Why I am a better ________ angler than you are!

[Sheepdog]

On 1/4/2016 at 9:38 AM, CarlF said:

Local fisheries are poorly managed for bass, and are highly pressured. Better fisheries are 1.5-6 hours away, requiring a full day commitment.

Hahaha! I got half way through your post and said to myself, "This guys sounds like he's from Utah!" Then I saw your info... had a good laugh. Spot on.

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm good at. Started the bass addiction one year ago. Now I'm stuck in a winter wonderland dreaming of some spring fishin.

[the reel ess]

On Tuesday, January 05, 2016 at 11:44 AM, Ratherbfishing said:

Making comparisons is precisely why I don't fish tourneys so, while others do enjoy this sort of thing, I'll abstain.

The point of this thread is not to brag about how we're better than others. It's more of a way for us to see what others are good at, that we might not be. But rather than saying "I suck at____", it comes form the other perspective, allowing others to tell us what they're good at. See, if you don't join, someone who isn't good at what you are good at will miss out on your knowledge.

[roadwarrior]

8 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

The point of this thread is not to brag about how we're better than others. It's more of a way for us to see what others are good at, that we might not be. But rather than saying "I suck at____", it comes form the other perspective, allowing others to tell us what they're good at. See, if you don't join, someone who isn't good at what you are good at will miss out on your knowledge.

Exactly...

 

[Catt]

11 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

The point of this thread is not to brag about how we're better than others. It's more of a way for us to see what others are good at, that we might not be. But rather than saying "I suck at____", it comes form the other perspective, allowing others to tell us what they're good at. See, if you don't join, someone who isn't good at what you are good at will miss out on your knowledge.

While I agree isn't saying I'm better at something than you bragging?

 

[Paul Roberts]

Semantics.

However, it is winter and cabin fever will be setting in. How things are worded is gonna matter more...and more. 

[Team9nine]

OK - I'll play along and contribute to this topic

Why I am a better "Ned Rig" angler than you are...

Let me first preface this by saying that the term "Ned Rig" is rather unfortunate. Kind of reminds me of the confusion around the spoonplug and "spoonplugging." While it may have been in use locally before then, the term "Ned Rig" doesn't appear anywhere on the internet until the summer of 2012. At that point, it is used to name "the bait" Ned is using, which in itself is already misleading. The term catches on, soon the thing blows up and gets bigger than life, ultimately leading to a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation being posted and written about. As such, most people "new to the party" haven't taken the time to research and understand the story behind the bait/name. Covering much of that in this post so you can understand what "Ned rigging" truly started out as will hopefully make you a better Ned Rig angler.

So to begin, let's clarify that the "Ned Rig" is technically not a bait but a specific philosophy or mindset of fishing called "Midwest finesse." It has its roots in the 1950s, in the heartland of America near Kansas City, initially with Chuck Woods, one of the fathers of finesse, as well as the creator of the  Beetle, Beetle Spin, Puddle Jumper, Texas-rigged jigworm, as well as a variety of other baits and ways to finesse bass. In addition to Woods, Ray Fincke, Drew Reese, Dwight Keefer, Harold Ensley, Gete & Guido Hibdon, Ted Green, Virgil Ward and Bill Ward all have played a part in its history. But it is Ned Kehde, long-time editor and contributor to In-Fisherman magazine that I believe first coined the term "Midwest finesse" for this style of fishing in order to distinguish these methods from the finesse techniques that are employed in Japan and the Western states, including such things as drop-shotting and shakyhead fishing.

After fishing some traditional bass clubs and events for nearly 2 decades in the 1980s and 1990s, Ned and a few other NE Kansas anglers grow weary of the typical tournament angling approach and results, especially with its emphasis on "power" baits, and begin to research and resurrect a form of finesse fishing based upon those local anglers mentioned previously and their methods. By late 2005, Ned has the basic outline of what we now call "Ned Rigging" all hammered out. He calls it Midwest finesse, and at its core, there are two basic tenets:

1. That the method and its adherents practice frugality, and;

2. Instead of catching big bass, its goal is to catch a lot of bass, 101 largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass on every four-hour outing specifically, and we jokingly call this 'bass fishing 101.'

