Decided to try the Ned rig today...I thought this didn't produce big fish;)

[NCbassraider]

Quick trip to BPS then a little Ned rig fishing from the shore late today.  Caught a couple little rats then this big girl.  3lbs, 7oz.  I'll be putting the boat in tomorrow and  be bringing one Ned rigged rod for sure!

[ScottK91]

I caught a 5.5lb largemouth this past year on the Ned rig. Along with countless other bass. It was definitely 1 of my top producing baits this past year. Nice fish too by the way. And I wouldn't leave home without he Ned rig anymore if I was you. There is a great article on the Ned rig this month in bassmaster magazine if you get a chance to check it out  

[OCdockskipper]

I keep a log for all the fishing I do on my home lake and for the 2nd year in a row, the Ned rig was my top producer (I first used it April of 2015, so it is 2 for 2 as yearly chanp).  Zman Shroomz heads fitted with TRD's, Hula Stickz or Finesse Shadz accounted for 34% of the bass I caught, outproducing the number 2 & 3 baits combined (Stickbaits & Texas rigged worms).  In addition to numbers, they produced the second largest bass of the year (8 lbs even), a couple of big catfish (14-6 & 11-2) and even a 7 lb carp.

 

Despite all that, after I read the BassMaster article this month featuring Ned himself, I think I still have a lot to learn about the system.  I get a little too caught up in only fishing one of the Ned versions while out or only fishing it a certain way (usually hop & shake).  As great as this bait & system has been for me personally, I get the feeling that I am only picking off the low hanging fruit and that there are a lot more fish out there for the taking if I expanded my repertoire.

 

 I know some folks think the Ned rig is nothing more than a grub on a small jig head, but the nuances of the baits & the system make all the difference in the world.  I would highly recommend following the advice given by those who have refined the system and as opposed to just throwing together what you think would work and then wondering what all the fuss is about when your results are not above average.

[j bab]

You'd be crazy to think small baits can't catch big fish

[Raul]

3 hours ago, j bab said:

You'd be crazy to think small baits can't catch big fish

 

My first 10+ caught with a Rapala Original Minnow size 9 which is not exactly large, my PB ( 6.6 kg = 14.52 lbs ) caught with a Rapala Shad Rap size 7. Sure, small baits do catch fish, not the kind of baits that would be my first pick to go after the biguns.

[smalljaw67]

Nobody ever said the Ned rig doesn't catch big fish. What is said is that the majority of fish you'll catch will be of the smaller variety. Beautiful fish by the way!!!! If you take a 1/2oz jig and compare the average size of fish you catch on that in a season versus the Ned rig I wouldn't be afraid to bet the jig produces larger fish on average, but it is meant to do that because the rig is more of a numbers type presentation. Now, you can do exactly what you are doing, and that is using it at a time of year where the numbers of fish caught go down but the average size goes up, or you can use larger baits which also helps but day in and day out you'll catch small to average size fish most of the time. The beauty of the Ned rig is that it will catch so many fish that it is inevitable that you'll eventually get a big fish and it is because it appeals to every size fish unlike a large jig or big crankbait. Another neat thing is watching the masters of the Ned rig, if you saw the In-Fisherman article by Ned Kehde, he talks about a guy from W. Virginia that takes a 1/20oz 'Shroomz head and files down the head to make it 1/32oz and he uses only baits from 2.5" to 3", and that guy catches large fish as well.

[Bluebasser86]

Elephants eat peanuts and big fish eat a Ned rig. I've caught largemouth over 6, smallmouth to almost 5 pounds, channel cats over 10, and flatheads over 20 on a Ned. It looks so helpless that fish of all sizes can't help but eat it.

[N Florida Mike]

I went and got the TRD bait at Wal Mart.But they didn't have the jig heads.So I used a split shot.First cast caught one.Then I went out and only caught 1 more .Finally started fishing a  senko and began catching fish.I thought maybe they didn't like the color or the lack of jig head was why.The TRD bait seemed so much stiffer compared to the senko.

 

[Cgolf]

Small baits do catch big fish, and to be honest the more pressure the waters see can drive this too. We really see it up here with Musky, probably the most pressured fish on my waters, where the big fish are hitting bass baits as much if not more than musky sized offerings. Japan and out west are other good examples of where most of our finesse rigs were born.

 

So yeh I expect a big fish on little baits just as I am not surprised when I get dinks on the KVD 8.0 squarebill. My PB smallie and numerous big catches every year come on the Ned rig.

[Fisher-O-men]

8 hours ago, Raul said:

 

My first 10+ caught with a Rapala Original Minnow size 9 which is not exactly large, my PB ( 6.6 kg = 14.52 lbs ) caught with a Rapala Shad Rap size 7. Sure, small baits do catch fish, not the kind of baits that would be my first pick to go after the biguns.

Then your PB is between 14 and 15 lbs!

[Jacob Phelps]

I've been trying to fish this more and more because its made to catch numbers of fish, even on tough days. It was about the only thing that I could get fish to eat this past November. Caught a nice 2.5 pound smallie plus some largies around 2 pounds. Fish of all sizes eat this, including the big ones.

[smr913]

Ned Rig produced my only river smallie over 20" this year. 

[NCbassraider]

Of course I was being facetious in my title about only catching small fish.  Went back out today and caught several on the Ned Rig and a few on a Jerk bait.  This nice 2 lb 3 oz was the biggest of the afternoon and came on the Ned.

[Raul]

8 hours ago, Fisher-O-men said:

Then your PB is between 14 and 15 lbs!

Haven't updated my profile in quite a while.

[Fisher-O-men]

19 hours ago, NCbassraider said:

Of course I was being facetious in my title about only catching small fish.  Went back out today and caught several on the Ned Rig and a few on a Jerk bait.  This nice 2 lb 3 oz was the biggest of the afternoon and came on the Ned.

Why the gripper?

[NCbassraider]

1 hour ago, Fisher-O-men said:

Why the gripper?

I use it to weigh them.  Its safer for the fish as gill hooking them with the scale can do damage.  I also use the gripper when removing treble hooks.  It's much safer than having you hand in there when they decide to thrash.  Had a bad experience once.  Lesson learned.

[BaitMonkey1984]

I have caught some of my biggest fish this summer on that technique. Looking forward to trying out some different mushroom head jigs because had a lot of fish lost at the boat on the Z MAN heads. Nice fish.

[RoLo]

A small lure may catch a big bass, and a big lure may catch a small bass,

but over the long haul, the bigger the lure the greater the mean weight.

 

A glaring exception that proves the rule is the 11-lb bass that KVD caught on a 4" fry worm  

 

Roger

[Fisher-O-men]

19 hours ago, NCbassraider said:

I also use the gripper when removing treble hooks.

Copy that!!!