Hook set for Midwest finesse / Ned Rig fishing

[bendem]

So I'm essentially a newb with fishing. Today I was out for a bit working on the Midwest finesse approach. I felt a couple good bites but wasn't able to bring anything in. Would appreciate any guidance regarding setting the hook.

Regarding the hook set and finesse fishing, mostly I've heard that it's pretty subtle, and that's what it was like when I caught my first largemouth a few weeks ago. At that time, it took me a while to even register I had something on the line.

When I got my first bite today, I just tried to keep the pressure on the line and guide him in similar to last time. But he let go after a couple seconds. When I got my second bite a few minutes later, I figured I'd be more aggressive and give him a good sweep. This time I got to play with him a little longer, maybe five seconds. But he still got away.

Have any suggestions for a newbie as to the best way to set the hook with the the Ned rig approach?

Here's my set up: I'm using a Pflueger Trion rod and reel combo. The rod is 6'6" with medium power, and the reel is spooled with Power Pro Spectra 10# with a five foot leader of Yo-Zuri Hybrid 8#. Today's bites were on a Super Finesse worm on a Z-Man 1/15 oz Finesse ShroomZ jig with the hook's barb removed.

Thanks!

[Molay1292]

Keep a file on hand and keep the hooks sharp, with the hooks always being exposed they can become dull faster than a guy thinks.

[Fisher-O-men]

That removed barb is your problem.  If you are going to go barbless, you must keep pressure on the fish, no slack line!  That means to always have a bend in your rod and try to keep the fish from jumping.

Those thin wire hooks need very little hook set; some but not much.

[Bass Turd]

Sometimes the fish just doesn't get the jig head and hook in their mouth and you play them with the worm for a bit until they decide to let go. Each fish you catch or don't catch adds to your greater knowledge. Keep at it. One question though... Why do you debarb the hooks?

[Bluebasser86]

I like a little lighter rod than what you're using, but you should still be okay with what you have.

My preferred hookset is either to just lift into the fish like with a dropshot, or just reel into them. Either way works well with no stretch line and light, sharp hooks. 

[OddChase]

Welcome to the forums and welcome to the world of the Ned. As others mentioned, fishing barbless requires a bit more concentration when fighting a fish. Additionally, Midwest Finesse (commercially called the Ned Rig) has the ability to attract strikes from all species of fish. When you feel a bite it could be a bluegill just biting the tail of your worm. Just yesterday I managed to catch a sunfish the was just barely longer than the TRD I was using! 

As for hookset, I generally just start reeling in, the thin hook can get set pretty easily in most fish mouths. Good luck and tight lines. 

[bendem]

Thanks very much for all the feedback.

Re. sharpening my hooks, that's something good for me to keep in mind. Haven't picked up a hook file yet but will do that.

Re. my rod selection, like what was mentioned, I wouldn't be surprised if a medium light rod might help me a bit more than my current medium rod. When I pick up my next rod, I'll look to go that route.

Lastly, re. the barbless hooks, I had read that a lot of the Midwest finesse / Ned Rig anglers use them because they are easier on the fish, and I understand it requires additional skill to keep the fish hooked up without the barbs. As a new angler, maybe I'm making things more difficult than I should by going without barbs at this point.

Thanks again for the tips. Appreciate it!

[Hot Rod Johnson]

On 9/23/2016 at 4:14 PM, bendem said:

So I'm essentially a newb with fishing. Today I was out for a bit working on the Midwest finesse approach. I felt a couple good bites but wasn't able to bring anything in. Would appreciate any guidance regarding setting the hook.

Regarding the hook set and finesse fishing, mostly I've heard that it's pretty subtle, and that's what it was like when I caught my first largemouth a few weeks ago. At that time, it took me a while to even register I had something on the line.

When I got my first bite today, I just tried to keep the pressure on the line and guide him in similar to last time. But he let go after a couple seconds. When I got my second bite a few minutes later, I figured I'd be more aggressive and give him a good sweep. This time I got to play with him a little longer, maybe five seconds. But he still got away.

Have any suggestions for a newbie as to the best way to set the hook with the the Ned rig approach?

Here's my set up: I'm using a Pflueger Trion rod and reel combo. The rod is 6'6" with medium power, and the reel is spooled with Power Pro Spectra 10# with a five foot leader of Yo-Zuri Hybrid 8#. Today's bites were on a Super Finesse worm on a Z-Man 1/15 oz Finesse ShroomZ jig with the hook's barb removed.

Thanks!

Take a peak at this link it may be of some help. Good luck fishing the "Ned Rig"

How To Fish The “Ned Rig”

Once you’ve got the Ned rigged, the rest is easy as it can be effectively fished in almost any hard cover situation, as long as it’s fished on slack line.

Dynamite spots to fish the Ned are around points, bluff banks, boat docks, rip rap, and anywhere bass tend to hang out.

Once you’ve found a likely spot, just throw the Ned out there and let it sink on a slack line. Watch as it falls for the telltale ‘tick’ that indicates a fish. Often you won’t see any indication of a fish biting, but when you reel up to move the bait, there will be a fish on.

