OCdockskipper

I know tongue in cheek humor doesn't come across well when written, so please know my post to you was done with a smirk on my face. Like IndianaFinesse, I see too often people doing their version of something and then claiming to have followed directions. There is an old story about two strangers who end up playing 18 holes of golf together. The first guy takes a few mulligans, moves his ball a little on the fairway if needed and calls any putt under 2 feet a gimme. Nothing major, just a couple of ways to improve his enjoyment for a day out on the links. At the end of the day, the first guy looks at his score and comments "Heck, that was my best round of golf ever". The second guy thinks it over for a moment and then responds "I am not sure what game you were playing out there, but it definitely wasn't golf". One of the few smart things I ever have done in my years of fishing came a few years back when I heard about this Ned rig thing from a friend. As I read about it, I initially dismissed it (sometimes confusing it with the Neko rig) until I remembered the Charlie Brewer & his Slider system. Sometimes something simple & subtle has some merit. So in a fit of common sense, I followed the directions being given by Ned Kehde as well as comments by TeamNine9 & Bluebasser. I'll be the first to admit it is not a magic lure or technique, but once learned, it is lethal. It has been the best producer on my small California home lake, on a couple of farm ponds in Georgia, on the Guadalupe river outside of Austin and in the clear, deep waters of Lake Powell, not only for numbers but largest fish. But in the words of Bluebasser from a few years back "Nothing to see here folks, just move along..."

So let me get this straight. You use a heavier than recommended jighead & plastics other than Elaztech and then say that the Ned Rig won't catch the numbers of fish that some users claim it will? Hmmmmmm....

I didn't hear any other specifics, I just heard what he said from stage. Knowing what Luke Clausen said the day before, I assumed Moseley meant a TRD or other Elaztech product on a very light head. Looks like I was wrong. I am curious what he will show when Bassmaster shows the baits used by the top 12 finishers.

Tom, let me preface this post by stating in the words of Bobby Knight, I believe you have forgotten more about bass fishing than I am ever going to know. I hope this post doesn't come across as harsh, that is not the way it is intended, but there are some flaws in the logic of what you wrote above. It would be easy to imagine a successful fisherman back in the 1970's saying he has enough diving plugs so he had no need to fish a Big O to catch bass. I wouldn't blame Homer Circle if back in the early 2000's if he had said he had no use for a Senko, he had enough other plastic worms. Experience & success often blinds us to subtle differences that are summarily dismissed. To say that you "haven't had to fish a Ned Rig" or if you were "not successful", you would give it a try is a bit condescending, as if this method (Midwest Finesse) is just something one uses to help beginners or lousy fishermen. Like Don Iovino's doodling or Dee Thomas Flippin', the truth is Midwest Finesse is an effective way to catch many & large bass that won't fall to other methods. One doesn't have to be desperate to use it. On B.A.S.S.'s website review of Icast recently, a reporter who had never caught a 10lb bass wrote an article listing the 5 new baits he felt were most likely to catch a 10 lb bass in 2018. Say What?? As a commenter wrote, that is like taking dietary advice from a fat person. I bring this up based on your suggestion of using a reaper on a mushroom head for a different falling action. If ones experience with Midwest Finesse is only theoretical and their view of it is that it is really nothing new or different, than giving advice on it doesn't make sense. That's why you see me shying away on commenting on how to catch 30 lb stringers, how to win tournaments, best trailers on a chatterbait or a host of other subjects in which I have zero experience ever actually accomplishing or having any success with. Again, please know that I am no way impugning your knowledge or accomplishments of bass fishing. In fact, I will make the following standing offer. If you are ever down in Orange County and want a few hours fishing on a non-public lake, you are welcome to join me on my little boat. I'll give you the front seat, be happy to stay in the back observing and learning as you break down my 85 acre lake. If it makes sense to do so, I'll throw a Ned rig most of the day, that could be a fun experiment. Thanks for listening Tom & do feel free to take me up on my offer if you want to.

After day 4 weigh-in, I (unofficially) have ALK402 still leading our group, with Gundog moving up to 2nd, Kyle to third, NorCal 4th and me down to 5th. Unfortunately for me, Bernie Shultz took a wrong turn out of the marina, drove to the Atlantic Ocean and spent the day fishing for marlin... Congrats all, I believe we have 5 members of our group all at 95% or better for the entire contest.

Brock Moseley just announced from stage that he caught most of his smallmouth this week at the Elite event on a Ned rig, until the wind created a problem fishing the light weight. He caught over 20lbs of smallmouth each day, total of 82-3. If KVD's parent's had never met, Brock Moseley and the Ned Rig would have have posted their first Elite wins.

