Damiki Fishing Tackle USA's Finesse Miki

February 12, 2015 By Ned Kehde

Midwest finesse anglers always have an eye out for soft-plastic baits that they can affix to a small mushroom-style jig. And across the past several years, Damiki Fishing Tackle USA's four-inch Finesse Miki has occasionally caught the eyes of some Midwest finesse anglers.

It is not a new bait. In fact, Daniel Kim of Brea, California, who is Damiki's national sales manager, says it has been an integral part of their catalog since Damiki arrived in California from South Korea in 2008.

For those anglers who have not seen the Finesse Miki, it is in some ways of the imagination similar to the configuration and action of the Big Bite Baits' 4 1/2-inch Squirrel Tail Worm.

The Finesse Miki has a small and blunt cone- or bullet-shaped head. The bulky portions of its torso consist of two sections. One section is small, and it is encompassed with three ribs. The other section adjoins the head and is encompassed by 15 ribs. A very thin and short piece of plastic affixes the two sections of the torso to one another.

The torso is flat rather round as are most worms. And it doesn't possess a clitellum, but in some anglers' eyes, the small three-rib section might be seen as a clitellum.

The section between its spoon-cupped tail and the small three-rib section of its torso is extremely slender and delicate looking. Some anglers refer to this section of the Finesse Miki as being part of its tail, and other say, including Daniel Kim , it is part of its body or torso.

The spoon-cupped tail causes the three-rib segment and the extremely slender segment of the body to undulate and quiver more readily than can be achieved with a normal finesse worm. It also disseminates a substantial series of bubbles as it plummets from the surface towards the bottom, which is thought to be a beguiling feature.

It was designed as a drop-shot bait and for catching black bass that are extremely tentative and unresponsive to normal finesse soft-plastic presentations or at a waterway where the black bass fishing is always problematic.

In other words, it is not a soft-plastic worm that frugal-minded Midwest finesse anglers would use when they are fishing a waterway where they traditionally catch nine to 25 black bass an hour. The reason for that is revolves around the durability factor, and the best catch-rate report that we have seen was written by Walker Smith of Wired2Fish. Walker said that he has caught as many as four black bass on a single Finesse Miki, which surpassed his initial expectations. According to Smith, its wherewithal to catch four black bass is a quantum leap from catching just one black bass, which he has experienced with other fragile finesse worms. But another angler reported that he was plagued by bluegill and green sunfish that wreaked havoc with the Finesse Miki's tail. Thus, it is a situational bait for Midwest finesse anglers rather than an everyday one.

Although it was designed as a drop-shot bait, Daniel Kim says it works well when anglers affix it to a shaky-head jig. And, of course, Midwest finesse anglers who employ it will affix it to a 1/32- , 1/16- or 3/32-ounce mushroom-head jig with an exposed hook, and the size of the hooks on those jigs will range from a No. 6 to a No. 1. Because the Finesse Miki undulates and gyrates more than ordinary finesse worms, Daniel Kim and Walker Smith have found that a deadstick presentation is an extremely alluring one.

According to Damiki's website, it is available in seven colors: Black Red, Coffee Black, Green Pumpkin Black, Oxblood, Watermelon Black, Watermelon Candy, and Watermelon Red Black. But one online retailer is selling a Junebug four-inch Finesse Miki. Besides the four-incher, Dimiki makes a 5 1/2- and 6 1/2-inch rendition. All color and sizes are impregnated with salt.