Ned Rig Bottom Lip Hookup Issue

[Cgolf]

Having fished this rig the last week or so on the river, I am seeing a potential problem in moving water. 99 percent of the time with river fish it is tap hit and either stick em or yank it away and it is always in the upper lip.

With the Ned rig what I am seeing is slack line hits are always hooked on the bottom and in smaller fish this is less then ideal, in fact I am going to try barbless and see how that works.

My thoughts are in the current on slack line, the bouancy of the lure working with current has the hook point riding down causing the questionable hookups. If I keep the line tight and the bait moving faster than the current I hookup properly. While not an ideal presentation, I think this is how it has to be fished in this situation.

[EvanT123]

I haven't had that problem with the Ned rig specifically but have hook a few more fish that usually this year. I would recommend a pair of these.

They are called fish grips and make like much easier when unhooking treble hooked smallmouth and toothy critters.

[Cgolf]

I have something similar, that I use, the issue I am fighting is the take in the gullet Knicks the gills, and on a dink Smallie there is not much room to work the hook out. That is why I will go barbless on this jig and see how it goes.

Will also see if I keep the slack out if that helps. I think in lakes this wouldn't be an issue as the weight and line tie would keep it oriented properly. While I am not fishing whitewater, the current sweeps are pretty strong and toss that puny head around.

The good news I am catching fish, just want to make sure I do my best to preserve the resource, as I expect to fish this area for many more years.

[Bluebasser86]

I grab them around their back when they're small most of the time, regardless of how they're hooked. 

[Nice_Bass]

I grab them around their back when they're small most of the time, regardless of how they're hooked. 

lol I agree.

Big fish give bass palm, regular fish bass thumb, small fish just grab.

[Tim Kelly]

You might find that using a small football shaped jig, rather than the mushroom one gives you just a little bit more stability, which may or may not help.

[WRB]

The mushroom head has a 90 degree jig hook, your line should keep the hook point upright. Fishing any jig with too much slack line allows the jig to roll over. Always control the slack line, use a little heavier head if necessary to keep in touch with the jig.

Tom

[gardnerjigman]

The mushroom head has a 90 degree jig hook, your line should keep the hook point upright. Fishing any jig with too much slack line allows the jig to roll over. Always control the slack line, use a little heavier head if necessary to keep in touch with the jig.

Tom

Kind of defeats the point of the rig doing this.

[Cgolf]

The mushroom head has a 90 degree jig hook, your line should keep the hook point upright. Fishing any jig with too much slack line allows the jig to roll over. Always control the slack line, use a little heavier head if necessary to keep in touch with the jig.

Tom

If the storms stay away tomorrow morning I will give it a go trying to control the slack line better, And will have a slightly heavier head with a shorter shank hook. I am hoping the shorter shank hook helps some too.

I intended to try the mashed barb and controlled slack line today, but my first cast was a doozie and I had to break of the jig, first time that has happened with this rig and I didn't have a spare rigged up.

Like the rig, just trying to dial in the particulars to a river situation.

[Smokinal]

 

So, why is the bottom lip bad again?

[Bluebasser86]

The mushroom head has a 90 degree jig hook, your line should keep the hook point upright. Fishing any jig with too much slack line allows the jig to roll over. Always control the slack line, use a little heavier head if necessary to keep in touch with the jig.

Tom

Pretty much goes against everything Midwest Finesse and the Ned rig is about, but it's what is driven into bass anglers heads. Probably why the concept and technique is so difficult for most to grasp.

[Cgolf]

Pretty much goes against everything Midwest Finesse and the Ned rig is about, but it's what is driven into bass anglers heads. Probably why the concept and technique is so difficult for most to grasp.

Starting to wonder if it isn't a good moderate to heavy current rig. To fish it slow like the original idea, a heavier head would be needed, so while the weight would be different from the original idea, the way it would be fished would be similar. We will see how it goes, this would be an easy decision if it didn't catch fish lol.

[WRB]

Pretty much goes against everything Midwest Finesse and the Ned rig is about, but it's what is driven into bass anglers heads. Probably why the concept and technique is so difficult for most to grasp.

Midwest finesse......that's interesting, out west we coined the term finesse fishing with 3 to 5 lb line and tiny bass lures.

Take a look at Do-It molds worm head jigs; 3/32 and 1/8 oz should work in deeper water and current.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

Midwest finesse......that's interesting, out west we coined the term finesse fishing with 3 to 5 lb line and tiny bass lures.

