Ned Rig ???

[rowyourboat]

just read an artical or two on this and it has my attention.

 

anyone tried this? have you had any luck? im just fishing for some info. good or bad. what you use, etc.

 

thanks!

[Catch and Grease]

I have caught alot of bowfin on a senko cut in half dipped in JJ's and put on a 1/16oz jig head, fished on a M/F spinning rod with 10-20lb braid and a optional 8lb leader (usually not nessecary).

Haven't really used it for bass, don't see why it wouldn't work...

[rangerjockey]

yep, a senko or the zinker z cut in half on a 1/16 -1/1/8 oz mushroom head works good.. I put a drop of super glue to hold the bait.. I throw it on 6lb or what ever I would have rigged for a shakey head.

[Team9nine]

I've used it rather extensively for bass the past couple years and it works as well as Ned says. I've also proven to myself that the ZinkerZ he recommends (or the SK Zero...same bait) is the best way to go, though other baits will work fine, also. Just not as efficient IMO. I use the Gopher heads with them (makes a difference vs. regular jighead), but am wanting to try the new heads from Z-Man designed for the technique. 

 

-T9

[Fishes in trees]

I think that Ned has a rig that works well on his side of the KS/MO line.  When I try to fish a ned rig, the way it is described in the In-fisherman Midwest finesse blog - with the open hook, it gets snagged all the time.  The MDC lakes that I fish have much more snags & brush & debris than the lakes that Ned is fishing.  The open hook doesn't work for me.  I have to go with something tx rigged, just so I don't get hung up every cast.

 

So, I use a lightweight rig, currently a 5'4" Fenwick HMG Med/ ex-fast tip, smaller Shimano spinning reel and 8 or 10 lb nano-fil with a short (foot or so) fluorocarbon leader.  For baits, Brewer Slider Heads mostly 1/16, but I can go to 1/4 with this set up, to deal better with wind.   I switch up baits a lot, but mostly I will use a 4" Brewer worm or a power bait finesse worm cut down little bit.

 

I think that this is a good technique, but if it doesn't suit your waters you can waste a lot of time getting hung up.  Also, if you aren't patient, you can get antsy waiting for a 1/16 jig head to get down to 8 feet.

If you go to 1/32 it takes longer.  Trying to fish that rig in depths greater than 8 feet or so requires the patience of Job, and  I have issues fishing that slow, when the fish are on the bottom and not taking it on the drop.   Another thing to be aware of, is that in Ned's book, short fish count.  To get to the fish per hour count that he achieves, he is catching  many 6 to 10 inch fish.  Granted, he occasionally gets a larger one, but IMO most of the time those better fish are deeper and other techniques reach them quicker than the ned rig does.

 

So, IMO the ned rig is a fun, light tackle techniques, but where I fish it is only applicable in certain circumstances.  If you are fishing certain KC metro area subdivision lakes, where there is limited brush on points and limited fishing pressure, the ned rig can rule.

[J Francho]

I've thrown chunks of broken senkos, and caught, but to sit there and rig it up on a gopher head, never done it.  There's usually other finesse baits that I use that work better for me where I fish. 

[conorsixtakc]

Check out Local Fishing Forums > Central Bass Fishing > For Us KC Area Guys

 

Bunch of Ned Rig fanatics those guys   

[smalljaw67]

You have to adapt that rig for the area you are fishing, when I read about that it was nice to have a name for it but we've been doing it for years finesse fishing for low, clear water river smallmouth. They will get spooky when they can see you from the deeper pools so you stay back and throw either a half of a Senko or a 3" variet rigged on a worm nose, mushroom, or ball head jig with a size #1 or #2 hook and let it drift into the pool, it works when they absolutely don't want to move far for a bait. In the waters I fish it works better if you have clear to slightly stained, 2' visibility, any more stained than that and other things come into play.

[BasshunterJGH]

This sounds pretty interesting. I might have to try it. TW has the new 3" fat senko, looks perfect for the ned rig. What do you think? What is your favorite head?

[rangerjockey]

I believe the fat Senko has been around for awhile..As much as I like GYCB plastics the Z man is better on the Ned rig.

[Team9nine]

Yep - While any Senko-like bait will work, the Z-Man is better from a price and efficiency standpoint. My average when I tested them was 64 bass per Z-Man bait (includes both worm and Senko styled baits). The Strike King Ocho is made by Z-Man also, so that would work fine, too. As for heads, mushroom heads really do seem to work better with this presentation versus other styles, unless you're trying to fish deep, but the original intent was as a shallow water presentation. Might be able to get away with a swimming head of some sort - haven't tried.

 

-T9

[hoosierbass07]

 Here's Ned -  

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Nothing to see here, move along...

 

It's a killer rig that catches everything in the right situation. When it's on around here NOTHING COMES CLOSE. The Elaztech baits are a vital part to the rig because as they wear out, they float and glide down to the bottom more than a regular stick worm does on the same rig. A braid/fluoro combo is another key for me, if you're using straight fuoro, you're missing fish. Your dropshot setup is a great Ned rigging rod. It doesn't just catch little fish like folks will try to tell you, my biggest smallmouth of the year fell for a Bama Craw Zinker on a home made 3/32oz Ned Head.

It was the big bass at our first KC area get together too at 4.80 pounds.

I prefer the 3/32oz size head but will also use a 1/32 or 1/8 depending on the situation. I pour my own because the mushroom style heads are crazy expensive if you buy them while they cost me pennies to pour. Don't laugh at the colors, pig smallies pop them like potato chips.

[roadwarrior]

 

 

 

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

 Here's Ned -  

 

 

He's just over 4 miles from my house in that video 

[roadwarrior]

Too cool!

 

 

 

 

[Heloman]

Bluebasser 86 why do you feel that you are missing fish using straight florocarbon vs braid/floro on the Ned rig?

[Bluebasser86]

It's such a light rig and the bites are very subtle a lot of the time. The zero stretch of the braid helps feel those very light bites and also aid in hooksets. It's a set very much like a drop shot, basically just a quick lift and start reeling. The braid seems to impart a little extra action on the bait that fluoro seems to kill because it sinks into the water. You'll catch plenty of fish using straight fluoro, but you'd be catching more with a braid/fluoro combo.