Traditional Ned Rig, whose given up and now just fishes Ned sized baits

[Cgolf]

Once gopher tackle closed up shop it became very difficult to find economical Ned head with a hook sized #2 or smaller. Zman has some but the prices are more than I would like to pay, fish a rocky river and regularly lose jigs, and I have heard bad things about their hooks as well. For a while Siebert offered a mini morel with a size #2 hook, but I haven't seen those for a while and the standard morel has a #1 hook. The Berkley half head jig is a nice little jig but also has a #1 hook. More recently I have been using Jades Jigs and they have some options with a #2 hook. The bummer for many is that most jigs sold on the major websites for Ned presentations have a size #1 hook or larger.

 

Who has given up on finding the smaller hooks and just gone with what is readily available at a good price? I know I have over the last few years, but with the new source I have been moving back to proper size hooks.

 

One other thing where I will be fishing Ned baits is using heavier heads this year to target vetical cover in heavy wind and waves where the lighter heads would be blown 5 feet off the target by the time they reach bottom. The small baits catch fish, sometimes you just need more weight to get the bait to them. I know this isn't a Ned rig, its just a small plastic catching fish. Have others been doing the same? I hope to try them around docks as well, just being careful not to snag up on anything.

 

It just seems strange that with all the rage the Ned rig is that the many of the jigs now made for it disqaulify the setup from being a Ned rig.

[Finessegenics]

I share your sentiment. The #1 half heads are not that bad…I don’t think the slightly larger hook overpowers the bait. Lately I’ve just been using the Zmans (yup, expensive) or ballheads that I found which have a #4 hook. If you are just swimming and gliding them, I don’t think a mushroom head is that necessary.  

[Craig P]

I am a member of several local lake groups on FB and there are a couple people who sell some really nice Neds and even football jigs for great prices.  Maybe try out some groups local to you.

[Jig Man]

I make my own so I have lots of options.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I just compared my #1 half heads and zman shroomz side by side and would be splitting hairs to find a size difference. Along with the 1/16 Lazer/ 1/15 trokar finesse heads they are just a different shape but basically same length and bend.

[TnRiver46]

You’re preaching to the choir…………..

 

10 jig heads for $2 something and 20 worms for about $4. I get hung and lose them much more often than a fish throws it so elaztech doesn’t help me. 

 

I never heard of Charlie brewer growing up but after reading about him on bass resource, I think that’s how and why we all fish in my region. It works 

[Cgolf]

6 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

I share your sentiment. The #1 half heads are not that bad…I don’t think the slightly larger hook overpowers the bait. Lately I’ve just been using the Zmans (yup, expensive) or ballheads that I found which have a #4 hook. If you are just swimming and gliding them, I don’t think a mushroom head is that necessary.  

One jig I really like is a 1/16 fireball. It has a super short shank and really wide gap. It sticks em good and really allows the bait to work. These are walleye live bait jigs. 

4 hours ago, Craig P said:

I am a member of several local lake groups on FB and there are a couple people who sell some really nice Neds and even football jigs for great prices.  Maybe try out some groups local to you.

I found Jades jigs through eBay, thanks to BR members suggesting to look there, and over the last year probably have picked up 300 jigs from them. So I am set for a while. My point was the general angler that shops BPS, TW, etc doesn’t have a lot of smaller hooked, reasonable options. Of course reasonable is a relative term right now. 

[WRB]

What hook mfr is Jades Jigs using?

Tom

[Cgolf]

36 minutes ago, WRB said:

What hook mfr is Jades Jigs using?

Tom

The Sickle and standard 90:degree bend are Eagle Claw. They have worked great for me and even held up to a 20” river smallie. The beauty is that they can be bent back, similar to the handful of gopher jigs I have left. The one that caught the 20 was bent back more than once after snagging up on a rock. 
 

https://jadesjigs.com/collections/jades-dynamic-ned-jigs/products/jades-dynamic-ned-jigs
 

They do offer a 1/16 ounce size jig with a #2 gamakatsu hook. Due to the non lead materials the jigs run a little lighter. 
 

https://jadesjigs.com/collections/tournament-series/products/tournament-series

 

Just a note for all as I have had a lot of posts about these jigs over the last year. I am not sponsored by them I just like their jigs a lot and the fact they are lead free. They also have worked with me on custom orders to get some jigs as unpainted that aren’t already listed with that as an option on the site. 

[Bluebasser86]

I pour my own with #1 and #2 hooks, even have some poured on #6's. 

