Ned Rig: Alternatives to the TRD

[Ads7633]

So I picked up the Ned Rig last summer and had great results! However I was wondering if anyone has had a lot of or better success on alternative soft plastics attached to the Jig Head? So far I have only used TRD's and cut in half Senkos. 

[tander]

I have tried other baits but to me, you can't beat the TRD and cut in half Zinkerz. Senkos will work but not as effective.

[stkbassn]

Why look for an alternative to the TRD on that mushroom head when it's already a proven success? I  personally like the idea of having that specific  head and using a specific bait with it(TRD) so I don't have to drive myself crazy with different options and think something else might be the key. It helps me focus on what I'm doing more than what I'm using. That said, I have not heard of a better bait for this particular jig head as of yet.

[Ads7633]

10 minutes ago, stkbassn said:

Why look for an alternative to the TRD on that mushroom head when it's already a proven success? I  personally like the idea of having that specific  head and using a specific bait with it(TRD) so I don't have to drive myself crazy with different options and think something else might be the key. It helps me focus on what I'm doing more than what I'm using. That said, I have not heard of a better bait for this particular jig head as of yet.

You make a good point. It definitely takes the guesswork out of it. Do you have a favorite color? 

[Team9nine]

42 minutes ago, Ads7633 said:

So I picked up the Ned Rig last summer and had great results! However I was wondering if anyone has had a lot of or better success on alternative soft plastics attached to the Jig Head? So far I have only used TRD's and cut in half Senkos. 

Of course there are. Even Ned himself rotates through about 10 different soft plastic baits fished on the Gopher heads. The Finesse ShadZ and Finesse WormZ are both really good, as are Hula StickZ. In the late spring, two of my favorites are the tiny brush hog and the Zoom 4" lizard. I also use the Zoom finesse worm a lot. One other bait I've had good luck with is the Erie Darter Jr., but it unfortunately doesn't have the durability to last more than a few fish, which is a slight negative.

Don't go crazy, but don't limit yourself either.

-T9  

[stkbassn]

2 hours ago, Ads7633 said:

You make a good point. It definitely takes the guesswork out of it. Do you have a favorite color? 

My favorite is probably Coppertreuse but I like all of the one's I have.  I have Coppertreuse, Green Pumpkin Orange, California Craw, Junebug, and The Deal. Those I felt covered almost every type of water situation I would encounter. As someone else said, you don't have to limit yourself to the TRD but for me it's better that way. If I'm not catching any on the TRD then I just pick up another bait entirely. For my sanity I can't have a ton of finesse choices for that one head. The cool thing about this is it isn't expensive or hard to fish and you can catch fish with it anywhere. That was the appeal for me at least!

[Cgolf]

I have the split tail trailer rigged up to try next year, it looks awesome in the water, unfortunately the fish had moved to wintering holes on the river so I didn't get to see how it attracted fish. I also got the 7" finesse wormz on the 25 days sale and cut them in half and they look like they will be good too.

[Master Bait'r]

Z Man also makes a really nice tiny craw too.  Turbo craw was it??  Give them a try, they work great!  

[primetime]

I sometimes use a small 4" Ring worm if I want more tail action but it is hard to beat the Z-man baits....They make so many good options and the TRD or half a Zinker/Zero is a good choice as are the tubes, Trout Trick, or zman finesse worms and they have 2 good craws..Punch & Turbo I think....Once the salt comes off any Z-man bait they work really good and start to have that "breathing action"...I would stick with Z-man baits but any plastic with rings will also be bouyant and give you a nice slow fall while standing upright..

I know the Midwest guys use the Larew ho daddy which is a small ringed brush hog...I saw a video on you tube of a guy using the ZMAN batswing trailer alone and it looked good in the tank...ZMAN baits are good, so are the Strike King Zero baits..Both are the same....I soak the baits with salt in Gulp overnight to get it out, it saves time if using a Zinker...

I also still use the slider worms and slider grubs and have been experimenting with many baits, but when it counts I go with a Zinkerz....Once that salt is gone they float really well. Plus they get better as the day goes along.

