Ned rig for smallies

[blanked]

Does the Ned rig out produce a texas rig for you?  

[Jig Man]

Yes but lately a Keitech swim bait has been better than Ned.

[Obi_Wan]

Yes.  

[gim]

I don't think I've ever used a texas rigged plastic for smallmouth, ever.  I'm not fishing for them in locations where an exposed hook would get hung up on weeds.  I target them on rocks, gravel, and sand.

 

The ned rig has produced a fair amount of smallmouth for me in the past, including a couple of nice ones this season already.

 

 

[galyonj]

By a long shot, but fishing a bullet-weighted anything in the rivers where I generally catch smallmouth makes for a very  frustrating day. 

[Susky River Rat]

Neds for the win

[blanked]

So whats the go to lure on the ned?

 

weedless or open hook?   I dont understand why anyone would use a open hook myself

[optimator]

The lake we fished last weekend is loaded with smallies. All they were hitting were Ned’s. I threw everything at them too. 

[Texas Flood]

The combo below has been killing it for me on the SM.

 

 

 

 

[galyonj]

9 hours ago, blanked said:

So whats the go to lure on the ned?

 

weedless or open hook?   I dont understand why anyone would use a open hook myself

 

 

@Texas Flood I've been meaning to try that Xzone plastic. I love their stick worms.

 

If I have to have a weedless presentation, I'm generally not gonna be throwing a ned rig, for which I want the smallest hook I can get away with. I want as much of that plastic swinging free as I can get.

 

My jighead of choice for a garden-variety 2.75" - 3" ned rig plastic is a 1/16oz mushroom head with a #4 hook. Specifically this one from Mule Fishing.

 

Even though it's an open hook, it's surprising what you can work it through if you're careful.

 

And what you can bring into the boat with it.

 

[gim]

9 hours ago, blanked said:

I dont understand why anyone would use a open hook myself

There's nothing to get snagged on where I fish for smallmouth.  I don't fish for them in any kind of vegetation, therefore no reason to texas rig.

 

I can't use an open hook like on a ned when I'm targeting largemouth anymore here.  The weeds are already way too thick, so therefore I use a texas rig.

 

Same concept with a tube.  For brown bass, I use an exposed tube jib.  For largies, I have to use a skip gap hook.  Otherwise I'd be hung up on weeds every single cast.

 

Not complicated.

[Spankey]

Overall I’d say no. Texas rig worm, splitshot rig worm will do it for river smallies. 
 

The term NED doesn’t me much to me. Jigging grubs, tubes, worms and craws has been productive for me since the 70’s. We never used the term NED. 

[galyonj]

Honestly, it doesn't mean much to me either, aside from the fact that I really love harassing @TnRiver46 about it, and "ned rig", or "kinda like a ned rig" is less of a mouthful for me to stutter through than "plastic on a small hook that I try not to get caught in chunk rock."

[TnRiver46]

Probably the biggest I’ve seen in person, Texas rig purple zoom U tail worm in rapids on the Holston river in a $68 boat 

[Jleebesaw]

I've never actually used a Ned rig. I've caught many smallmouths on a t-rig though. Also, I've caught a lot of them on a jig with an exposed hook using tubes or grubs. I guess thats the same as a Ned rig? I don't know. That's what a Ned rig looks like to me. Just a lot of guys use these small senko looking baits and I always use grubs or tubes.

[Obi_Wan]

All caught on a Ned.  Most caught on a 4" Charlie Brewer worm with a 1/16th oz chartruese jig head (#6 hook)

[Standard]

I generally despise a ned rig, but a standard ned got an 18.5" and a t-rig ned with a craw plastic got a 19" last sunday, the two big fish of the day on an otherwise slow trip.

 

 

[TOXIC]

Totally,depends on what the fish want.  Las year on St Clair we had a couple of 100 fish days on Ned’s.  This year it wasn’t producing that well so I changed up to a dropshot and the bigger fish came to play.  Had to go old school with a 5” Yamamoto Pro Senko to get the better bites. 

[Reel]

Ned Rig - open hook... no grass

[Junk Fisherman]

On 6/7/2023 at 10:25 PM, blanked said:

So whats the go to lure on the ned?

 

weedless or open hook?   I dont understand why anyone would use a open hook myself

 

The original TRD works well so that is what I use the majority of the time.  There is very little vegetation where I fish for smallmouth so I definitely want an exposed hook.  I don't use a texas-rigged setup for any of my smallmouth fishing.  I don't like the EWG hooks on Neds that make it weedless since I do not like how it has affected my hookup ratio and I am actually quite pleased with how well a #2 hook on a Ned can get through light vegetation.  You can shake off a lot of weeds during a retrieve if you have good feel of your presentation.  I'll go to a t-rigged plastic if the weeds are too heavy.  

 

[galyonj]

9 minutes ago, Junk Fisherman said:

I don't like the EWG hooks on Neds that make it weedless since I do not like how it has affected my hookup ratio

 

I've not noticed that my hookup ratio is affected, but hook size – which necessitates some thoughts about the type of hook – absolutely affects my confidence level with this presentation.

 

It's safe to say that, with a lot of soft plastics, the secret ingredient is crime secondary action.

 

Given that, I want as little hook going through the plastic as I can get, because I want as much of the plastic free to move as possible.

 

 

R to L: Mule Fishing Mule Jig (1/16oz head with #4 hook), @Siebert Outdoors Morel Jig (1/16oz with #1 hook), Siebert Outdoors Morel Widegap (1/16oz with 1/0 EWG)

 

The only time I'll ever rig a 3" plastic with a hook as big as that EWG is for this photograph. I use those for 4" or larger plastics like dead ringers or finesse worms.

 

If I have to be weedless, like @Junk Fisherman, I ain't fishing a ned rig.

[TOXIC]

I have to admit I’m spoiled when it comes to my Ned rigs.  I have a friend who pours his own Ned’s and with a bit of Yamamoto bartering I have been able to cement my supply of his Ned heads.  What makes his Ned’s so special is the hook.  Extremely sharp and I have yet to roll the point or break one.  The spike bait keeper was a request by me because my Yamamoto Ned baits hold better and the single strand weed guard is his idea and has mixed reviews.  The biggest complaint is that it’s like a dang hypodermic needle and it’s easy to get skewered rigging baits.  Just for reference, the Blue Cat I included a picture of was caught on one of his Ned’s and 6lb test. 

[TnRiver46]

News flash: bass like plastic worms. Even ones cut in half 

[galyonj]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

News flash: bass like plastic worms. Even ones cut in half 

[gim]

40 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

News flash: bass like plastic worms. Even ones cut in half 

Any color will work.  As long as its purple.