Glaucus

I realize my specifics aren't specific at all. That's just the Ned. Anywhere bass are located, there's nothing special you have to do. People use it as a last resort. The past month, I've used it as my start and kept using it because it works. Check out the Fishing Report forum and the Latest Catch thread. Big Smallies, big Larries, it don't matter. It catches them all, catches the dinks,catches the bigs; it just catches them. The inspiration for my "has bass fishing become expensive and complicated for no reason" thread. There are some techniques that just "do it" but we dedicate 12 setups to other things any ways.

Anywhere you know has bass. It's the least complicated thing brother. Swim it, hop it Ned will get it done anywhere they are.

Ned is amazing at work, at home, at the gym, at the restaurant, at the bank. Ned is Ned and we all strive to be like Ned. He never fails. Ned wins at life

Let me tell you bout my best friend (Ned)

Why yes, yes there is. I've been looking into a $100-$120 setup for the Ned Rig, particularly for river Smallmouth, and I was about to settle on the Lew's Laser SG1 rod. Then I learned about the Fenwick Eagle rod, which they do not have, for $10 more. Apparently this is a good and famous rod for the price, and will do me very well, but they don't have it; instead they have the HMX which gets horrible reviews and it's $20 more than the Eagle. Welp, I was hoping to order a President 25 and a rod from the same place, but looks like I'll be ordering directly from each manufacturer.

Or if trebles have completely sewn their mouths shut.

I suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Fishing is by far the best therapy for me. Everything "goes away" when I'm on the water.

A couple of weeks ago I caught a river Smallie with a catfish hook in its throat and at least a foot of line hanging out of its mouth. The hook was rusty and the line was brown and green and black and all kinds of gnarly. It had been there awhile. That fish was still fat, still eating, still aggressive, and still very much alive.

Ok, so now that we have a consensus on this ML rod, my next question is, do you all think the lure rating is good, or should I get a ML with a lure rating of 1/8oz-X?

If it matters, according to my calculations, the total weight of a 1/20oz, 1/15oz, or 1/10oz head and TRD is roughly 1/6oz, 1/5oz, and 1/4oz. Earlier in the year I picked up a M/F 2 piece Pflueger Monarch combo to beat up at the river with the Ned Rig. It's now time to expand to something a little more suitable and durable.

I'm trying to decide on which rod to get for a dedicated Ned Rig setup. I can't decide on whether or not I should get the 6'6" ML/F (1/16oz-5/16oz) or the 6'6" M/F (1/8oz-3/8oz). Please note that I only want opinions on those two rods. Thank you. The rod is the Lew's Laser SG1: https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lews_Laser_SG1_Spinning_Rods/descpage-LSGS.html If I get the ML, it will get a size 25 President. If I get the M, it will get a size 30 President. I use the 1/15oz and 1/10oz ShroomZ jigheads and Finesse TRD plastics exclusively. I fish the Ned Rig in rivers for Smallmouth and the occasional Largemouth that hits it. I may use 1/20oz ShroomZ jigheads at some point.

Darn Russians interfering with our fishing.

Sounds like Ned Rig time. Get the right color and when you see him, be incredibly slow and dead stick even. Light fluorocarbon. He might not resist that easy morsel.

My shirt and since I don't wear sandpaper, I don't have that problem...

There is such a thing as pressured fish, and they are - or I should say can be - harder to catch. This is where finesse techniques come in. Personally I don't consider pressure when I fish. Whether they'll bite through power fishing or through finesse fishing, I know they will bite once I get it right. The thing about pressured fish and the fact that they will avoid certain lures is funny to me when you consider that the same people who talk about pressure will also insist that bass are not intelligent and have a short memory. You in fact cannot have it both ways.

Depends on your location and the water. There's no such thing as storm = this lure. There's no such thing as wind = this lure. There's no such thing as sunny = this lure. Etc etc etc. Every body of water and location is different. Now, there is such a thing that on THIS body of water, in THIS location, on a stormy day THIS lure is good. It's not universal.

Bruh, it's OK. Sometimes I intentionally look stupid. We're not tryna date you lol

Followed that beast up with this one today. Another Ned Rig masterpiece. Didn't have time to get a horizontal photo of this one. She was of the same quality, however. Not sure which was bigger. She was missing half of her top lip, if you look closely. Don't believe I did that to her. Earlier in the day I caught another quality Smallie at the smaller dam. I thought she was going to be my star of the day until that one on top happened later on. I love the camaraderie of the bass fishing community. My friend helped me land the first big girl the other day, and then today there was a teenager there fishing with his dad and the teen saw me fighting her and without hesitation grabbed his net and netted her for me. Once again over the wall and I'd have possibly broke off. I'm going to have to start standing in the water below the wall.

Weedguard ShroomZ but I do check the hook every few casts. I know they're little Smallies because I can see them. It's only the little guys that get off frequently.

Finesse TRD in Coppertruese with a Green Pumpkin 1/15oz ShroomZ Jighead. I've been using the 1/10oz ShroomZ Weedless Jighead at river dams due to the fast moving water and the plethora of rocks, timber, and other trash to get snagged on. I've been doing well. The 1/15oz head would allow me to better fish the rest of the rivers and creeks, and probably still get away with fishing the dams, albeit with more snags. If I'm not at the dams making long casts, I'm kayaking or wading. Right now I'm using a 6'6" M/F rod with 15lb braid with an 8lb fluoro leader. I'd scale down to a 6' ML/F rod with 10lb braid with a 6lb fluoro leader. Better for kayaking and when wading the inability to cast to a spot is minimized; and I could still do well enough at the dams. Ned Rig catches big ones, little ones...all the ones, all the time.

Be surprised by what a big bluegill can feel like. Happened to me last month at a pond, over and over again in the same spot. Sometimes it would rip the Senko apart. Finally hooked whatever it was. Reeling it in, hmmmm it's got a little weight but it isn't fighting like a bass...This feels weird... Ended up being the biggest bluegill I've ever caught. Biggest bluegill I've ever seen in real life. Didn't even do the machine gun tapping they're known for. As for turtles, that's possible too. I've had turtles bite my Senkos right in half. But they don't really pull hard. It's a quick thing. They're so sharp that they really just bite it and it's done.

This thread is a tad old but I wanted to revisit it. I've been having great success at a couple of river dams using the Ned Rig. I'm catching some really nice fish, and a lot of fish all in all. It's not unusual to walk away having caught 40! However, I'm batting .500. I keep my drag set properly, I'm using a M/F rod that is in all reality a ML/F rod for most companies, and I keep pressure on and my rod tip up. My hookset is a reel set and I simply lean into them. I have noticed that it isn't the bigger fish that I'm losing. It's the small fish, particularly Smallies. I'm chalking it up to smaller mouths, and most likely to me, softer mouths that makes it easier for them to shake. It's a little frustrating, but I'm glad it isn't the good fish, and catching a bunch of fish makes it feel better. Still though I'd prefer to not lose them. Anyone think my theory is correct as to why it's the smaller fish getting free?

A few feet maybe. Never had one pop a bait in the air to that extreme. Though if it did happen I hope that I had some beers in me and a buddy present because that would make my life. Awesome.

Seriously? Wow

It seems to be all about the jigs.