The Ned Rig is a finesse fishing technique that involves using a small soft plastic bait rigged on a jig head. It is known for its success in catching bass in both shallow and deep water.
The Basics Of Ned Rig
The Ned Rig has gained popularity among anglers for its ability to attract bites from inactive and finicky fish. The Ned Rig, also referred to as the Midwest finesse rig, was originally developed by angler Ned Kehde. It comprises a short soft plastic bait, typically a stick bait or finesse worm, rigged on a mushroom-shaped jig head.
The rig is often fished with light line and a slow, subtle presentation, making it a go-to technique for targeting lethargic bass. With its proven track record of enticing bites from pressured fish, the Ned Rig has become a staple in many anglers’ arsenals.
What Is Ned Rig?
The Ned Rig is a finesse fishing technique popular among bass anglers. It involves using a small, lightweight jighead paired with a soft plastic bait, typically a stickworm or a small creature bait, threaded onto the hook. The technique is name after Ned Kehde, an angler who popularized the method. The Ned Rig is known for its simplicity and effectiveness, particularly in catching pressured or finicky bass in various fishing conditions, including clear water and tough bite situations. It’s often employed with light spinning tackle and light line, and it’s known for its ability to entice strikes from bass when other techniques might not be as successful.
Ned Rig Setup
Getting your Ned Rig setup just right is crucial for a successful fishing excursion. From choosing the right rod and reel to selecting the appropriate line and hooks, each element plays a vital role in enhancing your fishing experience.
Choosing The Right Rod And Reel
When selecting a rod for your Ned Rig setup, aim for a light to medium-action spinning rod with a fast tip, which allows for better sensitivity to detect bites. Pair your rod with a high-quality spinning reel that offers smooth drag and great line capacity.
Selecting The Right Line And Hooks
Opt for fluorocarbon or braided line in the 6-10lb test range to minimize visibility and provide excellent sensitivity when using the Ned Rig. For hooks, choose light-wire, size 1 or 2 hooks to ensure optimal presentation and hook-setting efficiency.
Ned Rig Baits
In the world of finesse fishing, Ned Rig has emerged as a go-to technique for catching finicky fish. Selecting the best baits for NedRig can make all the difference in your success on the water. In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top soft plastic options and discuss how to match the bait to the conditions for optimal results.
Soft Plastic Options
When it comes to Ned Rig, soft plastic baits are highly effective due to their lifelike movement in the water. Some popular choices include:
- Z-Man Finesse TRD
- Roboworm Ned Worm
- Strike King Ned Ocho
These baits mimic natural prey and tempt bass to strike, making them ideal for finesse presentations.
Pros Of Using Ned Rig
Fishing with a Ned Rig offers many benefits that make it a go-to choice for many anglers. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages:
Simplicity: Ned Rig setup involves minimal components, making it easy to learn and use even for beginners.
Versatility: This technique allows you to target a wide range of fish, including bass, walleye, and trout, making it ideal for various fishing environments.
Natural Presentation: The design of the Ned Rig allows it to mimic a variety of prey, providing a lifelike presentation that entices fish to strike.
Year-Round Effectiveness: Whether you’re fishing in spring, summer, fall, or winter, the Ned Rig can produce results consistently throughout the year.
Ned Rig Fishing
Fishing a ned rig is fairly simple, although you can do a lot more with it than you might think. It skips great. It is dynamite for the fish you can see in clear water. The drug works, he jumped, swam, crawled, popped, threw and more.
Most people simply throw it out and fish it back out like a regular worm. Because it is so light, it will lift and fall much more than a normal worm. So it is often better to pull it to the side or just pull it to the bottom with a winch in a steady, slow wind.
A lot of people like slow and small lifting and lowering. And adding a bit of shaking while sitting on the bottom is often deadly.
Ned Rig for Bass Fishing
Most of today’s sun rigs are designed for bass fishing. They are just as effective on large mouth as they are on small mouth bass. Spotted bass love them too. Although you can fish them a little differently depending on the species and the location of the species, it is often simply a choice between hopping or rising and falling and smoothly crawling or swimming.
I’ve found a lot of sneaky ways to be very effective with bass. For years, I’ve kept a trade secret about fishing for spotted bass under docks at fishing spots like Table Rock and Beaver Lake. You could skip a Nedrig under the dock and let it drop about 10 feet or so and then start reeling it in at a pretty good clip. I often caught fish on the first skip, but I caught a lot of fish just pulling up from under a deep dock about 10 feet deep.
So there are plenty of ways to catch bass on it. But honestly what I love about the Ned Rig is the fact that while I’ve been fishing for bass with the nedrig, I’ve also caught walleyes, scavengers, saugers, bluegills, catfish and even stripers and whites on it. It is a natural profile that looks real to the fish. And the number of fish biting him proves it time and time again.
Ned Rig Jigheads
The original heads for ned rig fishing were just mushroom jigheads often used for walleye fishing. These jig heads have a rounded, flat-backed head that will press against your plastic, giving it a streamlined profile like a crawfish or minnow. Nowadays, with rigs being made from different materials, jig heads have evolved into many more shapes and sizes, with heavier hooks, weedless rigs and more.
I still keep my ned rig fishing really simple. For products like the Z-Man Elaztech, I like to use a thinner wire head with a wire holder. Big thick lead holders don’t work as well with Elaztech material. I often walk with the same heads. I like the original Z-Man Finesse Shroom heads and I like the 5 Fish Lures Ultimate Ned Head for my weedless rigs and swim and ned.
Ned Rig vs Texas Rig
Many anglers will think they can just rig a small Texas rig and do the same thing. While it may catch some fish, the Texas Rig doesn’t work as well as a small plastic on a jighead. The bait tends to slide more on the jighead.
While a small Texas rig can go through cover a bit better, you’ll need a bit more powerful tackle to get good hook penetration, where the beauty of a Rig on a light line and jig head is that you can literally start reeling and hook most. fish. You don’t need to set the hook. You catch a lot of fish in open water, fall fishing, and the fish respond to you bouncing or picking up the bait and releasing it much easier with a jighead than with a Texas rig.
Ned Rig Rods
A good sensitive spinning rod certainly makes fishing with a ned rig easier and more efficient. Many bites on sun rigs are just changes in pressure. Either your bait is suddenly a bit heavier or sometimes a bit lighter if they pick it up and move towards you. So this is a responsive rod that has a good fast action for throwing small baits and the spine under pressure sets the hook on the fish as they swim away with your bait.
Last Word
Incorporating Ned Rigs into your fishing arsenal can boost your success on the water. By mastering this finesse technique, you’ll entice more bites and land more fish. Embrace the simplicity and effectiveness of the Rig to enhance your angling experience.
Happy fishing!