How does a Ned Rig work exactly?

[NavyVet1204]

I’ll recap my back story with not having much experience bass fishing outside of basic curly tail worms and spinner/crankbaits. Here lately I have been exposed to the HUGE world of bass lures both soft and hard plastic alike from videos on YouTube. One such lure that is just as much confusing as it is intriguing is the Ned Rig setup. A guy with a YouTube channel by the name of LOJO Fishing is who I first saw use the setup and I couldn’t help but think that it was simple...to the point that I was wondering what it’s purpose was. All sorts of videos show the lure being cast and sinking to the bottom with a very small amount of retrieve.

 

is it really that simple? Or are there techniques involved that I’m over looking? I really want to try this setup just need to know where to begin and make sure I’m doing it correctly.

 

Can I just tear a plain soft plastic worm and put it on a jig head? If not, what brands make dedicated Ned baits that you can reccomend?

[MN Fisher]

6 minutes ago, NavyVet1204 said:

All sorts of videos show the lure being cast and sinking to the bottom with a very small amount of retrieve.

 

is it really that simple? Or are there techniques involved that I’m over looking? I really want to try this setup just need to know where to begin and make sure I’m doing it correctly.

I do a 'hopping' retrieve with it. Cast it out, let it sink to the bottom and sit a bit. Hop...wait...hop-hop....wait. Waits are usually no LESS than 20-30 seconds, sometimes a minute or more. Hops are just short jerks...maybe moves it 8"-10" each time.

 

Trying to imitate some kind of bottom feeding critter is what I'm shooting for.

8 minutes ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Can I just tear a plain soft plastic worm and put it on a jig head? If not, what brands make dedicated Ned baits that you can reccomend?

I stick with Z-Man products - they've been designed to float properly when on a mushroom-head jig giving it the 'nose down/tail up' stance of a bottom feeding baitfish. 2.75" Sticks, 2.5" Craw, 3" Hogz, 3" Slim Swimz.

[NavyVet1204]

Ok sounds good friend. I need to look at getting some zman baits as I think I have some of the mushroom jig heads in my terminal tackle already.

 

what is a good depth to fish a Ned rig? 

[soflabasser]

I fish the ned rig like a jig and have done well with that technique.

[Bluebasser86]

Zman is the go to Ned rig bait maker, but don't mix them with regular plastics.

 

I very rarely use it as a pure bottom fishing bait and have it almost constantly on the move. A lot of videos are going to show you a rig with a jighead that is too heavy, poured on a hook that is much too large, and fished like an open hook shakyhead. Sure that will catch fish, but you're not getting the most out of it that way.

 

This is how to fish a Ned, from Ned himself on a lake 5 minutes from my house.

and another one.

 

[roadwarrior]

[gilkeybr]

My best success with a ned rig always comes swimming it.  Slow, steady retrieve gently shaking the rod tip to get the lure to bounce along.  Fished like this above grass it can catch huge numbers, for sure!

[TnRiver46]

15 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Can I just tear a plain soft plastic worm and put it on a jig head? 

In my opinion, yes. But I’m in the minority on that one! I like zoom finesse worms or dead ringers on a jig head, or a hand pour bait if I want it to stand up (which i feel is overrated). I do think the hand pours have a much different action that is sometimes the ticket on heavily pressured water. Also Ned himself seems to talk about cutting the zinkerZ in half way more than he ever mentions a TRD 

[J Francho]

16 hours ago, NavyVet1204 said:

Can I just tear a plain soft plastic worm and put it on a jig head?

Yep.  It's called a jig worm.  Tearing is optional.  It's been around longer than I've been alive.  My grandfather taught me how to rig it.  He liked it better than a pre-rigged worm.

[PourMyOwn]

Watch your line going down, I catch a lot of fish on the drop. 

Bluebasser nailed it, btw. That post should be a sticky.

[NavyVet1204]

Thanks guys! I kind of figured I was over thinking it all, but it just seemed too simple in theory and wanted to make sure lol.

[Sam]

First, thank you for your service. Always nice having military people on the Forum.

 

Now, let me let the cat out of the bag regarding the Ned Rig as I see it.

 

When is the last time you saw a minnow or small bream drop to the bottom fast and hit it hard? Live minnows and other aquatic creatures do not do this.  They go to the bottom in a slow and controlled swimming manner and stay on the bottom quietly seeking something to eat or finding a good hiding place.

 

This is why Senkos, the "dead reckoning" method, the drop shot, and other light weight presentations work so well: they mimic a minnow or other small bait fish enjoying swimming within the bottom area with no worries or interruption by other species.