Take a look at Do-It molds worm head jigs; 3/32 and 1/8 oz should work in deeper water and current.

Tom

I have that mold in both versions, one with a collar and one without. I prefer the version without the collar for my Ned rigs, that one comes in 1/16 and 1/8oz. I use the 1/16oz size regardless of wind and depth though. Fishing a 1/16oz head in a 20mph wind is difficult, but with practice it can be done. I'd suggest doing a Google search and reading about Midwest Finesse Tactics a bit, it's pretty interesting. I'm 100% sure that it would work right along side your more traditional west coast finesse tactics also. 

[Cgolf]

Got 2 fish right away this morning hooked in the upper lip with a bit heavier jig, but as you can see in the picture not a heavyweight. Unfortunately it snagged a rock quickly and had to be broken off. I did fish it with no slack, so that probably helped too. Even with the bouyant plastic this thing sinks well, so need to stick to lighter weights than I use with tubes and other soft plastics. If the river isn't blown out tomorrow I will give the lighter jig another shot keeping the slack out of the line.

[Fishes in trees]

Read all of Ned's blogs on In-Fisherman.   He'd have you believe that finesse fishing didn't start on the west coast, didn't start on the highland reservoirs of Tennessee or Kentucky, no it started in and around eastern Kansas.

 

Me, I don't know.  I know that in the mid-70's I was reading about Slider Fishing in Fishing Facts magazine.  I was reading how "Lunker love Nightcrawlers" in Fishing facts magazine.  (a live bait, but still a true finesse approach)  I know that road runners were made in Missouri and that the Mar-Lynn company, which  made many of the baits that Harold Endsley used, was located in some KC suburb.

 

I don't know anything about the evolution of west coast finesse stuff, but what do I know, I didn't have even semi-regular access to a boat  until some time in the 80's.    At the time, I was a hippie pond fishing meat fisherman.

 

I think that it is possible that different minds, working on a similar problem in different areas, can come up with similar solutions to a fishing problem, with out very much cross pollination - information wise.

 

So, the notion of who came up with finesse fishing first & when,  begs the question , "Who cares?"

[Cgolf]

Read all of Ned's blogs on In-Fisherman.   He'd have you believe that finesse fishing didn't start on the west coast, didn't start on the highland reservoirs of Tennessee or Kentucky, no it started in and around eastern Kansas.

 

Me, I don't know.  I know that in the mid-70's I was reading about Slider Fishing in Fishing Facts magazine.  I was reading how "Lunker love Nightcrawlers" in Fishing facts magazine.  (a live bait, but still a true finesse approach)  I know that road runners were made in Missouri and that the Mar-Lynn company, which  made many of the baits that Harold Endsley used, was located in some KC suburb.

 

I don't know anything about the evolution of west coast finesse stuff, but what do I know, I didn't have even semi-regular access to a boat  until some time in the 80's.    At the time, I was a hippie pond fishing meat fisherman.

 

I think that it is possible that different minds, working on a similar problem in different areas, can come up with similar solutions to a fishing problem, with out very much cross pollination - information wise.

 

So, the notion of who came up with finesse fishing first & when,  begs the question , "Who cares?"

The slider book and lunkers love night crawlers are great books, I have both, and yup finesse ha been around along time. I think both are still available.

[WRB]

If you want to credit a bass angler for promoting light tackle fishing it should be Jason Lucas era 1950's. Jay was fishing editor of Sports Afield.

The term finesse fishing, to the best of my knowledge, was first published by George Kramer back in the mid 70's describing how Dick Trask and Don Iovino were winning local tournaments. Don learned how to split shot from Herb Curley who used this technique for decades before Trask and Iovino started winning tournaments.

Back to the topic, if you are using a 1/16 oz jig and increase that by 50% it would 3/32 and would affect the Ned rig (in current) as much as it would in calm water with no current, should be about equal.

I have used a nail weight rigged worm for decades, the nails weigh about 1/16 & 3/32 oz, the worms are 4 3/4" and 5 3/4" after cutting off 1/4" off the nose end.

I also split the tail end with a safety razor, the length of the blade by pushing the blade straight down. The hook is wacky rigged about 1" behind the nose end of the worm. Not a Neg rig, but works very good when the bite is tough.

Tom