The majority of the waterways around the Kansas City area are flatland impoundments, and as such they tend to be shallow water fisheries with stained water and abundant shoreline cover. Midwest finesse anglers spend a lot of time focusing on what Guido Hibdon used to call nothing-looking areas, and catching the majority of their fish in from 1 to 8 foot of water, and only rarely venturing into more than 12 feet of water.

We have found that the bass that inhabit these featureless areas are often overlooked by other anglers, and we also suspect that these bass are more active than the ones that are buried in brush or other objects. We also probe beds of submerged vegetation, such as coontail, bushy pondweed, milfoil, and curly-leaf pondweed, as well as the outside edges of patches of American water willows. Lastly, riprap and rocky shorelines, as well as shallow offshore rocky humps are common targets for Midwest finesse anglers during the course of the year. This is one of the big reasons for using small, non-weed-guarded jigs/hooks.

There are several other little known nuances with Midwest finesse as practiced by Ned. They include;

• Almost all of Ned's outings are 4 hours long and occur during the midday hours, such as 9 p.m. to 1 p.m., or 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is tied to a theory on oxygen and submerged vegetation, as well as comfort/convenience given his age.
• Standard finesse tackle revolves around six-foot, medium-action spinning rods that are fitted with medium-sized spinning reels. Ned uses $20 Shakespeare Synergy rods paired with 40 year old Cardinal 4 spinning reels, all with their bail arms removed. These reels are spooled with inexpensive 10-pound-test braid and a five-foot 8-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. After every season, the braid is tied to another reel and then rewound from one to the other, exposing all the fresh unused line underneath and assuring at least 2 years of use with every spool. Again, frugality is a virtue.
• Throughout the year we employ just three sizes of Gopher Tackles’ Mushroom Head Jigs: 1/32-ounce with a No. 6 hook, 1/16-ounce with a No. 4 hook, and 3/32-ounce with a No.2 hook.  The heads of the jigs are mostly painted red, chartreuse or blue. The 1/16-oz is most used, followed by the 1/32-oz. The 3/32-oz jigheads are used less than 10% of the time. Anything heavier, from 1/8-oz on up is considered "power finesse" and not used as part of the original system. It is hard to explain why the mushroom head is the best jighead to use with this technique, but Ned has tried most of them and settled on Gopher's mushroom. That jighead was originally given to him many years ago by Ron Lindner, as the mushroom head jig-worm was a staple in Minnesota and other natural lakes waters in the 1970s and 1980s.
• There are about 8 or 9 different Z-Man soft-plastic baits that account for about 85 percent of all the fish caught using Midwest finesse. Several other non-ElaZtech baits from YUM, Gene Larew Lures, Zoom and Strike King make up the remainder of the baits. At times, we also used marabou-tailed and wool/bucktail or tinseled-bodied 1/32-ounce and 1/16-ounce jigs.
• From Ned's experience, Z-Man’s ElaZtech finesse baits are the best soft-plastic finesse baits ever created. He finds that they elicit more strikes than any of the other soft-plastic baits. Furthermore, they are so durable that the same bait can be used to catch 150 or more bass, and as these lures become more worn and torn, they become even softer and catch more bass (frugality and efficiency). Another positive feature is that the well-worn ZinkerZ readily absorbs a scent, which Ned has used since 2011.
• There are now 6 "official" retrieves used with these lures:  swim and glide, hop and bounce, drag and dead stick, straight swim, drag and shake, and strolling.  Again, we rarely probe water deeper than 12 feet and prefer depths of one to eight feet – even in the dead of winter and heat of the summer.
• About ninety percent of the time, we shake our rods during the retrieve rather than holding them steady and implementing the do-nothing retrieve that Charlie Brewer of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, popularized decades ago, or the I-Motion tactic that some Japanese finesse anglers have recently discovered.  Sometimes the shakes are slight and intermittent, while at other times they are vigorous and constant. Shaking seems to help with getting more strikes in the stained waters we tend to fish. Shin Fukae is credited with both our coloring of jigheads (red, chartreuse, blue) as well as putting the "shake" into the basic retrieves. This happened after Ned spent a day in the boat with Shin back in 2006 at an event that Shin ended up winning, the same year KVD gave him (Ned) his first ElaZtech baits.
• One other very important aspect of Midwest finesse is what is termed the "no-feel" retrieve. Contrary to what you have likely read recently in various places, Midwest finesse anglers actually don't want to be able to feel their baits touching bottom. Most retrieves keep the bait off the bottom the majority of the time, and so using braid, along with the lightweight jigheads and the buoyancy of ElaZtech material assists in this effort. It is also the reason why "cheap" rods are perfectly fine with this technique. Standing up on its nose while resting might provide some benefit at times, but is NOT the primary reason for using ElaZtech baits. If you insist on using heavier heads and NRX-type rods so you can "feel the bite," you have a misunderstanding of the original technique (that's not to say they won't work, obviously).
• We prefer to make short 35-foot casts, mostly perpendicular to the bank. Shorter casts provide greater control and are usually not an issue in the stained flatland reservoirs we fish.