 

And then along came Ned. Ned set up a softer falling presentation that looks like a minnow or small bait fish swimming, exploring, or feeding on the bottom. Just natural movements.  No jerking; no lifting and falling; no fast start or stops; no twitching; just a natural presentation of letting the bait do nothing other than allowing the current and your shaky fingers, hands and rod tip make it move as it sits in one place or you crawl it along the bottom in a slow and methodological manner.

 

Slow and methodological manner is the secret to the Ned Rig. You cast it out, let it fall to the bottom, reel in the slack, put fingers on line to feel for bites, and just sit there thinking about life in general while your Ned Rig floats and moves along the bottom like a small minnow or bait fish.

 

Or, you can swim the Ned Rig slowly like a minnow or small bait fish above the grass and off the bottom. But you do this to mimic a swimming minnow as best you can.

 

And for some reason, it works. Bass and other species will see and watch it and then they can't take it any longer and they will attack it. 

You can move the Ned Rig a little by lifting your rod tip a few inches and then let it fall back to the original place you were holding the rod and allowing the Ned Rig to fall to the bottom in a slow manner and then sit on the bottom once again. You do this until you can't take it any more, which in many instances is a few minutes. Letting your bait sit on the bottom and you not doing anything can seem like a life time in lieu of the 60 to 120 seconds you will let it sit before you move it a tad. 

 

So give the Ned Rig a try and let the bait sit on the bottom and have a natural presentation. Bass are inquisitive animals and they will watch your Ned Rig until they can't take it anymore and they will hit it like firing mortar rounds for effect. You are in a race to see who blinks first: you or the bass.

 

Good luck and let us know how you do with your Ned Rig.

[Fishes in trees]

Be mindful that when Ned talks about catching X many fish per hour or per fishing session, they all count.  6" fish count, slot fish count, they all count,  size don't matter much to Ned, he's willing to wade through the dinks to catch the occasional decent fish.  On those few occasions when I'm fishing a private lake or pond and that lake or pond is stunted with too many small fish, I think that the Ned rig is THE ticket.   For my normal week to week fishing in 100 to 300 acre semi-local conservation lakes I think that there are other techniques that will catch more keeper fish, maybe not the numbers.   Personally I have a hard time sticking with the Ned rig.

Continuing on this topic, I've heard Ned insist, several time at the KC Boat & Sports show & elsewhere that him and his buddies invented Midwest Finesse Fishing prior to anyone else coming up with anything similar.  I think Charlie Brewer Slider Fishing is VERY similar in MANY ways to Ned rigging and. he was selling his baits & jig heads in Fishing Facts magazine in the mid 70's.  Around the same time I don't EVER remember any mention of Midwest Finesse fishing in any of the magazines I read or any of the fishing seminars I attended.

 

So, while I know that Ned has gotten his name attached to an efficient & effective method/fishing technique, I'm not sure at all that he was, (as he's written from time to time ) the first to develop a finesse style of fishing.  I know about Charlie Brewer and the stuff that was written about his stuff and when it was written.   I'm pretty sure that he messed with it for a while, prior to bringing it to market.   Also I think that there are some guys on the west coast who would have some issue with his timeline.   I've read a little bit about West Coast finesse fishing, but not enough to be a reputable source for it, by any means.

 

[frogflogger]

13 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

Be mindful that when Ned talks about catching X many fish per hour or per fishing session, they all count.  6" fish count, slot fish count, they all count,  size don't matter much to Ned, he's willing to wade through the dinks to catch the occasional decent fish.  On those few occasions when I'm fishing a private lake or pond and that lake or pond is stunted with too many small fish, I think that the Ned rig is THE ticket.   For my normal week to week fishing in 100 to 300 acre semi-local conservation lakes I think that there are other techniques that will catch more keeper fish, maybe not the numbers.   Personally I have a hard time sticking with the Ned rig.

Continuing on this topic, I've heard Ned insist, several time at the KC Boat & Sports show & elsewhere that him and his buddies invented Midwest Finesse Fishing prior to anyone else coming up with anything similar.  I think Charlie Brewer Slider Fishing is VERY similar in MANY ways to Ned rigging and. he was selling his baits & jig heads in Fishing Facts magazine in the mid 70's.  Around the same time I don't EVER remember any mention of Midwest Finesse fishing in any of the magazines I read or any of the fishing seminars  I attended.

 

So, while I know that Ned has gotten his name attached to an efficient & effective method/fishing technique, I'm not sure at all that he was, (as he's written from time to time ) the first to develop a finesse style of fishing.  I know about Charlie Brewer and the stuff that was written about his stuff and when it was written.   I'm pretty sure that he messed with it for a while, prior to bringing it to market.   Also I think that there are some guys on the west coast who would have some issue with his timeline.   I've read a little bit about West Coast finesse fishing, but not enough to be a reputable source for it, by any means.

 

Ned doesn't take credit for the technique he rightly credits Chuck Woods who developed it in the 60's.