[BASS302]

I haven't purchased anything from them, but Gopher Tackle seems to have been bought.

There are smaller sized hooks on jigs at:

https://gophertackle.net/mushroom-head-jig-mustad-hook

 

 

[Jig Man]

7 hours ago, WRB said:

What hook mfr is Jades Jigs using?

Tom

VMC. He sent me some to try out.  They’re pretty good.  I’m using the new Victory hook.  It’s also pretty good.

[BlakeMolone]

I just use the berkley half heads, the hook is plenty small and sharp and I have no problems setting it even on my light action pansfish rod.

[ChrisD46]

17 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I pour my own with #1 and #2 hooks, even have some poured on #6's. 

If I could only use one hook , it would probably be a Owner 5313 Size #1 in a MidWest Finesse (Ned) jig head as it is real nice over all .  The Eagle Claw 500BP  'Lil Nasty in a size #2 can also work pretty well (although less stout than the Owner 5313) .

[Bankbeater]

I tried fishing ned rig style and hung up way to much.  Now I fish them with a 1/0, or 2/0 EWG hook either on a split shot rig or T-rig. 

[Cgolf]

3 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

If I could only use one hook , it would probably be a Owner 5313 Size #1 in a MidWest Finesse (Ned) jig head as it is real nice over all .  The Eagle Claw 500BP  'Lil Nasty in a size #2 can also work pretty well (although less stout than the Owner 5313) .

Are the sickle hooks below the Lil Nasty hook? I picked up 40 each of these in 1/8 and 3/32. 

 

https://jadesjigs.com/collections/frontpage/products/1-8-oz-sickle-hook-size-2

 

14 hours ago, Jig Man said:

VMC. He sent me some to try out.  They’re pretty good.  I’m using the new Victory hook.  It’s also pretty good.

Did you happen to get the weedless ones? Those on the site are listed as VMC. Looks like he uses a mix of brands but states the brand in the listing. 
 

I did just confirm the brands currently listed on the site are correct. Since I have only been using them for the last year not sure if they change at all. 

[ChrisD46]

11 hours ago, Bankbeater said:

I tried fishing ned rig style and hung up way to much.  Now I fish them with a 1/0, or 2/0 EWG hook either on a split shot rig or T-rig. 

*You can try to use the Ned Jig Head like a compact shaky head jig by burying the hook inside the soft plastic (again , like rigging a finesse worm on a shaky head) . Use a drop of super glue to finish the deal . 

[NHBull]

When I want to throw a Ned size bait in areas that will hang me up, I switch to the child rig which tend to get bigger fish 

[LrgmouthShad]

6 minutes ago, NHBull said:

When I want to throw a Ned size bait in areas that will hang me up, I switch to the child rig which tend to get bigger fish 

 

[lunkerboss923]

I'm so ticked at myself for buying a box full of Ned Rigs. I was killing it a year ago. Now I might as well be fishing in my swimming pool. I feel like a Zoom Finesse Worm on a shaky head is more effective.  The Ned is so disappointing. 

[Finessegenics]

8 minutes ago, lunkerboss923 said:

 The Ned is so disappointing. 

 

Blasphemy ? !! How are you fishing it? Go light, 1/16 oz head and swim the bait back slowly. If you're already doing that then you can't be saved

[papajoe222]

If you're looking for a jig that will stand up on the bottom, look no farther that a good ole ball head jig.  Attach a small, ned sized floating trailer and attach it to your line with a snap, or light split ring.  

I only use mushroom head jigs with a Rage Tail Ned Cut-R Worm anymore.

[AManWearingAHat]

Gopher Tackle is out of business????  I love(d) their stuff!


(Just checked, they're back in business)

[KP Duty]

On 4/18/2022 at 8:19 PM, TnRiver46 said:

You’re preaching to the choir…………..

 

10 jig heads for $2 something and 20 worms for about $4. I get hung and lose them much more often than a fish throws it so elaztech doesn’t help me. 

 

I never heard of Charlie brewer growing up but after reading about him on bass resource, I think that’s how and why we all fish in my region. It works 

To me, that worm looks like it's too thick for that hook.  

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, KP Duty said:

To me, that worm looks like it's too thick for that hook.  

The Fish tend to disagree, it’s one of the stickiest rigs I fish for sure. They are usually hooked really well in the top jaw, I’ve had to destroy the hook many times to get it out of the roof of their mouth 

 

that’s a 4” zoom dead ringer, it’s very thin. I use the same hook with finesse worm and it also is very sticky, though the finesse worm is a little thicker than the dead ringer