Ned rigs only catch small fish

[KSanford33]

This has been my complaint all year. But they inevitably catch fish. Well, I caught this little fella on a Ned rig today on a heavily fished lake. This little guy happily swam away too, albeit after he bit my finger while I was unhooking him. 

[TOXIC]

You better up your game and get into some bigger fish.?

[Junk Fisherman]

Nice fish.  

 

If you are only catching small fish with a Ned then I would bet it's the location where you are fishing or the fishery itself.  While there are definitely better lures at times to consistently put big fish in the boat, I know from experience that the Ned will catch big fish.  

[Bird]

Hah, that's a big fish. Lol

It's not that Ned doesn't catch big fish, it's just that it invites smaller fish along the way.

 

[KSanford33]

  On 7/13/2022 at 11:08 PM, Bird said:

It's not that Ned doesn't catch big fish, it's just that it invites smaller fish along the way.

 

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100% agree! I used a TRD craw going after smallmouth and caught more rock bass than I could count. 
 

That’s the only thing I like about larger lures is it usually eliminates the small fish bite. 

[Bluebasser86]

I'd bet that close to 50% of my fish on my final score (biggest 5 for the day), in my kayak tournaments are taken on Ned rigs. My biggest 5 fish limit I've had in a kayak tournament (94"), 3 or 4 of them were on a Ned rig. I've caught flathead catfish over 20lbs on them. I think a lot of it is location and also people present them in a way that appeals more to little fish. I catch so many quality fish on them that it's hard for me to use another bait at times. 

My biggest Ned rig catch to date;

[A-Jay]

I don't fish it a ton, in fact it's at least half way down the on favorites list.

But Ned gets me a few decent brown bass a season.

And remember, elephants love peanuts. 

A-Jay

 

[Further North]

Ouch.

Pike toofs hurt.

[KSanford33]

  On 7/14/2022 at 12:59 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I'd bet that close to 50% of my fish on my final score (biggest 5 for the day), in my kayak tournaments are taken on Ned rigs. My biggest 5 fish limit I've had in a kayak tournament (94"), 3 or 4 of them were on a Ned rig. I've caught flathead catfish over 20lbs on them. I think a lot of it is location and also people present them in a way that appeals more to little fish. I catch so many quality fish on them that it's hard for me to use another bait at times. 

My biggest Ned rig catch to date;

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This is really interesting to me. How do you think people present them that appeals more to smaller fish rather than larger fish?

[Bluebasser86]

  On 7/14/2022 at 3:06 PM, KSanford33 said:

This is really interesting to me. How do you think people present them that appeals more to smaller fish rather than larger fish?

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Mainly by using too heavy of weight and too large of hook. The slow fall and natural look of the Ned is a big part of the appeal. Take that away and it's much less appealing and natural looking, which I believe is what fools most bigger fish. It looks like such an easy meal that they can't help themselves. 

[WVU-SCPA]

Won the big fish pot twice on a trd, both fish over 5 and a half which is large in my area.

 

Not sure I'll have another 2 muskie day, let alone a 2 trd muskie day.

 

I agree with bluebasser, the guys I've converted to trd lovers had to have the heavy weight aspect beat out of them.

[Further North]

  On 7/14/2022 at 7:44 PM, WVU-SCPA said:

Not sure I'll have another 2 muskie day, let alone a 2 trd muskie day.

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Two musky days aren't as rare as many people might think...

But two, on a TRD...that's fishing gods aligning stars, planets...

Congrats!

[TOXIC]

Definitely not my target species but my heaviest Ned catch to date on 6lb mono. 

[KSanford33]

  On 7/15/2022 at 2:25 PM, TOXIC said:

Definitely not my target species but my heaviest Ned catch to date on 6lb mono. 

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I can only imagine the entire time you were fighting him you were thinking, 'Please be a bass, please be a bass!' 

[TOXIC]

  On 7/15/2022 at 2:28 PM, KSanford33 said:

I can only imagine the entire time you were fighting him you were thinking, 'Please be a bass, please be a bass!' 

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It didn’t take long to figure out that was no bass.? We had to run him down with the boat a couple of times.  I was praying it wasn’t a snapping turtle.