Matt Ruggie Wrote:
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> River current often requires more weight to
> maintain bottom contact, like Aaron mentions. The
> OG NED wasn't a bottom contact bait tho. It was
> glided across the bottom with minimal contact.
> Before there was a zman and finesse TRD worms, we
> would use 3" senkos on 1/16-1/8oz heads, and use
> a very slow retrieve to glide across bottom with a
> lift every now and then. It was a great bait to
> give my then 8 year old son, that he wouldn't snag
> alot in river current. Very effective and very
> much like the original ned technique IMO. Seems
> ned rigs of today are fished more as bottom
> contact baits which, as a river smallie guy, I
> always just considered a jig and plastic sometimes
> requiring more weight in current. Splitting
> hairs, probably!


A lot of people don't know the power of gliding or swimming a ned. Cast, contact, slow retrieve. It is the easiest way to fish with my boys.

I love me a good cast and wiggle retrieve with a ned, definitely hooked into some nice fish that way. I just mean the commonly understood concept of a Ned rig is light weight small bait, make it a 1/4 oz and it just seems like it's a different technique- or maybe call it a Ned Sr. Like a Bubba shot as a bigger dropshot.

When does a finesse jig become just a jig? Is a MOJO rig/splitshit rig really just a Carolina rig by another name?

Words are all just sounds we attribute meaning to, if I say Ned rig and you think 1/16 oz 3 inch bait but I mean 5/o ewg hook in a 10 inch worm we just have a language barrier - people call all sorts of things different names but what's important is shared understanding of the intended message. Granted I'd be wrong calling the huge worm a Ned rig based on the commonly accepted definition of what a Ned rig is haha

Regardless of what we call it, you guys are spot on with what you're doing to catch fish. Fat Ned or not if it works it works.

Building rods in MA, Building the community around the world

Absolutely Aaron. Great technique!! Especially for the youngsters...although I know of a guide that makes his living on that technique!! The 8 year old I mentioned is now 27 lol. Now he outfishes me!!!

My parents had a camp on Oneida back about 7 years ago when I first started throwing the Ned. I would swim it just like Aaron suggested and the smallies would destroy it. I caught more fish swimming a ned than I did dragging or hopping. For some reason I stopped fishing it that way and I’m not sure why. Same thing with a finesse jig, I only ever used to slow roll it with light bumps of the rod and it was my number one technique. Now it seems I end up dragging and hopping more

I fish that famous, really deep canyon between Oregon and Idaho (it’s real name is censored here). Ned rigs can be very effective, but the near vertical shoreline often calls for heavier rigs. Sizing up the plastic often results in larger bass, too. It’s still a Ned style of rig. It’s just that the bottom of the littoral zone is down 80 feet.