What I always knew as finger reeling is what Gary Lafontaine referred to as a "hand twist retrieve" only with a fish on. Yeah, it should work as long as the bass aren't too huge. I tend to use the "real" reel on fast running fish like wipers to avoid accidentally getting a finger caught in a loop of line, but bass, while strong, aren't real fast so there should be no problem keeping your fingers sorted out from the line.