The Berkley Finisher was designed for bass anglers using forward-facing sonar (FFS)—but I took it somewhere completely different… the saltwater marshes of the Texas coast. Instead of fishing deep lakes, I put this lure to the test against redfish, speckled trout, drum, croaker, and more in shallow water 1–10 feet deep.
Why? Because the action of the Finisher is just too good to leave in freshwater. This bait can mimic multiple techniques all in one:
Shake it like a finesse minnow or hover stroll
Twitch it like a jerkbait
Glide it side-to-side like a swimbait
Jig it vertically like an ice fishing lure
Rip it like a spoon or lipless crankbait
After 2 trips, I quickly found out saltwater fish love it—but I also ran into a flaw: treble hooks don’t hold up against hard-fighting redfish. So I swapped them for inline singles with a little gold flash, and the results speak for themselves: stronger hookups, fewer lost fish, and better performance in weeds.
👉 The big takeaway? Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries of how lures are “supposed” to be used. The Finisher may have been created for FFS, but it’s got way more potential across different styles of fishing—fresh or salt.
🎣 If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you take a bass lure inshore… this video is for you.
I caught a few reds with a 2 inch piece of my red shirt on a deathgrip 1/8 jighead. Most people have no idea how little color, brand, or shape has to do with successful hookups. Jighead size(lightest you can get away with) fall speed, and reeling slower is generally better. Nothing groundbreaking with lures has happened in probably 50 years lol