[fishwizzard]

I have had more luck with the Hula Stickz then with either the TRD or half of a zlinker.  I also don't usually glue mine to the jig so that while fishing I can remove it and rig it wacky on the same jig.  The HS has a insanely life like action when wacky rigged on a light jig, exactly like a flashing minnow. 

This spring I am going to try some of the zman finesse shads (caught a few nice pickerel with them last fall) and the small sized batwing craws.  I am also going to keep my second finesse rod rigged up with a slider head/finesse worm on it.  I haven't had much luck trying to make a weedless Ned so I am going to see if the slider works. 

[Cgolf]

3 hours ago, primetime said:

I sometimes use a small 4" Ring worm if I want more tail action but it is hard to beat the Z-man baits....They make so many good options and the TRD or half a Zinker/Zero is a good choice as are the tubes, Trout Trick, or zman finesse worms and they have 2 good craws..Punch & Turbo I think....Once the salt comes off any Z-man bait they work really good and start to have that "breathing action"...I would stick with Z-man baits but any plastic with rings will also be bouyant and give you a nice slow fall while standing upright..

I know the Midwest guys use the Larew ho daddy which is a small ringed brush hog...I saw a video on you tube of a guy using the ZMAN batswing trailer alone and it looked good in the tank...ZMAN baits are good, so are the Strike King Zero baits..Both are the same....I soak the baits with salt in Gulp overnight to get it out, it saves time if using a Zinker...

I also still use the slider worms and slider grubs and have been experimenting with many baits, but when it counts I go with a Zinkerz....Once that salt is gone they float really well. Plus they get better as the day goes along.

I use the slider heads a ton and was going to pair one with a 1/2 Zinkerz and see how it works. Kind of a cool thing pairing an old school finesse rig with the new school finesse rig. 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

On 2/4/2016 at 10:51 AM, Ads7633 said:

So I picked up the Ned Rig last summer and had great results! However I was wondering if anyone has had a lot of or better success on alternative soft plastics attached to the Jig Head? So far I have only used TRD's and cut in half Senkos. 

Hoping to have success.

I will be using a 2" Keitech Swing Impact Easy Shiner on a 1/20-1/10-1/5 ned head.

1/20 head shown

 

[MIbassyaker]

I have some Powerbait Twitchtail minnows that I plan to try on mushroom head. People usually use them for dropshot, but I bet they would make a good ned rig body.

[Cgolf]

54 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

I have some Powerbait Twitchtail minnows that I plan to try on mushroom head. People usually use them for dropshot, but I bet they would make a good ned rig body.

I tried them at the end of the season and got a few smallies on them, they are in the box for next year. They look pretty good on a jig. 

[primetime]

3 hours ago, cgolf said:

I use the slider heads a ton and was going to pair one with a 1/2 Zinkerz and see how it works. Kind of a cool thing pairing an old school finesse rig with the new school finesse rig. 

The Slider Jig heads have that glide which the Mushroom head does not offer and I kind of like that action sometimes. I use the Slider heads for the "Ned Rig" and they work fine, have not noticed much difference compared to the mushroom style, I tend to find that 1/16 is usually best if not windy and the key is often making sure the hook is not too heavy or big which kills the action. I have been experimenting with making a weedless TRD rig to fish in areas I would throw a jig or texas rig and I have been able to float a 3" Zinker when salt is gone on a 1/16 boxer jig. (I just cut 2 pieces and never even) with a finesse style worm hook #1 or #2, and then just crimp a 1/32 or 1/16 oz bull shot right on the nose so it is the same as a pegged weight. It stands perfectly, if you want a ball head just texas rig with light wire hook, and crimp a round split shot and it stands it straight up once the salt is gone...

I have been having so much fun experimenting with this rig and it actually works really well on a weedless worm hook if you keep the "Principles and concepts" in play. I saw a video of a midwest angler who was doing a tutorial for Z-man and he was using 10lb copolymer line tied to braid, so that is not a light finesse rig imo..This is bass fishing...10lb copoly can land fish in most situations if you have a place to steer them or go grab em...#10 is usually more like #15 so I guess my point is this super light weight finesse style whether Ned or Brewer, can be altered to fish any style. Its the Elaztach that does something different and I have watched fish in the ponds by my place react to a zinker vs. a regular worm and it is usually different. The material on the ZMAN baits after worn in get's spongy and it looks like it is breathing, I get bit if I just let it soak and barely move it...I have not used the Hula stick..I just take a Razor and cut the end of a Zinker into a tube...Works good on a big senko as well for added action...I stole the idea from somebody else.....