Not to throw a wet blanket on your great showing, but Jones was in 12th after day 3 while Fieder slipped to 34th and Pipkins took a nosedive to 48th (did he even fish on Saturday? ). Had those last two not slipped, I dare say you were on the way to a very memorable performance. Great job!!

When I was in Houston for the Classic earlier this year, the staff at the Z-Man booth had a different take on this. The main reason for lack of exposure or use of ZMan's TRD's & other Ned products is that Zman is not a MLF sponsor nor do any of their pro's fish in MLF. A Strike King pro could use half a Zero on a mushroom head, but the announcers would (accurately) describe it as a small jig with a Strike King plastic on it. There is no reason for any of the pro's or MLF to report on the use of ZMan's products unless they absolutely had to. However, that scenario occurred earlier this year. Kevin Short won a MLF select event and true to his nature of independence & integrity, told (& showed) the audience over & over that he was using a TRD. Mark Rose, who finished in 2nd, was using a similiar product/technique but described it as a small jig. I was a marketing major in college and one of the things we studied was product life cycles. Any product that has huge sales initially but then quickly declines is an example of great marketing of a bad product. People buy it off of the initial information, but are quickly dissatisfied with it and don't repeat the purchase. Zman is experiencing the exact opposite with the TRD in my opinion, slow or steady initial sales that continue to climb over time. That is representative of poor or little marketing of a good product. Sales tend to grow through word of mouth as people are pleased with the performance of a product. Tom, I know your legendary history of catching incredible numbers of huge largemouths here in California. I also understand your hesitancy to think of the Ned rig as anything more than just a small jig, that it is really nothing new. My question is, with all due respect, have you ever fished a true Ned rig in the manner Ned Kehde and other Midwest afficianado's have taught, for a whole day?

The standings for our group just tightened up. With Lucas, Fieder & Pipkins going the wrong direction and Hartman, Martens, & Palaniuk gaining points, the top 5 are all within a 100 points of each other. I might be a point or two off, but I have it with ALK402 in the lead, about 50 points ahead of Ikefanhere, who is 20 points ahead of myself & gundog (I believe we are tied), and NorCalBassin just 20 or so points behind us. All of us have at least 1 angler fishing tomorrow and everyone but me is in line for a 40 point bonus for big fish or big bag. The anglers that can affect scores tomorrow are KVD (1st), JVD (2nd), Palaniuk (3rd), Schulz (8th) , Hartman (11th) & Jones (12th). How about a 28 lb bag with a 7lb kicker for Bernie on Sunday?!?

A quick side note, at the Elite tournament on the St. Lawrence river today, Luke Clausen had what looks to be the big bag for the 3rd day. From stage, he said he caught the 23-12 bag of smallmouth on a TRD. Too bad it is a numbers only bait...

Sssshhhhh, not so loud. Your dad goes by the nickname Kyle right (wink, wink), he is the one who is actually filling out the roster... Seeing you win a 3K BPS gift card & then have to forfeit it would be as bad as busting off a personal best at the boat because of a bad knot...

Kyle, I think you have a legitimate shot to win this event. You went up about 140 points today, you took the lead for the 40 points big bag bonus and all of your guys are in the Top 25. Here is the scenario I am rooting to happen for you - Palaniuk & at least 3 of your other guys make the top 12 while Feider, Jones, JVD or Pipkins catches big fish for the tournament. That will steal the 40 point big fish bonus away from KVD as well as you having both of the bonus's split between 2 anglers (tougher for someone else to duplicate). Even if KVD leads 2 more days & ends up winning, he would end up with 320 points, something Palaniuk matches with a 5th place finish and big bag. Then your picks in buckets B thru E will most likely be enough to carry you to victory. While I am disappointed in dropping from 1st to 4th or worst in our group, I do root for our folks to win one of the prizes. I know how much effort you put into research, I hope it pays off for you. One lesson I learned is never ridicule an anglers wife. I made a negative comment about the abilities of Trait Crist Zaldain last month, and her husband punished me by finishing 90th. Maybe he is looking to get booted from the Elites so he can fish all the opens with her...

Caddyshack. The ringtone on my cell for non-family members is the 1st Tee scene. Judge - "Gambling is illegal at Bushwood sir & I never slice...d**n!!" Al - "OK, you can owe me". Judge - "I OWE YOU NOTHING!!"

My issue with the current jigs is that the Elaztech bunches up towards the jighead after being bit by fish. I can't tell if this style would solve that, but I don't believe it would. I have yet to find a better way to rig TRD's than glueing them to the head. They keep their shape, stay put for dozens of fish & don't bunch.

