I wouldn’t say it has completely for me, I still drop shot in deeper water.  But have to admit, I do work deep weed edges, mid-depth rock piles, etc a lot more with Neko/Ned rigs where I used to drop the Dream Shot worm routinely.  

 

Neko/Ned are less hassle/knots to me than DS, also seem to be able to work a bigger area of the bottom a little faster too. Maybe just a confidence thing...

Good question and I have no idea.

 

I love drop shotting and it is one of my confidence techniques.

 

I have found limited uses for the Ned rig in the waters I fish due to bottom structure eating the rigs.

 

Neko is OK. Caught a number on a Neko rig. But I still like the drop shot over both the Ned and Neko rigs.

 

Time will tell.

Yeah for me. Just like Whopper Ploppers have replaced buzzbaits for me.

22 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

Just like Whopper Ploppers have replaced buzzbaits for me.

That's crazy to me.  I don't even put those two baits to be used in the same way.  

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

That's crazy to me.  I don't even put those two baits to be used in the same way.  

I agree.  I'd still take a buzzbait over ploppers and think I always will. I also have a hard time fishing neko/ned rigs in my local waters and I've caught enough on a drop shot that it's still my favorite finesse tactic 

Intriguing post. I think to a certain extent they have because you can cover water more quickly with them if you want to. 

No, they're fished very differently and for different fish when I'm using them. 

20 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

No, they're fished very differently and for different fish when I'm using them. 

I agree fished differently, but I’m finding more overlap for me personally - and in those areas I find myself gravitating away from DS.  Wondering when/where you decide to drop-shot vs. Ned/Neko?  

Both techniques have caught the majority of the fish I catch. Drop shot I use more thus have caught more fish using it. Regular sized Ned rig is kinda small, I usually only use it on a bottom it is not going to disappear into the silt or mud. I guess that makes the DS a little more versatile, adjust the leader length fish for suspended fish or over the tops of weeds. 

For me the short answer is no.

5 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

No, they're fished very differently and for different fish when I'm using them. 

When is the best situation to fish one technique versus the other and what fish does each technique target? Thanks. 

Not for me.

 

All the neko, and ned rig have replaced is money in my wallet.

 

I used to have 2 spinning rods rigged up at all times. A drop shot, and a flick shake.

 

Now I have 4, a neko, a ned, a drop shot, and a flick shake.

 

I'm working on a combo presentation called The Nedko Flick Shot, with the hopes of going back down to one spinning rod. 

I haven't thrown a Neko, but I do have a Ned on at all times now. It's made the permanent rotation.....but it has not replaced the drop shot. Two different deals.

 

 

On 7/3/2019 at 9:13 AM, FryDog62 said:

I agree fished differently, but I’m finding more overlap for me personally - and in those areas I find myself gravitating away from DS.  Wondering when/where you decide to drop-shot vs. Ned/Neko?  

 

On 7/3/2019 at 2:16 PM, Festivus said:

When is the best situation to fish one technique versus the other and what fish does each technique target? Thanks. 

Ideally, I'm dropping straight down, or close to straight down on DS fish, but at the very least it's a target bait, be it a fish I've seen on the graph, or a vertical piece of cover or a piece of structure I want to drop on. 

 

The Ned is more of a casting bait I use to cover water. It's also the best skipping bait of the bunch and great for snatching them out from under docks when they won't eat a regular jig.

 

The Neko is one I use for shallow water targets when they're finicky but wanting something on the bottom. I'd never really fished a Neko much until about a month ago, then I tied it on one day for a client and he went through a whole bag of YUM finesse worms that day and I caught several with one myself. Since then I've fished it most every trip and it's been very productive for me when the going gets tough. 

Nope..dropshot works just fine for me..

Neko rig is a wacky rigged nail weight worm that's been around since the 70's and the Ned rig isn't a lot different then ball or dart head jigs with straight tail finesse worms that also date back into the 70's. 

What the drop shot rig replaces was the split shot rig when anglers started to cast and drag the drop more horizontal then verticle. The split, slip shot or finesse C-rig rig is far more affective then the drop shot cast and dragged IMO.

Tom

 

uuuhhhhh ........ no.

No, a ned rig can’t get down 20+ feet.

I’m not an expert at any of these techniques; but they are different techniques and for the most part were devised to catch fish in different situations. Also, the Ned rig isn’t much different then a 2 or 2.5 inch Slim Tube rigged perfectly straight with a lightweight internal Jig hook (been around since the 1980s or earlier and works in the same situations as a Ned) and the Neko rig is essentially a Wacky rig loaded with a nail weight (also been around since the 1980s or earlier and works in the same situations as a Neko)....none of these techniques really replaces another, but they are comparable or updated examples of a proven presentation; however the Drop Shot is completely different than all of the above and is a more controllable technique around and above structure in 25 to 30 feet of water. So I say No,  the Ned and Neko doesn’t replace the Drop Shot unless we are talking about from a popularity point of view. 

1 hour ago, Mminin33 said:

No, a ned rig can’t get down 20+ feet.

Why not?

Tom

I use drop and Ned all the time in the shallows to the deeps.

Haven't thrown a Neko in a long time.