This Old Dog LOVES a new Trick!

[Tom Rust]

one of the wonderful things about (bass) fishing is the many different channels of participation. You can experience the thrill and pressure of competing in a tournament, or dreamily doze off under a shade tree while waiting for a bite while fishing "deadline". Your tackle box(es) can be full to bulging, or be complete with a cigar box of just 2 or 3 different lure techniques. While many here enjoy a cornucopia of massive impoundments all within  a 90 minute drive, the closest to me are 3-4 hours away.  Although I keep an aluminum bass boat just to drive 5 hours north to fish awesome Lake St. Clair several times a year I mostly fish farm ponds and several nearby small streams for smallmouth.  

My challenge with the ponds and city lakes i fish is the need to keep up with something new or different to fool those pressured bass. At 71, I'm a tad slower than i used to be, so a slow walk around a pond is very relaxing for me. BUT, I still am very driven to catch as many as I can during my time with a rod in my hand, so i guess I'm  competing with myself in some respects. Or occasionally a buddy joins me, so then there's a friendly competition to see who's got the secret sauce working that day, which can be really fun. 

Now here's where the new trick comes in. Although i've been a dedicated wacky worm guy for at least ten years, i've never investigated the Neko rig. Once i checked out a few videos on how to rig it, i bought some fat roboworms and got a handful of size 6 wood screws, Then I read on here that a long-shanked wacky or dropshot hook pointed backwards under the o-ring leads to successful hookups mostly in the roof of the fish's mouth. Yesterday it was time to put my new technique to the test and my buddy joined me. He didnt get a single bite and left after an hour to take care of an errand. I too only had about an hour before a scheduled Vet visit for my dog, but the Neko rig produced TEN pickups with 7 bass successfully landed. 5 of those 7 fish were hooked in the roof of the mouth. My point is, you gotta keep up with new or "tweeked" techniques in order to keep these pond bass interested in biting, otherwise "lure fatigue" sets in!!  You can bet I"ll be using a Neko Worm for the forseeable future, and the ideas shared on this website helped make it possible. Thanks to all on this site who share ideas on what wprks, and what doesn't....

[Mobasser]

It's fun to try new things, but I've been able to consistently catch bass on a t rig plastic worm for over thirty years. So, I stick with what works best for me.

[Tom Rust]

Mobasser, yes I have used  some of the same stuff for 30-40 years, but if I hit the same pond or small lake several times in a span of a few weeks, it seems like my catch rate goes down, presumably from the fish getting conditioned. That’s where I think a new presentation saves the day. Would you agree??

[LrgmouthShad]

I decided a while back that the Neko rig is here to stay and I better learn it. I’ve got quite a lot of neko weights and hooks in my terminal tackle collection

[TnRiver46]

I’ve never nekod but my cousin used to do it with a finishing nail before they ever came out with the word neko. He used it in one particular creek with very clear water for this region 

[Mobasser]

We recently had a good discussion on a similar topic. There's one lure that bass can't remember or get tuned in to. The plastic worm. Because of the natural and random way the worm moves, they don't remember it. I fish the same smaller lake two, sometimes three times weekly. My plastic worms always work, and most times, outproduce all other things I throw. They're that good. #1 bass lure .

[Bankbeater]

I try to fish with a new technique each year so I can learn it, but most of the time I’m going back to my confidence baits of a jig, crankbait, and plastic worm. 

[txchaser]

By the way if you are using softer plastics like senkos, Geecrack's "Neko Hack" is a better attachment system for neko than o-rings or anyhing else I've tried. Doesn't cut through the bait after a fish or two.

[papajoe222]

I'm a firm believer of showing them something different, new....not so much.  I'm from the school of hard baits and although I got hooked on bassin' fishing a plastic worm, I soon transitioned to hard baits. Around that time, fat bodied crankbaits and spinnerbaits were the hard baits the fish saw the most and the ones the marketing gurus were pushing. Every serious basser was throwing them and the bite began dwindling after a few years. 

I started showing them something different, minnow shaped cranks and casting spoons.  I'd add weight to a #9 or#13 Rapala to get them to run at a certain depth, or I'd remove the treble hook from a casting spoon and replace it with a single hook.  That's when I started going against the grain and I believe it applies to soft plastic presentations as well.

MIxing up my bait choices, presentations, and colors always works for me. Sometimes all I need is to speed things up. Try a Wacky Worm reeled fast with twitches and you may just agree.

 

 

 

[roadwarrior]

"Discovered" the Senko in 1997.

It still works!

[WRB]

Discover the Neko rig worm in the 70’s....it was called a nail weighted wacky worm.

Tom

[Scott804]

On 10/13/2023 at 11:40 AM, Tom Rust said:

Mobasser, yes I have used  some of the same stuff for 30-40 years, but if I hit the same pond or small lake several times in a span of a few weeks, it seems like my catch rate goes down, presumably from the fish getting conditioned. That’s where I think a new presentation saves the day. Would you agree??

100% agree with this. I think anyone who pond fishes for long enough realizes that one of the best ways to stay consistent and successful is to continue rotating baits. Sometimes on those tough days all it takes is something a little on the funky side or something you don't throw often. 

[GRiver]

The bait monkey makes me buy new baits to try.  

[greentrout]

 

Anyone ever use this?  

[txchaser]

22 minutes ago, greentrout said:

 

Anyone ever use this?  

Nope but I have used this Picasso and it catches fish. Really good in pondweed or otherwise stringy weeds that you can't snap off your lure.