Ned rig techniques

Last weekend I tried some Ned rigging with plastic only policy imposed on myself and had some success.
I searched YouTube and had mixed information on cadence which is something I was trying to mix up.
So was wondering what is the best way to use this rig


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I find the key is if what I'm doing feels like its not enough then its probably "right" lol

that said it changes day to day and spot to spot, some of my best days fishing the Ned have been just pitching it out a leaving it on bottom for a couple minutes and if nothing reel in a pitch to a different spot.

some days they want it hopped back to the boat and from there you have play with height and speed of lift

 

You can Ned rig a few different plastic body types, but most popular is a finesse stick worm. Buoyancy is important, but I've had decent success with a Powerbait Pro Jig Worm...especially for Walleyes. Walleyes love that bait. For Bass, I pretty well exclusively use "the competition's" brand of plastic, for the buoyancy properties.

If you're Ned rigging for Walleyes, not Bass, I'd play with the Berkley Pro Jig Worm....they eat that bait, especially if you pick the right colors.

How to fish it? ---- chuck it, pitch, cast it, let it hit bottom and watch your line. Pull it, twitch it and watch your line again....lather, rinse, repeat.

For Walleyes I move it more than for Bass. Bass like to see the subtle movements as they stare at it....Walleyes like things darting, running, contacting bottom....just bigger movements in general. You'll often notice in a day of fishing areas that hold Bass and Walleye, the guy that over-fishes the bait will get more Walleye and the guy that moves the bait less, tends to get more Bass. ...that right there is a huge thing I learned in my Bass fishing...took years to realize that simple thing

Hi-vis line is important.

Having a LOT of jigs and plastics is very important. In Canadian Shield waters, you will lose quite a few in a day....part of the game

Sometimes a Neko rig will outperform a Ned, but that's more of a situation where you are trying to avoid severely snaggy bottom.

 

@theKraken nailed it imo.

If you're not getting bit, chances are you're over-fishing it....that's actually more than I wanted to say lol

 

Actually I was targeting bass as I was fishing on Shoal.
Really enjoyed trying something different.
Interesting about the walleye cadences being different.
Thanks


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The way I've had my best luck with the Ned is just dragging it along bottom slowly. Such a painful way to fish but it works

 

I prob talk too much (prob???) but that goes for Bass vs Walleye in general......if you read between the lines, your Bass fishing will pick up and 2's turn to 3's and 3's to 4's...just remember you have to find the 4's to catch the 4's. Shoal is infested with 2's ...if you don't catch 40 in a day you should consider changing your presentation, then use that as a gauge of how good your presentation is, then apply to that to different areas to find the 4 pounders.

Here's another huge thing I learned in Bass fishing------ don't expect that after you've caught a pile of 2's that the next one could be a 4, in the same exact spot. nuh-uh. They group by year class. There could be a pod of heavy hitters 30 feet away, but they won't be in the same school. Accept that and move on....or be ok with having fun catching 2 pounder after 2 pounder......

Smallmouth are not like Greenbacks, where you can catch a 14" dink and 10 seconds later a 31 incher bites from the same anchored position below the boat....Smallies don't operate like that......that's not opinion, that's fact, so keep that in mind if you want bigger Smallies.

...so cut the "Walleyes are tough and Bass are easy" horseshit K? ...or I'll quit feeding you Walleye dorks Bass info to help you catch a more big Bass
Anyone can catch 1 and 2 pound Bass, just like anyone can catch a limit of eaters on Woods......same shit, but catch a 20lb bag o Bass is like catching 5 Walleyes over 28" ....in a day, not a season.....both species, when talking big fish, are equally challenging, dependant of waterbody

Anyhow, cool to see you pursuing Bass Gord. That's a great Smallie fishery

 

It took me longer than it should have to start using crazy glue when rigging Ned rigs but its a HUGE help, now I pre rig an glue at least a half dozen at a time and have them when I need them. It saves time and keeps glue off the fingers.... and everything else

 

Just regular Crazy Glue


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https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/lepage-ultra-gel-super-glue-adhesive-4-ml-0671435p.html#srp


This is what I am using now, there may be better options out there but It's been working well for me so far

 

Yep regular crazy glue works fine or what Kraken mentioned and you dont need a ton of glue just a dab. I haven't lost many myself and have had more luck on the ticklerz than the TRD in the times I've been targeting them.

Keep in mind that I only fish bass until muskies open but I've had a lot of luck using them on high percentage areas early on. Look for the big heat retaining boulders and odds are there's a stack of fish around it. Most of those fish take it on the drop and are fighting over it before it hits bottom. Bass fishing for me is normally all about the pause so fishing slowly, methodically picking a shore line apart was how I've always done it. I use stick baits to search for areas and then neds to pick it apart once I see stuff I like. I also only fish natural patterns no watermelons or crazy crap in my boat. Boring hey?

On Woods the Walleye fishing seems to be much more reactionary.... the little guys love snapped jigs it seems anyways. This time of year though I wouldn't be wasting much time on fishing anything but bait clouds, suspended clouds with fish underneath looking for big bites. It's fall fat season so all the big dogs will be out pounding the forage hard regardless of species.

I have had some good luck later in the season using skirted jigs on shoal also fishing rocky northern shorelines. Fun lake, too bad I'm a musky addict. Caught a 3lber on a double 8 last week though lol should have made it a sandwich but let it go to become a 4 one day

I think its honestly my favourite presentation now because of it's versatility... Even if I only fish it the same couple ways, no reason you cant hop it or swim it or whatever really. It works great for toddlers just letting it sit thats for sure! We're still working on casting but my daughter can drop a jig.

 

I chose that glue because its a gel consistency not a real runny liquid, that was something I found mentioned numerous times by guys in posts online

 

Not sure if it's the look of it or the action I see on YouTube I really enjoy using it. Definitely try the crazy glue, saw it on YouTube also.
Great info guys tyvm.

 

Well a single drop of plain old crazy glue has always worked fine for me but I also prerig my neds and keep a few extras. I dont want to be gluing stuff on the water personally.

 

You guys keep a Ned long enough that the pants get pulled down without glue?

If the jig outlasts the plastic I toss it in the graveyard at the bow and slide another one on.

 

Seems like the Zman stuff is just so durable...... I actually fished the same plastic all of May (3 trips but still). Glued, never moved. It just had a lot of teeth marks in it but the fish didnt seem to mind.

 

I've got to get on that glue bandwagon. Thanks, @ribbie !

The ned rig has replaced the Berkeley power tube as my go-to smallmouth bait. So versatile.

 

its hard with the Z-man stuff to get the pants pulled up sometimes lol

I’ve had some real long lived Z-mans. fished 2 days with the same craw, lost a claw on the morning of the second day and it didn’t bother the fish one bit

 

I still prefer tubes for slow dragging or twitching, but for the more finesse approach I’m the same now

 

That's my point. I tend to break off long before the bait needs to be glued/replaced.

Kraken, I struggled with rigging straight with Elaztech previously to pinching it and pulling it straight on. I used to bunch and push and push and push.....when you pinch and pull it's amazing how nice and straight and easy it is to rig them.

I use the Berkley Half Head jigs. They tend to hold the baits really well and very straight, as well as being quite a bit cheaper than other quality shroom head jigs