools that are specifically designed to
deliver 3 things:
- Positive control during casting
- Low spool startup inertia
- High sensitivity so you feel "connected" with small lures
It was born on the mountain brooks of Japan, and was the result of their need to differentiate and specialise when it came to their presentation.
Japanese really had many innovations, now the finesse techniques are fast developing outside Japan too. In Taiwan, China mainlant, Thailand, Korea...many anglers in Asia coutries join 'finesse fishing' sports.
An interested term is 'JDM', i.e Japanese Domestic Market. In fact, JDM is not always Made in Japan. Some products are made in Japan, but many of them are also made outside Japan. Among JDM tackle, in 2018, only few products, mostly high-end products are Made in Japan. Among Daiwa and Shimano proucts, MSRP$300-400 or higher products are Made in Japan. Products sold at lower are
mostly made at factories outside Japan, like China, Thailand, Malaysia and etc. Take the reel products for example, I think for the reels below $200, Chinese brand products are better than Japanese products, while with lower price.
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