[Bluebasser86]

On 2/5/2016 at 8:36 PM, MIbassyaker said:

I have some Powerbait Twitchtail minnows that I plan to try on mushroom head. People usually use them for dropshot, but I bet they would make a good ned rig body.

This was my original "Ned" before I knew what a Ned Rig was. It's still one of my go to rigs for walleyes when they're up shallow. 

[Cgolf]

There is a new worm coming on the market that they said was sumilar in diameter to a roboworm and they thought it was too skinny for a jig. Well I put a roboworm on a jig and really like the looks of it, now I can finally try the 3 bags I bought years ago, and will also be picking up some of the new worm. Thinking it would be great in current, just need to decide if I shorten it a bit?

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

17 hours ago, cgolf said:

There is a new worm coming on the market that they said was sumilar in diameter to a roboworm and they thought it was too skinny for a jig. Well I put a roboworm on a jig and really like the looks of it, now I can finally try the 3 bags I bought years ago, and will also be picking up some of the new worm. Thinking it would be great in current, just need to decide if I shorten it a bit?

 

 

The Zman Finesse worm with about an inch cut off is a great Ned Rig bait. It was my second best option last year behind the traditional TRD/Zinker option.

[Bankbeater]

I like the BPS Stik-o in the 3" size.  I t-rig it with a 1/0 EWG hook.  When I get out on the lake I look for a weeds with a deep hole in the middle,  drop the bait in, and let it sink.

[Cgolf]

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

The Zman Finesse worm with about an inch cut off is a great Ned Rig bait. It was my second best option last year behind the traditional TRD/Zinker option.

I picked up the 7" finesse worm on the 25 days sale, split it in half. Hoping that it will do good once the river warms up and the fish get active again. We do have catch and release trout open right now, thinking this combo may be good for that.

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, cgolf said:

I picked up the 7" finesse worm on the 25 days sale, split it in half. Hoping that it will do good once the river warms up and the fish get active again. We do have catch and release trout open right now, thinking this combo may be good for that.

"Bass fishing for trout", is a frequently used term to describe using a Ned rig to purposefully target stocked trout in the local lakes around here. It isn't the best numbers technique, but it does well to target larger fish. 

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

"Bass fishing for trout", is a frequently used term to describe using a Ned rig to purposefully target stocked trout in the local lakes around here. It isn't the best numbers technique, but it does well to target larger fish. 

Got a lot this fall including this skinny 21" Brown. It is a lot of fun when you got a shot for both big smallies and browns when fishing the same run or lake. 

[ChrisD46]

I bought the smaller 2.75"  Z-Man BatwingZ to try on the Ned (I read about it on a Mid-West Finesse forum) .

[Choporoz]

I'd come to understand that Ned means elaztech.  If you aren't using elaztech....well, what's the difference between Ned and shaky?

[Team9nine]

3 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I'd come to understand that Ned means elaztech.  If you aren't using elaztech....well, what's the difference between Ned and shaky?

Not quite... Elaztech is great because it lasts so long, so it is both frugal and efficient. Remember, 101 bass in 4 hours is the goal, and if you can use just a single bait to catch those 100 bass, you have achieved the ultimate level of frugality and efficiency. The fact that it so buoyant is a nice side benefit, though. That said, not every effective bait shape comes in Elaztech material, so in those cases we have to use other companies baits. Some are better than others in regards to durability and how well they fish on the mushroom head.

Shakey is what Ned terms "power finesse." Most shakey head users start at 1/8-oz and go up - too heavy for purist Ned rigging. Ned starts at 3/32nd and goes down, attempting to achieve "no-feel" retrieves, not to mention small open hooks, shallow water, etc.. Definitely different.

-T9