Senkosam
Member
Every time I post photos of the small soft plastic lures that do great, someone mentions that all they are, are Ned rigs. But there are many differences not mentioned or understood. First, the definition of a Ned rig - note the words in bold:
A Ned Rig is a very simplistic bait and presentation at its core – it is the most do-nothing looking rig and one of the most effective fish catchers. Born out of the Midwest finesse bass fishing niche by Ned Kehde, the Ned Rig is simply a small plastic, usually 2 to 3 inches long, rigged on a mushroom head jig.
The shape on the right is the only similarity - this time.
When and where to throw a Ned Rig: You want to make sure fish are relating to the bottom and that the bottom is fairly clean. Neither of these are a complete deal breaker but rather a good general rule of thumb. The central component of a Ned Rig is the Jig head or Ned head. A Ned head has a flat surface to it so the bait will stand up when dragged across the bottom. Grab a light, 1/16- or 1/8-ounce lead head jig like the Finesse ShroomZ, cut a 5″ stick bait in half (or grab the Finesse TRD) and thread it on. Z -Man ElaZtech is a proprietary material that renders soft baits resistant to rips and tears and floats upright on the bottom.
Once on the bottom, give it a minute to let the fish get a look. Bait action is imparted by the angler in the form of subtle hops and twitches, separated by pauses while the bait settles through the water column to the bottom. Slow and subtle is good; slower and subtler is better.
1. What I cast is far from a do-nothing bottom rig. In fact, the lures have as much if not more action than most lures and that action is imparted constantly by the angler. The slow, twitch & pause angler-imparted action is the only similarity.
2. Ned head - a mushroom or flathead jig defines the Ned Rig.
Fact : I never use anything but ball head jigs and never use 1/8 oz. My jigs range from 1/32 - 1/24 oz. which allows slower retrieves mid-depth. The reason a flat head is used is to work the lure on the bottom. Lures like the Sassy Shad and and other swimbaits, are usually worked parallel to the bottom on a steady retrieve. But I work my micro-plastics by twitching & pausing the lures all the way, rarely letting them rest on bottom (unless when lighting my pipe.)
3. The design of the Ned Rig Lure is a fat stick 3" long. My small plastics are less than 2" and thin in diameter. Even a curl-tail grub with the tail removed has a darting action the Ned Rig lure doesn't. The action of the Ned Rig is totally different than that imparted to a small plastic, no-tail lure mid-depth.
4. Being a bottom lure, Ned lures don't cover near as much water as small twitched small plastics. Yesterday I hit a shallow flat pattern anchored in a few spots. I cast all around the boat in 2' and caught a bunch of fish. The bottom had a lot of soft algae so the Ned would not have worked by dragging it.
5. The variety of small plastic shapes is limitless unlike short thick Ned sticks. Even one shape will do well 100 % of the time though I like to make believe that more shapes make thing more interesting to fish.
Here's a body-to-body melted together that caught fish rigged from the front or wacky rigged:
1/32 oz jig with #6 hook
111 fish on Wed., 63 fish on Thurs. (short stay due to 20 mph wind) and 69 fish last Fri. blow away the numbers of fish limited by the Ned Rig. Small plastics on light jigs is a totally different way to fish than the Ned Rig or using swimbaits. Species caught on light jig and small plastics: crappie, white and yellow perch, sunfish, bass.
A Ned Rig is a very simplistic bait and presentation at its core – it is the most do-nothing looking rig and one of the most effective fish catchers. Born out of the Midwest finesse bass fishing niche by Ned Kehde, the Ned Rig is simply a small plastic, usually 2 to 3 inches long, rigged on a mushroom head jig.
The shape on the right is the only similarity - this time.
When and where to throw a Ned Rig: You want to make sure fish are relating to the bottom and that the bottom is fairly clean. Neither of these are a complete deal breaker but rather a good general rule of thumb. The central component of a Ned Rig is the Jig head or Ned head. A Ned head has a flat surface to it so the bait will stand up when dragged across the bottom. Grab a light, 1/16- or 1/8-ounce lead head jig like the Finesse ShroomZ, cut a 5″ stick bait in half (or grab the Finesse TRD) and thread it on. Z -Man ElaZtech is a proprietary material that renders soft baits resistant to rips and tears and floats upright on the bottom.
Once on the bottom, give it a minute to let the fish get a look. Bait action is imparted by the angler in the form of subtle hops and twitches, separated by pauses while the bait settles through the water column to the bottom. Slow and subtle is good; slower and subtler is better.
1. What I cast is far from a do-nothing bottom rig. In fact, the lures have as much if not more action than most lures and that action is imparted constantly by the angler. The slow, twitch & pause angler-imparted action is the only similarity.
2. Ned head - a mushroom or flathead jig defines the Ned Rig.
Fact : I never use anything but ball head jigs and never use 1/8 oz. My jigs range from 1/32 - 1/24 oz. which allows slower retrieves mid-depth. The reason a flat head is used is to work the lure on the bottom. Lures like the Sassy Shad and and other swimbaits, are usually worked parallel to the bottom on a steady retrieve. But I work my micro-plastics by twitching & pausing the lures all the way, rarely letting them rest on bottom (unless when lighting my pipe.)
3. The design of the Ned Rig Lure is a fat stick 3" long. My small plastics are less than 2" and thin in diameter. Even a curl-tail grub with the tail removed has a darting action the Ned Rig lure doesn't. The action of the Ned Rig is totally different than that imparted to a small plastic, no-tail lure mid-depth.
4. Being a bottom lure, Ned lures don't cover near as much water as small twitched small plastics. Yesterday I hit a shallow flat pattern anchored in a few spots. I cast all around the boat in 2' and caught a bunch of fish. The bottom had a lot of soft algae so the Ned would not have worked by dragging it.
5. The variety of small plastic shapes is limitless unlike short thick Ned sticks. Even one shape will do well 100 % of the time though I like to make believe that more shapes make thing more interesting to fish.
Here's a body-to-body melted together that caught fish rigged from the front or wacky rigged:
1/32 oz jig with #6 hook
111 fish on Wed., 63 fish on Thurs. (short stay due to 20 mph wind) and 69 fish last Fri. blow away the numbers of fish limited by the Ned Rig. Small plastics on light jigs is a totally different way to fish than the Ned Rig or using swimbaits. Species caught on light jig and small plastics: crappie, white and yellow perch, sunfish, bass.
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