Luke Barnes

I do live in the midwest!! Haha. Whats thw benefit of going lighter? Also I have the TRD Crawz and Ticklerz but I feel like the plain ok Finesse TRD has gotten more bites.

Ive never thought about using circle hooks. Smallest I have is 5/0 but a cool idea.

Ive done some research. I have a dedicated Ned Rig combo, usually use 1/10th Shroomz and a variety of the TRD plastics. I do very small short hops then reel up slack or do a big pop and let it pendulum down. Not sure if this is what Ned himself does, but its what I do. I just want to do it weedless. I use a 6'6 ML with 10lb braid and a fluoro leader. Weeds and alot of the time rocks is what really gets me. Ive broken the hook off one and bent many a light wire hook on rocks.

I looked at those and the hooks seemed a bit big. I saw these but with the more bullet head I didnt think they would stand up on the bottom like with the Shroomz. They still have good enough action to get bit?? I saw an Ike in the Shop about the Tiny Child rig. It looks like it doesnt have much action, like the top quivering, but I guess it still catches fish.

If I was weightless wacky fishing I would use spinning for sure. But I figured with the weight it should be ok on a baitcaster. Ill play around with it. Ive got O rings and a tool, just never used it haha. Ive heard others say the "weedless" hooks really hamper the hook up and you confirmed it so I'll try open hook. I have some Mustad Neko hooks I'll try over the eagle claw with the wire weed guard. I have a combo dedicated to the Ned that never gets anything else tied on it!!

Ive been on the hunt for a way to make a weedless Ned Rig that doesn't kill what little action a Finesse TRD has and coming up empty. I tried the VMC Rugbyhead but its too big of a hook. Got the Shroomz with the weed guard and its darn near worthless for grass. I want to be able to ned in thicker stuff but with the open hook I'm tired of losing them! Does anybody have any ideas???

People must think I'm trolling. But ive seriously never thrown a Neko rig. Honestly not a big fan of stick baits. But I'm wanting to try. A 6'6 M casting setup suitable for it?

Ive got ponds like this that I hit. To avoid the bottom muck I'll throw a weightless t-rig Fluke. I can cast it on a baitcaster and work it slow or fast. Also I like a chatterbait and have it barely over the top of the grass and weeds and hold on.

Well, ive never Neko or wacky rigged. I dont really know why, except I'm not the best at detecting bites while bottom fishing. I'm interested in throwing a Neko rig though. First off whats the ideal rod/reel setup? I'm confident enough to fish it on a baitcaster, I cast weightless Flukes so a stick bait is good with me to cast. Second, I'm interested in weedless rigging. I saw a Mike Iaconelli video about him doing it and call it the chicken rig. I have some eagle claw hooks with metal weed guards I got to wacky rig, but havent used them. Third do common screws work for weights or do I really need to buy the over priced Neko weights? Thanks for any help!

I like buzzbaits alot. I leave the skirt on and use a soft plastic swimbait as a trailer. Never thought about running onw skirtless, but I have with a chatterbait so might be good.

Finesse TRD. Caught 4 or 5 species on them so far!

Like the OP said I try to do this with backing too. Just enough to keep the braid on without adding too much backing. I think i put too much on my Shimano but I dont want to unspool the whole thing to cut some of the mono off.

I use the Tackle Warehouse brand ones and like them alot. They have a strap to hold the sleeve on and are a pretty tight mesh.

Last time i looked Academy had them.

Picked up a spool of Yo-Zuri Top Knot today. Was going to get Hybrid but they didnt have it in the lb test i wanted and on a whim got the full fluoro. Got some KVD Line and Lure conditioner I'm going to use when i spool it up to help with memory. If I hate it I can throw some Grand Slam copoly I have on it or get some Hybrid.

I picked up a bottle of KVD LL today. I'm eager to try it on a reel of copoly and got some fluoro to put on another reel I'll use when I spool it.

I'm headed to bass pro soon and if they have the KVD I'll grab it and try it.

Im thinking about going fluoro on one reel and that's mainly why I'm asking

For people that have used it, what does line conditioner actually do? Is it for mono, copoly, and fluoro? If it makes them smoother and less memory I want to try it. Also what brands are good?

Ok that makes alot of sense. I get it now. So the less drag the easier the line moves through the water.

Ive got HiSeas Grand Slam copoly on my cranking rod so never worked the bottom and had to worry so much about bite detection. I wonder how it would fair on a t rig?

I have no idea what you just said haha. So FC would be the most "sensitive" based on how it transmits vibration from the lure, through the line which is in the water, to the rod?

I just remembered, on my cranking setup i have 15lb HiSeas Grand Slam Copoly. Its been fantastic, but ive never fished the bottom with it. I have a 300yd spool so plenty to spool up this setup. My main concern is will it be as sensitive as 100% fluoro. Ive fished it in the rocks amd landed smallmouth and good size largemouth so I know its durable and abrasion resistant enough for me. I'm worried about sensitivity when fishing a t rig and such.

But once you start using the line to fish on the bottom, is fluoro that much more sensitive than mono?

Ok good to know. I always err on the heavier side of line.