Ned rig in muddy water?

[plawren53202]

So admittedly I'm a little late to Ned's party ?.  Tried it for the first time this summer.  I have caught a few on it in clear to moderately stained water--meaning up to (down to?) a couple of feet of visibility.  However, I have not had any luck at all in water with visibility less than 2 feet or so--don't know that I've had even a bite.  I have a full range of colors, and have tried colors I would associate with low visibility water, like black and blue, coppertreuse, and hot craw (I think that's the name, it's the relatively new one that is red and black).

 

Have I just had bad luck, or do I need to be doing something different?  I have only used the finesse TRDs so far.  Do I need to use one of the bigger ones in dirtier water?  Fish it slightly more actively (so far, I have fished it the "traditional" way where I let it just sit, or just slightly wiggle it, for long periods)?  Other thoughts?  In clearer water, I have had a couple of outings where the Ned lived up to its reputation and saved me from a skunking by pulling in a couple.  In dirtier water, though, if I'm not catching them on other baits, I haven't had any luck on the Ned either.

[boostr]

It's more of a visibility technique. If you have chocolate milk water it won't work unless you hit the fish on the head with it.

[Fishes in trees]

I own a Ned rig and I fish it occasionally.   As a "fair weather" Ned fisherman, I only fish it under conditions I deem optimal, so I've no clue about fishing it in muddy water or stuff like that.

 

My advice would be to call up or e-mail Ned and ask him.   I would imagine that you could contact him through In-fisherman magazine - he has that monthly midwest finesse column on their web site.

[5/0]

Of topic for this post but how is the Ned fished most effectively. Is it a vertical presentation exclusively or can it be cast to spots?

Was going to use it as an alternative to a D/S. I mostly cast my D/S even though I’ve seen information on it being more of a vertical presentation.

 

Joe

[plawren53202]

3 hours ago, boostr said:

It's more of a visibility technique. If you have chocolate milk water it won't work unless you hit the fish on the head with it.

That's what would seem logical to me...for instance, none of the things I would associate with attracting fish in poor visibility (like a big thumping Colorado blade or rattling lipless) are present with the Ned.

[Dangerfield]

I've got iron stained water up here, which has visibility on sunny days and I have moderate success with the ned rig. I'm better with it from the kayak vs. the boat; I think I fish a lot slower from the kayak. Are you fishing chocolate milk muddy waters? I would stick with bolder colours, pearls, chartreuse etc.

[NorthernBasser]

I've caught a good amount of largemouth on the ned in water with 6" of visibility. Also have caught many smallies in rivers with even less visibility.

 

Obviously it'd do better in clearer waters, but it does work in lesser water conditions as well. 

I see now that Googan baits now sell ned worms that have a rattle already inserted, which could help in muddy/stained water. Personally, I can't bring myself to buy Googan baits, tho. 

[plawren53202]

25 minutes ago, NorthernBasser said:

I see now that Googan baits now sell ned worms that have a rattle already inserted, which could help in muddy/stained water. Personally, I can't bring myself to buy Googan baits, tho. 

I saw those, which is what got me thinking about this topic in the first place.  Bigger issues with Googan baits aside, I did read some reviews that said that they seem to tear easily.  But I guess I'd rather be having soft plastics tear than not catching any fish...no risk of them tearing if I'm not getting any bites to begin with.  

[Bluebasser86]

One of my lakes I Ned rig often rarely has visibility more than 1-2 feet and it works great.

[boostr]

Isn't there a difference between low vis and chocolate milk? Low vis I would use dark colors or even whites or Charts. I guess if your using it in no vis water and bouncing it of rocks or structure the noise and vibes would obviously attract fish.

21 hours ago, 5/0 said:

Of topic for this post but how is the Ned fished most effectively. Is it a vertical presentation exclusively or can it be cast to spots?

Was going to use it as an alternative to a D/S. I mostly cast my D/S even though I’ve seen information on it being more of a vertical presentation.

 

Joe

You can cast it to spots, and fish it like a jig, or slow roll it in with occasional stops. That's what I do.

[Bluebasser86]

Bass still manage to find craws and baitfish that aren't trying to be found in water with no visibility, they can find a Ned rig.

[SC53]

On 11/13/2019 at 11:09 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Bass still manage to find craws and baitfish that aren't trying to be found in water with no visibility, they can find a Ned rig.

Yep, bass gotta eat. 

[Rzbassin]

On 11/11/2019 at 4:19 PM, NorthernBasser said:

I've caught a good amount of largemouth on the ned in water with 6" of visibility. Also have caught many smallies in rivers with even less visibility.

 

Obviously it'd do better in clearer waters, but it does work in lesser water conditions as well. 

I see now that Googan baits now sell ned worms that have a rattle already inserted, which could help in muddy/stained water. Personally, I can't bring myself to buy Googan baits, tho. 

Why not I have a couple packs of each bait and they are all around great the scent is strong and the plastic good. My favorite is the slim shake on a shaky head, Texas rig or Neko rig. 

[MIbassyaker]

On 11/11/2019 at 2:33 PM, 5/0 said:

Of topic for this post but how is the Ned fished most effectively. Is it a vertical presentation exclusively or can it be cast to spots?

Was going to use it as an alternative to a D/S. I mostly cast my D/S even though I’ve seen information on it being more of a vertical presentation.

 

Joe

 

Good explanation of Ned Rig retrieves by Ned here:

 

[ChrisD46]

Hit the TRD with a little scent of your choice (i.e. BANG Garlic , Berkley Gulp , etc.) and work with subtle shakes and hops ... A bass will find it in stained water . If the water is really dirty you will be looking at Colorado blade  spinner baits or other baits with more thump and vibration .

[MGF]

I've been fishing the ned rig a bunch for a couple of years but I don't know what I know. LOL

 

I mostly fish the river for small mouth. I do catch more fish on it when the water is clear and low...but I catch more fish on everything when the water is clear and low. I want to say that I do better with baits that displace more water when it's high and dark...a swim type jig or even a bladed jig or even a tube.

 

The two baits that saved my earlier season outings were a Texas rigged tube and an archy head jig with a paddle or structure bug trailer. On those outings I didn't catch anything on the ned but I wouldn't claim my "test" to be statistically valid.

 

In the last week or so the water has been dropping like a rock and clearing up. The other afternoon I did real well on a ned, a "tiny child" and...a 2 1/2 inch tube with a little ball head stuffed inside of it.