Ned Rig head weights

[BoatSquirrel]

So for me the ned is mostly a bottom contact bait with a fair number of bites coming on the initial fall.  I fish 1/8oz in the creek- 10 feet of water or less, and 3/16 in 10 feet or deeper.  Where are you super finesse dudes fishing the 1/16 or 3/32oz baits?  Do you fish those finesse ned baits as bottom contact baits or more like a maribou jig just fished in the middle of the water column?  Thanks for the help team.

[LCG]

I usually rig the TRD with a size 2 EWG hook and a 1/16oz bullet weight pegged. I fish in water that's less than 10ft deep. Cast it out, let it bottom and hop it or drag it slowly. Not much luck with the swim glide shake technique, maybe I need more practice. The slow drag or hop works pretty well though in slightly stained water. For murky water and I usually go with a senko or brush hog style plastic. 

[Team9nine]

29 minutes ago, BoatSquirrel said:

So for me the ned is mostly a bottom contact bait with a fair number of bites coming on the initial fall.  I fish 1/8oz in the creek- 10 feet of water or less, and 3/16 in 10 feet or deeper.  Where are you super finesse dudes fishing the 1/16 or 3/32oz baits?  Do you fish those finesse ned baits as bottom contact baits or more like a maribou jig just fished in the middle of the water column?  Thanks for the help team.

Is that a typo? Did you mean 1/32 and not 3/32? ...because 3/32 is a rock, and on the heavy side of Ned for me. I can fish a 3/32 down into 20' plus of water easily if need be. But as for lighter weights, say 1/16, 1/20 and 1/32, they are all fished in about 12 ft and less (usually 8' and under) as part of the Midwest Finesse approach. Lighter weights float over cover better without hanging, sit on top of vegetation instead of burying, and are more amenable to swim and glide retrieves (more marabou like as you suggest), which is where Ned shines. No shortage of baits I can fish and drag on bottom and catch fish if I need to.

[BoatSquirrel]

35 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

swim and glide retrieves

Yeah man- this is exactly what I was wondering about.  Crazy, because I have been dragging a rock as you say, when I can also be swimming the bait.  Those 1/16 oz heads I bought by accident are about to come out and its going to really get wild.  Thank you 99!

[Jig Man]

I fish it several ways with bottom contact being one of them.  I use 3 sizes, 1/16, 3/32, and 1/8.  1/16 is used 90% of the time even for bottom contact out to 25’.

[JustJames]

I’m not expert by any mean, but I fish every ways possible to catch fish, drag, short hop, lift and drop, jigging like crappie jig or just straight slow retrieve. I use 1/20oz with TRD and 1/16 with 1/2 ZinkerZ. I also use 1/10 head with other stuff like crawZ or baby brush hog.

[BoatSquirrel]

4 hours ago, Team9nine said:

swim and glide retrieves

 

2 hours ago, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

just straight slow retrieve

So where do yall use this presentation?  On flats or over suspended fish?  Maybe swimming it across a point?  I am thinking places I would usually catch fish on moving baits maybe?  Ooh-or around docks?

[Team9nine]

Just now, BoatSquirrel said:

 

So where do yall use this presentation?  On flats or over suspended fish?  Maybe swimming it across a point?  I am thinking places I would usually catch fish on moving baits maybe?  Ooh-or around docks?

Lol - all of the above, but at the heart of Midwest Finesse is "nothing looking" banks, except in winter where shallow green veggies, esp. on flats in the backs of creek arms, tend to hold significant groups of fish. Seems like so many people want a weedless/woodless "Ned," but part of the beauty of the bait is to find largely coverless banks that don't attract a lot of fishing attention. Just some scattered cover here and there, like riprap, emergent vegetation, scattered docks, clay banks, shallow points and shelves, etc., stuff where you don't need weedlessness (not that it won't work in those places). 

[JustJames]

Rip rap, shallow and flat with lot of rocks, place where snag happen a lot. I’m not even sure why bass hit the Ned when just slow retrieve. There is no action whatsoever, but it just works. Sometime I got hit when reeling in for next cast. When slow retrieve I try to get it stay close to bottom as much as possible.

[basser27]

1/20 and 1/15 is what I use most but my lakes on average are 3-4’ deep

[Sphynx]

13 hours ago, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

Rip rap, shallow and flat with lot of rocks, place where snag happen a lot. I’m not even sure why bass hit the Ned when just slow retrieve. There is no action whatsoever, but it just works. Sometime I got hit when reeling in for next cast. When slow retrieve I try to get it stay close to bottom as much as possible.

The same reason they hit a block of wood with hooks on it, they are extremely aggressive feeders and that in combination with a healthy dose of curiosity leads to bad results for them, and lots of fun for us.

[MGF]

I'm fishing a river usually less than 10 ft of depth. My most used is a 1/20 oz. I want it to bounce down river just barely bumping the bottom. With just the right amount of weight (not too much) it stays off the snags pretty well.

 

I also use some 1/16 oz ewg heads...because of the ewg. The heaviest I've used is 1/10 0z. 

 

There have been days that I have done better with the heavier heads (1/10 oz) but not often.

[ChrisD46]

On 8/15/2020 at 2:12 PM, Team9nine said:

Is that a typo? Did you mean 1/32 and not 3/32? ...because 3/32 is a rock, and on the heavy side of Ned for me. I can fish a 3/32 down into 20' plus of water easily if need be. But as for lighter weights, say 1/16, 1/20 and 1/32, they are all fished in about 12 ft and less (usually 8' and under) as part of the Midwest Finesse approach. Lighter weights float over cover better without hanging, sit on top of vegetation instead of burying, and are more amenable to swim and glide retrieves (more marabou like as you suggest), which is where Ned shines. No shortage of baits I can fish and drag on bottom and catch fish if I need to.

+1 ... True Ned Rig set ups are 1/32nd to 1/16th oz. jig head weight and hook sizes between a small #6 (Ned himself uses)  to as large as a #1 size hook (I stop size / weight wise  at a #2 size hook and 1/16th oz. jig weight)  - any heavier jig head weight or hook sizes larger than #1 and you are entering "Jig Worm" territory and leaving Ned Rig territory . *Nothing wrong with the heavier / larger size set up - just recognize it for what it is (i.e. Jig Worm technique) as both will catch bass .

[BoatSquirrel]

1 hour ago, MGF said:

want it to bounce down river just barely bumping the bottom.

This is how I fish it, usually with a 1/8 ewg head.  Going to give a 1/16 a shot this weekend and try the swim technique.  Thanks yall!