Heavier wire Ned Rig hook

[newyorktoiowa57]

I have bent out or broken a bunch of the Z man jig heads. I understand that my drag is too tight, but I like being able to crank a hook set, and need to find some stouter hooks so I don’t keep bending them out in the middle of a fight. 

[fishwizzard]

I am always looking for smaller and thinner hooks and it seems like most every other Ned head out there has a thicker hook then the Zman ones.  The Zman ones are notoriously brittle.  The new-ish Owner Block Heads have pretty beefy hooks. 

[newyorktoiowa57]

3 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

I am always looking for smaller and thinner hooks and it seems like most every other Ned head out there has a thicker hook then the Zman ones.  The Zman ones are notoriously brittle.  The new-ish Owner Block Heads have pretty beefy hooks. 

I’ve also had a hook just snap after a few fish catches, even with a very light drag. 

[NHBull]

No need to have a heavy Hooksett with a ned......A reel set is all you need on that rig.  If you want bigger look to the Mag Ned, but basically it's a mushroom shaky  head 

[Team9nine]

Lots of heavier wire models available now for guys that want to go that route including the Zman ProShroomZ and NedlockZ heads.

[newyorktoiowa57]

10 minutes ago, NHBull said:

No need to have a heavy Hooksett with a ned......A reel set is all you need on that rig.  If you want bigger look to the Mag Ned, but basically it's a mushroom shaky  head 

I agree, I do need to work on that, but I feel like if I use any amount of drag in the fight the hook gets bent, and I need at least a little drag to keep the fish out of weedy areas. 

[NHBull]

I think there are better techniques in those areas and I seldom expose a hook in the same

[newyorktoiowa57]

9 minutes ago, NHBull said:

I think there are better techniques in those areas and I seldom expose a hook in the same

Yea I agree, a light Texas rig or shakey head would be better. When I was wanting to learn the Ned I only took neds to the lake, and fished them around weeds because the spots looked good and I didn’t have other baits. 

 

It it turns out that the ned isn’t that hard to fish lol. 

[NYWayfarer]

Berkley half head jig hooks are beefier than the Z-man ones. Cheaper as well.

 

I don't want to heavy a hook. The beauty of the lighter wire hook is that when they get snagged you can pull on them until the hook straightens and save your bait. Bend the hook back with pliers and you are good to go.

[OCdockskipper]

Step 1: I don't want to adjust my drag correctly;

Step 2: I need beefier hooks on my Ned rig, because I keep bending them;

Step 3: I need heavier line because I keep snapping my line with these beefier hooks;

Step 4: I need to use casting gear because spinning gear doesn't work well with heavier line;

Step 5: I need to use a 1/2 oz jig head because i can't cast lighter weights well with my casting gear;

Step 6; What is all this fuss about the Ned Rig, I don't catch any more fish with it than a standard jig.

[JustJames]

Here supersize Ned rig lol.

 

[gim]

I had the same issue with the light wire z man jig heads a couple times too. I bent the hook on a couple big fish and lost them. The nedlockz jig head is way more durable and thicker so I’ve been using those instead with better success.

[Deeare]

If you fish the ned.  Use the nedlockz hook,  use light line and dont set the hook like you’re using 40lb braid.  Ned rig hooks are designed for finesse presentation.  

[Dogface]

I just had the complete opposite experience with ONE Z-Man jig head.  

 

I fished a couple of private ponds and a local creek 6 times in the past two weeks. I used the same 1/5 oz. Z-Man jig head and two different colored TRDs on an ultra lite bait caster with 14 lb. braid with a 8 lb. mono leader.  I caught about 50 to 60 bass and a mess of crappie and blue gills. The biggest bass was 4.5 lb. There were two between 3 and 4  lb. and the rest were mostly between 1 and 2 lb. 

 

I stuck with this outfit because I wanted to see if the TRD was as indestructabe as I have read. I changed colors because it seemed one color wasn't producing during one trip.

 

Both TRDs are mangled but still usable. The jig head is perfectly fine minus a little paint from bouncing along the bottom in the creek. Many of the pond fish came to the boat wrapped in weeds sometimes doubling their actual weight. The hook never failed or deformed. It is still on the rod ready for the next trip.

[Fishes in trees]

At Walmart I found some Arkie brand 1/16 oz mushroom head jigs - advertised as "finesse" jig heads.  They have a 1/0 hook on them, which I know by true Ned standards is a little big - but it works ok for me.

[Jig Man]

21 hours ago, newyorktoiowa57 said:

I have bent out or broken a bunch of the Z man jig heads. I understand that my drag is too tight, but I like being able to crank a hook set, and need to find some stouter hooks so I don’t keep bending them out in the middle of a fight. 

I tried a bunch of the commercial offerings.  I didn’t like any of them so I bought the Midwest Finesse mold to make my own.  What I finally settled on is a Grammy 1/0 hook.  It is a fairly light wire but very strong.  I use 6# fluorocarbon line and keep my drag loose enough so it slips if I set the hook too hard.

 

if you leave a TRD on the hook between trips it will weaken the hook with rust which can cause it to break on the hook set.