Despite its ease to fish, there is one thing that anglers should know when fishing the Ned rig, and it’s that you shouldn’t set the hook traditionally. The tiny gap on the hook has a tendency to pull out of the bass’ mouth if you really jerk on it. Instead, just lean in and start reeling once you feel the bite. It seems crazy, but the fish will hook themselves.

 

[IndianaFinesse]

9 hours ago, OddChase said:

Welcome to the forums and welcome to the world of the Ned. As others mentioned, fishing barbless requires a bit more concentration when fighting a fish. Additionally, Midwest Finesse (commercially called the Ned Rig) has the ability to attract strikes from all species of fish. When you feel a bite it could be a bluegill just biting the tail of your worm. Just yesterday I managed to catch a sunfish the was just barely longer than the TRD I was using! 

As for hookset, I generally just start reeling in, the thin hook can get set pretty easily in most fish mouths. Good luck and tight lines. 

2 hours ago, Hot Rod Johnson said:

Despite its ease to fish, there is one thing that anglers should know when fishing the Ned rig, and it’s that you shouldn’t set the hook traditionally. The tiny gap on the hook has a tendency to pull out of the bass’ mouth if you really jerk on it. Instead, just lean in and start reeling once you feel the bite. It seems crazy, but the fish will hook themselves.

This.  It took me a long time to figure out that using traditional hooksets with tiny hooks don't work, so instead I usually just reel quickly and lift the rod up higher.

[d-camarena]

Quick question? Why do you remove the barb?

[IndianaFinesse]

9 hours ago, d-camarena said:

Quick question? Why do you remove the barb?

 

17 hours ago, bendem said:

Lastly, re. the barbless hooks, I had read that a lot of the Midwest finesse / Ned Rig anglers use them because they are easier on the fish, and I understand it requires additional skill to keep the fish hooked up without the barbs. As a new angler, maybe I'm making things more difficult than I should by going without barbs at this point.

Thanks again for the tips. Appreciate it!

 

[d-camarena]

I guess he answered his question in his post.

[snake95]

I have had problems with keeping fish on Shroomz hooks too.  Tough enough with the barb.  Check out the recent thread below.  Based on my experience, I think the most helpful information was that these particular hooks can dull quickly.  Honestly I haven't spent enough time acting on the advice to file them (I've mostly been fishing different methods since I put up the post), but I feel like that was the main problem for me.  Otherwise you and I are close to the recommended equipment and methods.

Obviously, barbed vs barbless doesn't matter if your hook is dull.

 

 

[Glenn]

I demonstrate how to set the hook on a 3-pounder in this video.

 

[bendem]

Thanks for the additional feedback and video suggestions. I had watched them both previously but am watching them again. Need to give them some more attention so they sink in. For what it's worth, I went back to the same spot on Saturday and extracted my revenge from the previous day!  ;-)  At least I was able to land a bitty-sized bass. He may have been the one who I couldn't hook the day before. 

[j bab]

I absolutely smoked the fish in a pond yesterday on a ned rig. They were all small, but I caught over 20. At first I was using a 6'6" ML with 6lb line, but I found out that the tip was damaged and it was fraying my line, so I switched to my 5'6" UL with 4lb line because it's what I had and the fish were small (1lb at the largest) so who cares. 

When I got bit I did a classic hookset. Reeled the slack down and jacked em. I lost very few fish. None of this sweep or reel into them stuff. However, it could be because I was using such light gear, I don't know.

[Bluebasser86]

10 hours ago, j bab said:

I absolutely smoked the fish in a pond yesterday on a ned rig. They were all small, but I caught over 20. At first I was using a 6'6" ML with 6lb line, but I found out that the tip was damaged and it was fraying my line, so I switched to my 5'6" UL with 4lb line because it's what I had and the fish were small (1lb at the largest) so who cares. 

When I got bit I did a classic hookset. Reeled the slack down and jacked em. I lost very few fish. None of this sweep or reel into them stuff. However, it could be because I was using such light gear, I don't know.

Yeah, that wouldn't go well with the equipment the OP is using. I've seen a lot of broken lines and bent hooks using a traditional hookset with a Ned rig on braid. It works fine with mono or fluoro though because of the stretch. 

[fishwizzard]

I fish a ned barbless most of the time I wade for smallies and have fallen into a kinda weird hookset pattern.  I have found that if I set the hook, either via sweep or overhead, as soon as the bass has the lure, I will pull it out of it's mouth a lot of the time.  What I have worked out is to reel down quickly to remove all slack, then let the bass run for maybe 5-6', then, if I still have good tension on the line, give a hard sweep set.  I use a 6' ML rod loaded with braid/floro leader.  

I have no idea why this works, but I rarely fail to make a hookset this way.  Keeping the fish on is another story, but I like the added challenge barbless fishing give, especially on river smallies. 

An other advantage is that if the fish drops the lure during the first little run, it is still in the strike zone and many times it will get hit again on the same cast.