Ned Rig Tips

[WVBassFisher4]

I have been hearing alot about the ned rig lately...I am going to give it a try for myself...are there any tips for success in the neg rig!?

[jonnyblazex]

  Use the correct tackle is the most important factor.  You need an elaztec worm, they float.  That is the most important thing, any other worm will not float up at the tail, and tip over and not have the right action you want.  Also, the mushroom head jig is the highest recommended.  Other than that, go light on the jighead, and use light line.

[jbw252]

Glenn put up a great video.  View it here>>>>> http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/ned-rig.html

[HoosierHawgs]

Ned rig is a hot topic on here lately. Also some good stuff about it on In Fisherman's website.

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/154445-ned-rig/

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/156424-ned-rig-imitator/

[Tim Kelly]

I've been using little 1/16oz football jigs which I think are marginally better than mushroom heads as they are slightly more stable and so slightly less prone to snagging. Also, because my football mold makes 1/16 but my mushroom mold only goes down to 3/32.

[Bluebasser86]

I've been using little 1/16oz football jigs which I think are marginally better than mushroom heads as they are slightly more stable and so slightly less prone to snagging. Also, because my football mold makes 1/16 but my mushroom mold only goes down to 3/32.

Get the mushroom mold without the collar, that head works better anyways and comes in sizes down to 1/16oz. 

[Tim Kelly]

I tend to cut the stuff behind the head off with the shears, so it probably ends up weighing around a 1/16 anyway, but I still think the little football head has some slight advantages.

[smalljaw67]

I use the 3/32oz mushroom head and I also use a 1/16oz round head and no problems. The other thing is that it is a total myth that the worm or bait of choice needs to float, before the Z-Man plastics the rig used a 3" Senko and they are far from floating.  The important part is that you get a slow fall, with a floating plastic it is possible to get the right head size to have it suspend in the water and that can be super deadly but I found that if the worm sinks, it can be just as deadly as long as the fall is slow. We've been using that rig for years for smallmouth with lockjaw and there are a wide variety of baits that work, if you use size 4 hook on the jig head you can use trout worms from Berkley, they are wicked but the problem is you will get crappie and bluegill along with bass, but the worm doesn't have to float, that is just put out there to sell TRD baits, but I'll say that a floating bait will just give you even more options and it will work just as well if not better at certain times just like every other bait.

[frogflogger]

Don't over think this rig - just fish it -

[garvin]

Opinions and success may vary and depend upon the angler's preference, the only wrong way is the one that doesn't put fish in the boat for you, but I'm a believer in using the Z-Man TRD over half a Senko. And I fish with Senkos a lot. I like the action of the tail end floating up at rest because I get a lot of bites dead-sticking the rig, then twitching it. I think it looks more lifelike with the butt end sticking up rather than laying flat on the bottom of the lake. I've tried using half a Senko once and didn't get bit so I switched back to a green pumpkin TRD. I'm also going to try a big Ned rig - a Z-Man Hula StickZ and 1/6 oz. ShroomZ head. The Hula StickZ is essentially a big 4" TRD with a head of hair.

[livemusic]

... The Hula StickZ is essentially a big 4" TRD with a head of hair.

 

Really, I thought that was the tail!

[garvin]

Really, I thought that was the tail!

Yeah, I would actually rig the plain end to butt up against the jig head, but it still looks like it has dreadlocks.

[chelboed]

ZMan offers the Mushroom Jig Head in 1/15, 1/10, and 1/5oz versions. Ned himself often uses 1/16 Gopher Shroom heads, but sometimes 1/32oz and sometimes 1/8 I believe??

 

I was really bummed about the ElaZtech plastics. They are supposed to be really tough, but I had 2x short strikes on mine last night and all but destroyed the T.R.D. I watched a video where the angler praised the durability of the plastics, but I switched to a texas rigged 4" Yum F2 after that and after several short strikes by panfish...the stickbait went back into the bag and lived to fight another day.

 

 

Regarding gear...I'm not sold on the fact that you really need spinning gear to toss these. (at least with my Zman T.R.D. with the little 1/10oz jig head) Heck...I was just playing around the other day and tied one on my Lew's Team reel with 12" Stren Mono and a Medium Fast Speed Stick. It casted very well. (I'm not going to get all "chest puffed out" and "I can cast 100yd" about it...but it casted as far as you would want to cast a Ned Rig)

 

That said...I will fishing mine with a BPS CrappieMaxx Mighty Lite reel spooled with 4# Mono on a MicroLite 6' ML Fast rod. This will present the bait better than 12# line, and I keep this rod set up for really light Ned-style finesse bass fishing anyways with 1/16oz Beetle Spins, 1/8oz Chatterbaits, 1/8oz Tiny Traps, Micro wobblehead worms, 4" texas rigged senko's with #2 hooks and 1/32oz bullet weights...etc...

 

 

I hope to get some rendition of a Pixy at some point to replace the cheap BPS reel, but that little reel will chuck tiny Trout baits an impressive distance.

[chelboed]

Regarding the "This Bait Just Flat-out Catches Fish" mentality of the Ned Rig...

 

It's a little early for me to speculate because I just started Nedding this year, but it's kind of a "Duh" statement. There's mild genius in the design, but there's 2 reasons this bait catches fish and one of them is so obvious...I shouldn't even say:

 

1-It's small. Where there's bass, there's forage...as in panfish. Half of the fish you catch are going to be cuties. When you're throwing a Senko and getting short strikes, it's just kinda obvious that it's probably a little fish trying to get the bait in his mouth, so if you throw a smaller bait...you'll eventually catch him. If you start out throwing the Ned, you will catch gobs of fish, but likely they will be abundantly small.

 

I have a small golf course lake nearby that I could take a Ned Rig to, but generally use a 1.5" 1/8oz white beetle spin and catch hordes of 9-12" bass and really fatty Sun Fish. But if I threw a Senko or full size Rat-L-Trap, my catch rate would go down from 35-50/hr to just a few /hr due to the fish in the water. (my Dad and I were there 70min the other day and brought home 70x big fat SunFish and threw back around 30 or more small bass)

 

 

2-The lesser obvious reason Ned works is because ElaZtech is some kooky stuff. As some of the video's state...it wiggles and jiggles like jello in the water. It has a jellyfish like presentation in the water...and it floats. The Mushroom jig head allows it to stand straight up from the bottom like a baitfish eating off the bottom. Much better than a rounded jig head.