As more and more people use the "Ned Rig" you will read about more and more variations and riggings and retrieves that others will espouse. These likely all work to some degree, or might even be necessary depending upon the waters being fished. However, the important point to keep in mind is what formed the basis for all the interest and where/how all these variations came from, and that is the basic Midwest finesse foundation written above and still practiced by "hardcore" Ned-riggers like myself.

Hopefully this write-up will give everyone a little better understanding of the technique and the bait as developed, practiced and espoused by Ned.

-T9

[the reel ess]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

While I agree isn't saying I'm better at something than you bragging?

 

It would be if we really meant it. But look how many people have made the admission that they probably aren't better than the rest. I did.

[Paul Roberts]

Brian, just plain, Wow! Great write-up on MWF.

[soflabasser]

22 hours ago, bigbill said:

Fishing from a boat you maybe better than me but I mainly fish from shore. I can gun and run to different areas or different places to fish in a few minutes no boat to move. Shore fishing is a lot tougher than using a boat. I'll never make a pro status fishing from shore. I leave my ego at home and just fish against myself. I challenge myself to do better on every outing. Four months to the start date. Three months to grease the reels and add new line.

im the only fishing nut out there at 4am. Watching the sun come up everyday is priceless.

 

I agree with you that fishing from the shore is much more difficult than fishing on a boat. Anyone can get a big bass from a boat but very few bass fishermen can catch a +10 pound bass from a highly pressured lake from the shore.

[Catt]

32 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

Brian, just plain, Wow! Great write-up in MWF.

I agree 100%

Being a Southern Boy I fully remember the argument between the Redneck Bubba Bass fishermen (broom handle rods, stout lines, heavy weights, & big baits) and the Sissy Bass fisherman (buggy whip rods, light lines, small weights, & tiny baits).

Now you'll find both baitcasting & spinning setups on the deck of most everyone's boat, well the smart ones will have em!

[bigbill]

I'm not better, I'm a decent fisherman. It's all about staying focused and motivated.

[the reel ess]

9 hours ago, bigbill said:

I'm not better, I'm a decent fisherman. It's all about staying focused and motivated.

Right. The BEST way to get better is to practice. My secret: I try harder than most, but not all, are willing to. I've learned the most on days when it wasn't working and I had to adjust or experiment to get a bite. And often it was at the very end of a 4-and-a-half hour trip that it became successful because I finally threw the kitchen sink at them.

[WRB]

I chose the title to spark some participation discussing bass fishing that otherwise may not be shared. Everyone is good at something, none of us are good at everything regarding bass fishing skills. It's the season to sit back and share something that may help your fellow bass anglers. 

If you are sitting back in the shadows, come out and join in. I know Glenn is better at making bass technique specific videos than anyone else!

