“ Drew Reese of Rantoul , Kansas placed seventh at the 1971 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Mead using a jigworm and a Beetle ( precursor to the Beetle Spin panfish lure ).”
Kehde got the ball rolling right away . Reese was a key contributor in Midwest finesse , and his success in early organized events helped bring finesse to the West – not the other way around .
Reese himself has publicly credited other Kansans before him for introducing finesse fishing , dating back to the 1960s , well prior to the formal organization of bass fishing . And talks with Kehde continuously circle back to his influencers , including the Hibdon family and others .
“ Bert Hall of Missouri created the Road Runner lure , originally for bass . And Bill Fletcher , also from the Ozarks , competed in the earliest championship events using that lure .”
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER
The common thread is simple . Each of these Midwest pioneers were downsizing with the goal of catching as many bass as possible .
It ’ s tough for modern fans to understand the thinking of the time , but remember : This was well before fishing tournaments put the “ limit ” mentality in bass fishing . To the trailblazers of our sport , catching more , not bigger , was always the goal .
Kehde immediately picked up on the numbers mindset and really never let go . As a magazine contributor through the ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s , Kehde was often paired with a big-name pro during tournament practice periods .
“ I was amazed at how few fish they caught ,” he recalls .
Admittedly , numbers didn ’ t pay for the tournament bassers , and the finesse game had yet to make much of an impact .
“ My way of fishing just wasn ’ t en vogue ,” Kehde admits .
As we all now know , things would change over the next four decades . But major advancements would first be necessary .
The tackle with which Kehde and his counterparts started the finesse game seems archaic today , but longevity proved its effectiveness . Beginning in 1970 , and carrying on until 2021 , Kehde exclusively used the Abu Garcia Cardinal 4 spinning reel ; the old green model sometimes seen in antique stores , originally imported by Zebco . Kehde still owns 20 of those reels . Throughout that 50-year lifespan , Kehde learned to remove the bail in order to prevent spring breakage , and to do all maintenance himself . During the early periods , line was light monofilament and rods were fiberglass .
Kehde ’ s mission is to catch 25 bass per hour , every day . Through his meticulous record-keeping , he can recognize those days he made the grade , the exact weather conditions and how they played a role , productive lures , measured water clarity , solunar influence
PHOTO COURTESY Z-MAN FISHING
and more . Though some of his earliest journals were accidentally destroyed , Kehde has tallied over 50,000 bass catches since 2005 alone .
Original finesse lures of the day included jig worms and marabou jigs ( says Ned : “ The jig lies at the heart of Midwest finesse .”), Reapers (“ This became a very important bait for Guido Hibdon and myself .”) and Beetle baits (“ This was the first Senko .”)
Kehde is quick to point out that often these lures were fished using a swimming retrieve , keeping the bait off the bottom . Here , it ’ s important to note that the featherweight lures , combined with buoyant nylon fishing lines , created a presentation where the baits were essentially lost in space . This is paramount to Kehde ’ s technique .
“ If I feel my jig , I ’ m fishing too heavy ,” he would state at the time .
Kehde continues to use short , 6-foot rods for his finesse fishing , rarely finding the need to make long cats and
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