[New Product] Smelt Head Finesse

Outdoor Actibu
Feb 16
3 min read

This is a translated article from “Nishine Lure Works Backstage Diary,” written by Mr. Hiroshi Nishine of Nishine Lure Works. You can read the original article, published on January 26, 2026, here:

In today’s blog, I’d like to introduce the Smelt Head Finesse, which is scheduled to be released soon.

The Smelt Head Finesse we’re releasing this time will be available in three models.

Model Name: Smelt Head Finesse

1.5 g (1/16 oz) model: #1 hook
2.7 g (1/10 oz) model: #1 hook
5.0 g (3/16 oz) model: #2/0 hook

*The listed weight refers to the jighead body only and does not include the blade or split ring.

Color Patterns

The color patterns will be available in three options: Pearl White, Purple Back Smelt, and Natural Zinc.

Smelt Head Finesse Key Point #1 — Zinc Material

This Smelt Head Finesse uses a zinc head for the jighead body.

The standard Smelt Head is made of lead, so why did we choose the more expensive zinc for the Smelt Head Finesse?

The reason is simple: zinc’s lower specific gravity is a perfect match for this concept.

In terms of specific gravity, lead is 11.36 while zinc is 7.13, meaning zinc is significantly lighter. The advantage this gives us is that it allows us to make the jighead physically larger while keeping the weight light.

With the Smelt Head, the long-nose shape is one of the key elements. However, when trying to create a lightweight model using lead, the head becomes too small, and we lose the unique advantages of the Smelt Head design. I found myself stuck in that loop for years.

What saved me from that dead end was zinc, a material with a much lighter specific gravity.

The Smelt Head Finesse originally started as a project aimed at targeting steelhead, but once it was finished, it turned out to be an extremely effective finesse swimbait head for bass fishing as well (lol).

The key material that made this possible was zinc.

Smelt Head Finesse Key Point #2 — Blade

The biggest defining feature of the Smelt Head Finesse is, without a doubt, this blade.

When you swim the Smelt Head Finesse, the blade oscillates left and right, generating a rolling action in the head.

As a result, the combination of the soft bait’s movement, the jighead’s rolling action, and the blade’s flashing effect creates a layered, highly lifelike swimming action.

Smelt Head Finesse Key Point #3 — Trailer Keeper

The 1.5 g and 2.7 g models use a brush-guard style trailer keeper, the same type used on the DS Hook trailer-keeper model.

Because these two models are lightweight, using the same trailer keeper style as the standard Smelt Head would make the setup too rear-heavy and throw off the balance. To maintain proper front-to-back balance, we designed them this way.

For the 5.0 g model, the weight distribution naturally balances out well, so it uses the same trailer keeper type as the original Smelt Head.

Soft Bait Rigging Examples

From top to bottom:

1.5g + 2.5" Drop Shot Minnow

2.7g + 3" Gobizoh Stick

5.0g + 4" Easy Shiner

While the Smelt Head is typically paired with shad-tail swimbaits, the Smelt Head Finesse is highly versatile and works exceptionally well with pin-tail style soft baits as well. We encourage you to experiment and try out various combinations!