Tom

[deep]

I'll pretend Dwight isn't a member and talk a little about jerkbaits. While I spend most of my time bottom bumping swimbaits, jigs and plastics, for me jerkbaits are a fun way to catch a lot of (mostly small) bass. Plus I seem to catch a lot of wrong species on them too, and that's pretty neat.

Anyway, while depth and speed are the two big factors (in addition to location of course), in the few waters I fish, with jerkbaits, action seems to matter a fair amount.

I guess 90% of my jerkbaits are Lucky Crafts. That's the brand I started with, and I still have the most confidence in. I did *discover* the 110 this last summer, but we'll see how that goes. I am not sure if Lucky Craft has a high-action slow-riser in their lineup.

So, talking about action. I fish 4 baits that go down to the 4-5 feet zone, and stays there. The Pointer 100, Pointer 112, Pointer 95, and for the last few weeks the 110 FX Tour. Each of these have a different sound, and act differently. (How well do you know your baits?)

Colder water I'm usually starting with the 112; warmer, the 100. Seems to me the 112 has a tighter action than the 100. If all else fails and it's cold, I try the 95. Different attitude while suspended too. Sound might have something to do with it though. Not sure. I wish they made each of these baits in a high pitch, low pitch, and a silent version.

One bait that I feel is a shallower counterpart to the 112 is the 110 flashminnow. I think Hooligan turned me onto these. Very underrated bait, and for whatever reason, everything in my waters love it.

Going down deeper into the column, I have my staysees, live-leviathan and the Pointer XD. Among the three I like the Leviathan the best. You can give it a quick pop while suspended and it sort of rears up. Difficult to explain. Also, you don't fish the DD jerkbaits with a jerking retrieve. I find it better to sweep and pause.

Even with shallower baits, if the jerk pause deal isn't working, I'll actually sweep and pause if I want to catch some jerkbait fish. Seems to work especially well with the flashminnow and the 112.

[bigbill]

What skills we learn at one body of water applies to every other new place we fish at. We must never get caught up with one bait. Put that one bait we mastered in the Arsenal then continue to learn new baits and different presentations. Actually presentations is the key to success. Don't get hung up one one color. A certain color may catch a few fish another color may load the boat.

i don't have all the answers but get into the zone when fishing. Don't think of things at home or work, don't talk, it's you and the fish. It's skill that catches fish not luck. Luck is for the casino.

[J Francho]

On 1/6/2016 at 2:29 PM, Paul Roberts said:

You know, I still like flashers -truly.

I like a working flasher, too.  It's what I learned on.  There's really nothing as fast.  The RTS bar on H'birds is close, but still not the same.

[Paul Roberts]

It's what I learned on too. I picked it up really quickly since I already knew what to expect down there. I had an understanding and feel for landscapes and water bodies, and knew fish species and how they generally behaved so -to be fair- I could make pretty good guesses at what I was seeing. The machines were simple -set the gain on known bottom and watch the dial. Those flashes simply meant stuff to me.

[Catt]

I like the way Team9nine put it, "the Ned Rig is technically not a bait but a specific philosophy, or mind set of fishing"!

It takes a rare breed of fishermen using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch bass!

Anglers often respond to failure & frustration by over-complicating theory & technique. As much as it helps our ego to regard a difficult task as complex, this type of thinking is often the biggest obstacle between you & your fishing success.

Tackle manufacturers have built a multimillion dollar industry by knowing bass anglers are a gullible crowd when you simply appeal to their belief "it's the tackle not the angler"!

[corn-on-the-rob]

38 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

It's what I learned on too. I picked it up really quickly since I already knew what to expect down there. I had an understanding and feel for landscapes and water bodies, and knew fish species and how they generally behaved so -to be fair- I could make pretty good guesses at what I was seeing. The machines were simple -set the gain on known bottom and watch the dial. Those flashes simply meant stuff to me.

I as well. As a younger angler I am glad I got to learn on it in order to have a good understanding of bottom layout and content. Most other guys my age that jump in my boat have no clue what that "red flashy light" is.