[NavyVet1204]

20 hours ago, Sam said:

First, thank you for your service. Always nice having military people on the Forum.

 

Now, let me let the cat out of the bag regarding the Ned Rig as I see it.

 

When is the last time you saw a minnow or small bream drop to the bottom fast and hit it hard? Live minnows and other aquatic creatures do not do this.  They go to the bottom in a slow and controlled swimming manner and stay on the bottom quietly seeking something to eat or finding a good hiding place.

 

This is why Senkos, the "dead reckoning" method, the drop shot, and other light weight presentations work so well: they mimic a minnow or other small bait fish enjoying swimming within the bottom area with no worries or interruption by other species.

 

And then along came Ned. Ned set up a softer falling presentation that looks like a minnow or small bait fish swimming, exploring, or feeding on the bottom. Just natural movements.  No jerking; no lifting and falling; no fast start or stops; no twitching; just a natural presentation of letting the bait do nothing other than allowing the current and your shaky fingers, hands and rod tip make it move as it sits in one place or you crawl it along the bottom in a slow and methodological manner.

 

Slow and methodological manner is the secret to the Ned Rig. You cast it out, let it fall to the bottom, reel in the slack, put fingers on line to feel for bites, and just sit there thinking about life in general while your Ned Rig floats and moves along the bottom like a small minnow or bait fish.

 

Or, you can swim the Ned Rig slowly like a minnow or small bait fish above the grass and off the bottom. But you do this to mimic a swimming minnow as best you can.

 

And for some reason, it works. Bass and other species will see and watch it and then they can't take it any longer and they will attack it. 

You can move the Ned Rig a little by lifting your rod tip a few inches and then let it fall back to the original place you were holding the rod and allowing the Ned Rig to fall to the bottom in a slow manner and then sit on the bottom once again. You do this until you can't take it any more, which in many instances is a few minutes. Letting your bait sit on the bottom and you not doing anything can seem like a life time in lieu of the 60 to 120 seconds you will let it sit before you move it a tad. 

 

So give the Ned Rig a try and let the bait sit on the bottom and have a natural presentation. Bass are inquisitive animals and they will watch your Ned Rig until they can't take it anymore and they will hit it like firing mortar rounds for effect. You are in a race to see who blinks first: you or the bass.

 

Good luck and let us know how you do with your Ned Rig.

Your very welcome friend and we appreciate the support both current and former. This was pretty much the approach I had intended on taking with the Ned rig. I know the possibility of a PB on the first cast or two is a mild hope at best, I’m willing to try every way possible just to determine what will work the most/best.

[Jig Man]

I fish it enough that I have 5 setups exclusively for that technique.  I have tried several line types and sizes.  I have found that 6# fluorocarbon gets me more bites than any other line.

 

 I use a mushroom head (Midwest Finesse) which I pour myself.  I don’t use anything heavier than 1/8 oz.  Most of the time I use 1/16 and will fish it out to 20 feet deep.  I have the heads in hook sizes 2, 1, 1/0, and 2/0.  I prefer the 1/0.

 

There is no right or wrong way to fish it.  There are just ways that work better than others in specific conditions.  You have to experiment to see what is working the best.  Most colors work.  I like Alabama craw, green pumpkin, and yoga pants best.

 

I’ll admit it catches a lot of small fish but it also catches some good ones.  My best day on it was ( 2 of us had ) 65 bass with 16 keepers to 6.25#.

 

 

[Allen Der]

5 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I fish it enough that I have 5 setups exclusively for that technique.  I have tried several line types and sizes.  I have found that 6# fluorocarbon gets me more bites than any other line.

 

 I use a mushroom head (Midwest Finesse) which I pour myself.  I don’t use anything heavier than 1/8 oz.  Most of the time I use 1/16 and will fish it out to 20 feet deep.  I have the heads in hook sizes 2, 1, 1/0, and 2/0.  I prefer the 1/0.

 

There is no right or wrong way to fish it.  There are just ways that work better than others in specific conditions.  You have to experiment to see what is working the best.  Most colors work.  I like Alabama craw, green pumpkin, and yoga pants best.

 

I’ll admit it catches a lot of small fish but it also catches some good ones.  My best day on it was ( 2 of us had ) 65 bass with 16 keepers to 6.25#.

 

 

what brand fluoro are you using and what knots do you use?  I've mostly given up on fluoro and just use a mono leader

[Jig Man]

I’ve tried several brands.  I’ve been using Seaguar red label for the last 3 years.  It works for me.

 

 I only use 1 knot for all line to bait applications, the Pitzen or 16/20 as it is sometimes called.

[OkobojiEagle]

On 4/27/2020 at 1:06 PM, J Francho said:

 It's called a jig worm. 

It's all jig worm fishing... bass fishermen can't help themselves complicating a simple process.