A - Mark Davis (a 6th & 20th in the last 2 visits here) B - Josh Bertrand, (11th & 8th) C - Aaron Martens, (13th & 5th) D - Bernie Schultz, (15th & 6th) E - Chris Zaldain, (17th & 16th) As I wrote, I am going with history here. The high water might throw a wrench into that strategy...

I'll list my picks on Thursday, but my choices went pretty fast as well. Even though the river is very high and appears different than in previous years, I used history for the past two events to guide my selections. The problem with that strategy is it leaves guys like Ehrler, Lefebre & Hartman out when it wouldn't be surprising for any of them to win it.

During the dog days of summer over the past few years, I have had the following happen on more than one occasion. While out fishing, I will sometimes cut across the lake at a medium speed to get back to my dock, whether it be to hit the restroom or grab something from inside the house. The lake is an electric only lake, so there is no outboard involved. I'll do a quick tie up, jump onto the dock and out of habit, look into the water around the boat. Often I'll see 3 or 4 medium sized bass cruising towards the boat, from deeper water. The depthfinder is on, it is typically a clear day, so I don't know if they are attracted to sounds the depthfinder or trolling motor have created or to the moving shadow & shade from the boat that may have passed over them. Usually the fish will cruise up until they notice me standing there, at which time they will just change direction & leave. The first time or two, I thought it was just a chance occurrence, that I happened to dock when those fish were headed that way. After the 4th or 5th time, I became paranoid that they were stalking me...

Being considered lucky is a matter of perspective and is relative to other considerations. My sister-in-law once said she "wasn't lucky" and during the ensuing conversation, I gave her the following to think about: In 30 plus years of going to Vegas & gambling, I have hit a Royal Flush on $.25 Draw Poker machines only 3 times. Once was on progressive machine that paid $2600 instead of the normal $1000, a second was also on a progressive machine that paid $1400 and the third was dealt, with no need for a draw, after having a casino give me a coupon for a free play of $20. With those results, would I be considered unlucky for only having hit that kind of jackpot 3 times? Or would I be considered lucky for having won nearly twice the amount of money that one would have normally with those 3 hits (not to mention winning a grand off a free roll)?

Yep, same things here. I know it isn't my connection or browser, for it is only happening here & no other sites. Add to that the new limitations on pictures and there is definitely something not working properly. I blame Russian hackers.

Ironically, I once caught a person (well, his hat a least) when bass were jumping in the water and splashing around. Schooling activity can make a person forget there is another person behind hem in the boat...

Here in Southern California, dragonflies become more noticeable and active in late June/early July, typically a few weeks after the emergence of June bugs. One thing that is different on my home lake, the dragonflies are less active in the mornings (when the offshore breeze is negligible), but start zipping around as the day warms up, even though there is a steady 5-7 mph breeze. If it is a sunny day, I'll skip the numerous docks with a 4" senko & and have dragonflies try to fight/mate with it between casts. They land on my rod tip and then zip back & forth around the wacky rigged worm. Regardless of a breeze or not, during these bright summer days, a good number of bass do hide out under docks & pontoon boats (we don't have any other matted vegitation or cover with lids). I used to think the skipped senko's they bite resembled small minnows or bluegill, but I am now convinced they are being mistaken for the brown or orange dragonflies. Yesterday, I had a 3 lb fish intercept a senko mid-skip halfway under a dock, with an explosion that would rival any whopper plopper strike. The fact that I couldn't see it and was amplified by the acoustics from under the dock made it that much more awesome. A side note on on my experiences of fish caught under docks or other matted cover. If the fish is very dark colored, I believe he has been there a while and is most likely solitary, having staked out that area for himself. I call these fish "dock fish" and rarely catch a 2nd fish from their locations. If I catch a lighter covered fish from a similar location, I will often catch a 2nd or 3rd fish on consecutive casts back under there. I believe these fish are like the ones in your picture, fish that have either temporarily stopped under the cover to rest or were in the midst of passing thru/feeding when I intercepted them.

1/15th if you want to fish it like a Ned rig, I only (rarely) move up to 1/10 if the wind is blowing my casts all all over the place. The heavier weights make it fish more like a grub on a regular jighead. It will work, but it really is a different method.

That is a possibility, although most people who feed the fish here do it inadvertently when they are feeding the ducks, geese & swans. There is a pair of Australian swans on the lake who have had 3 clutches in less than 2 years. When they take their young-ins around the shallows, you can always spot a few following under them waiting for scraps.

Nah, thanks for the offer though...

I wonder if that was based on males, females or both. I have had a male bass make a bed in the same place (off the east side of my dock) for 4 years in a row. While I can't be positive it was the same fish all 4 years, I do know it was the same fish the past 2 years. I caught him last year and made a small clip on one of his fins and when I caught him this year, the scar from the docking was there.