Neko Rig

[airborne_angler]

Anyone use this method of rigging?

How successful is this style of rigging a worm? Whats the best retrieve for this style?

Would it work well on a finesse worm with a nail weight,or does the weight need to be larger?

[gobig]

This is a very effective rig. I use senkos and zoom swamp crawlers for the most part. The smaller tungsten weights seem to work best. For the swamp crawlers I use a straw cut down that functions like an O'ring.

[joshholmes]

isn't just a wacky rig?

[Sam]

It works.

The bass will throw the Neko nail heads so I am using small screws in place of the Neko nail heads as the screws are less expensive.

No, it is not a wacky rig. It is modified Texas rig where the worm stands upright throughout the retrieve.

Check it out on YouTube.

[joshholmes]

i did on youtube and i cant tell how its different than a wacky rig. am i missing something?

[eyedabassman]

This looks very intresting. This is new to me. So do you fish a small weedless hook and some kind of weight in the tip of the worm?

[clayton86]

Looks very effective looks like a shakey worm wacky riged with a machine screw in the head of it or a nail weight. I'm gonna try it out next outing

[Sam]

The worm stands straight up and is not on its side so it is not like the Wacky rig.

You place the small hook about an inch and a half to two inches from the wormm's head.

You put a weight on the worm's head so that it keeps the head on the bottom and the worm standing straight up.

You fish it like a Texas rigged plastic.

The worm will bounce up and down standing straight up unlike the Wacky rig where the worm lays on its side and floats like a flying bird or a Texas rigged worm that is at a 45* angle when fished.

The Neko rig can get hung up in brush and wood so try to hide the hook's tip inside the plastic as best you can.

Use light line, like four-pound test. They use two-pound test in Japan but I just can' grasp that philosophy. I have thrown it on six and eight pound test without any problems on a spinning rig.

You do not need the special Neko plastics. Just use your Zoom finesse worms and rig it the Neko way. Remember the bass can throw the Neko weights so use a small nail or screw in the worm's head to keep it on the bottom.

Give it a try.

[eyedabassman]

The worm stands straight up and is not on its side so it is not like the Wacky rig.

You place the small hook about an inch and a half to two inches from the wormm's head.

You put a weight on the worm's head so that it keeps the head on the bottom and the worm standing straight up.

You fish it like a Texas rigged plastic.

The worm will bounce up and down standing straight up unlike the Wacky rig where the worm lays on its side and floats like a flying bird or a Texas rigged worm that is at a 45* angle when fished.

The Neko rig can get hung up in brush and wood so try to hide the hook's tip inside the plastic as best you can.

Use light line, like four-pound test. They use two-pound test in Japan but I just can' grasp that philosophy. I have thrown it on six and eight pound test without any problems on a spinning rig.

You do not need the special Neko plastics. Just use your Zoom finesse worms and rig it the Neko way. Remember the bass can throw the Neko weights so use a small nail or screw in the worm's head to keep it on the bottom.

Give it a try.

I will try this for sure! Have you ever tryed using a small screw in weight,like a Fl. screw in bullet weight?

[Hooligan]

Whether you call it weighted wacky or T rigged, it works well on pressured fish.

[airborne_angler]

Tried this rig out yesterday with a Tiki Finesse Worm in Watermelon/Copper Flake. It works!!! Caught one(took it pretty deep,but was released unharmed) and stuck another good one that came unbuttoned. Lots of pecks from Panfish as well.

Cant say yet if its my "go to" or that I have a bunch of confidence in it,but the proof is in the fish I landed and the one that came unbuttoned,Neko Rig does work!!!

So now I have another piece of artillery to add to my arsenal. SWEEEET!!!

[Avalonjohn44]

It does look pretty neat, but I imagine it will begin to get expensive with lost worms and weights.

[Sam]

Avalonjohn, you are correct and that is why I use inexpensive nails or screws in place of the Neko weights.

I use 8x3/4 round slotted zinc wood screws as the bottom of the head is flat and holds tight to the worm's head.

You can use the flat head wood screws if you wish.

The size and type of screws is your decision.

You may also want to put a 1/8 cut shrink wrap on the worm to hold the hook in place.

Give it a try.

[Avalonjohn44]

Great tip. Will definitely try it. I also have some lead shot that I think I will try and mold into the head of a worm with mend-it and see how it works.

[robsbell]

I have been using Neko Rig for a couple of months with good success. I use it instead of a Shaky Head in weedy areas. Where the Shaky Head tends to dig into the weeds the Neko Rig lifts up and out of the weeds and is surprisingly weedless. I have not tried using screw or nails, I have been adding a drop of super glue to Lunker City Wacky Weights. I have settled on using O-rings and Gamakatsu Weedless Finesse Hooks and Zoom Trick Worms.

[tmier]

Sounds like a great idea for bank or dock fishing, I can't wait to try it this weekend.

[figure8racer]

Fished it today for the first time fishing against a buddy of mine. Wasn't able to find any nail weights or screw in weights at the local wally so said screw it, I'll give 1/4" sheet metal screws a try. Dropped it in and the action seemed correct so I started throwing it. My buddy saw what I was doing and laughed at me for being a dope. He was fishing a weightless senko wacky rigged which is what he throws 95% of the time. When I went up on him 10-1 he finally asked me for a screw. We then proceeded to knock em out for the next hour before I had to get the kids from daycare. While I'm not proclaiming it the best ever or even better than the weightless wacky. It is a very effective presentation and today the fish definately wanted it more than anything else.

[eyedabassman]

What kind of hook are you guys using? Any drop shot hook? I tryed a shinner hook and it was ok.I picked alot of weeds with it.