[Paul Roberts]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

I like the way Team9nine put it, "the Ned Rig is technically not a bait but a specific philosophy, or mind set of fishing"!

It takes a rare breed of fishermen using simple techniques to perfection to consistently catch bass!

Anglers often respond to failure & frustration by over-complicating theory & technique. As much as it helps our ego to regard a difficult task as complex, this type of thinking is often the biggest obstacle between you & your fishing success.

Tackle manufacturers have built a multimillion dollar industry by knowing bass anglers are a gullible crowd when you simply appeal to their belief "it's the tackle not the angler"!

Agreed, and well put. But... easy for you to say!  Simplifying isn't an easy, or quick-n-dirty road. 

[everythingthatswims]

I'm a better buzzbait fisherman than you because I fish from a kayak. The difference between having a buzzbait paralleled within a foot of the bank or a piece of structure *cover*  versus throwing straight at it and bringing it back out is huge. I can cover hundreds of yards of bank while staying within a rods length of the bank the whole time, this has produced lots and lots of fish for me. I fish my buzzbait exactly how I do with my big swimbaits, giving the bass something to pin it against. It works!

[the reel ess]

12 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

I'm a better buzzbait fisherman than you because I fish from a kayak. The difference between having a buzzbait paralleled within a foot of the bank or a piece of structure *cover*  versus throwing straight at it and bringing it back out is huge. I can cover hundreds of yards of bank while staying within a rods length of the bank the whole time, this has produced lots and lots of fish for me. I fish my buzzbait exactly how I do with my big swimbaits, giving the bass something to pin it against. It works!

Something I like about the buzzbait is that most curve and you can aim it at a tree, stick, rock, pier piling, etc. to entice a strike.

[clh121787]

On 1/8/2016 at 7:48 PM, soflabasser said:

I agree with you that fishing from the shore is much more difficult than fishing on a boat. Anyone can get a big bass from a boat but very few bass fishermen can catch a +10 pound bass from a highly pressured lake from the shore.

Maybe. But catching large fish from shore can also be easier in my opinion. Because you have stealth on your side. No electronics clicking no trolling motor buzzing. But from a covering water stand point or having to fish elbow to elbow with others really makes things difficult

[hawgenvy]

I've generally done better from shore, fishing small local waters, usually in the evening after work. I think the key is having access to ponds you can't drop a boat into, and locating nearby places few people fish. I caught twenty bass in an hour three days ago from shore on a little blue Horny Toad, and all day in a boat on Lake Okeechobee yesterday with only a handful of bites. Then this evening I fished for ten minutes on a residential pond right behind my friends' house, caught a feisty 3 1/2 pound bass on a swimbait, then strolled back inside the house and feasted with my wife and friends on New Orleans-style barbecued shrimp, French bread, and beer. How can you beat that?

[soflabasser]

2 hours ago, clh121787 said:

Maybe. But catching large fish from shore can also be easier in my opinion. Because you have stealth on your side. No electronics clicking no trolling motor buzzing. But from a covering water stand point or having to fish elbow to elbow with others really makes things difficult

     It all depends on where you fish!I caught a +10 pound bass from a highly pressured lake from land not that long ago.This is a public lake where hundreds if not thousands of people fish every year and most never get a bass over 5 pounds from.People have even talked to me while I was fishing this lake and told me that I was wasting my time there!!!Those fisherman have very little patience and patience is something I have in very large amounts .I could only imagine fishing that lake with a boat with a fish finder,it would make it so much easier to get more big bass!

A boat with a fish finder makes it much easier for a bass fisherman to reach and fish a good spot,there is no denying this fact!These spots see less fisherman so the bass in these spots are much easier to catch compared to a spot a shore based bass fishermen and boat bass fisherman fish from.One exception to this is fishing golf course ponds that few people fish.These golf course ponds are full of big,stupid bass that will bite anything that moves in front of their face.So in this situation fishing on a boat in a public lake is far more challenging than fishing in a golf course pond.