My first cast (if you can call it that) with a ned rig was dropping it into the river about 2 feet off shore and a big smallmouth hammering it instantly.  I was fishing a rather big ned rig in the St. Lawrence and had my PB smallmouth to the boat before it threw the hook.

Read or go on YouTube and see what they say about the Slider rig, the "Do-Nothing" rig, and maybe your luck will change.

 

And you can throw a Ned Rig bait on a Slider.

 

Start with a 1/4 ounce Slider jig head and 6 pound fluorocarbon on a spinning rig.

 

Just food for thought.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Ned first put on a cut-in-half Strike King Zero that was made with elaztech.

5 minutes ago, Pickle_Power said:

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Ned first put on a cut-in-half Strike King Zero that was made with elaztech.

Oh Ned was fishing that style long before the Zero made an appearance. His writeup on the history of the 'Ned Rig'.

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/history-of-midwest-finesse-fishing-and-the-socalled-ned-rig/375073

Who hasn't caught a fish on half a senko? Or at least tried?

I never see anyone refer to the Gene Larew Pig Head Jig:  https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Gene_Larew_Ned_Rig_Pighead_Jig_Head_4pk/descpage-GLHJ.html

 

I like to fish docks and I find that there is a noticeable difference in the ease of skipping these vs other head designs.  It is mostly snag free around docks as long as you don't try to fish over vertical cross bars.  I haven't really found any other ned heads that are more weedless and also skip this easy.  My only dislike is the build quality.  I immediately cut off the keeper and just use glue.  After you have beat it against a few docks the weight on the jig head gets loose and the hook can swing side to side just a little.  Doesn't really affect anything, but doesn't scream quality.

 

 

I like the Ned Rig, especially in smaller canals and lakes. I caught a Crappie on a Ned Rig when nothing else was biting anything on that day. A bass also bit it, but he got off. It works pretty well for me.

On 5/6/2021 at 8:58 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

A Ned rig is not a bottom contact bait in my opinion. It might occasionally touch bottom, but not intentionally. It's constantly moving and not picking up anything from the bottom or hanging up. I learned to fish it from one of Ned's friends that helped develop the Midwest Finesse concept. 

Interesting point of view. I’m the opposite. I bounce it off the bottom and practically never swim it (with great success). I fish it almost identical to a shakey head. 

My experience with Z-Man jigheads is that they just snap at the shank. I think I've bent one or two, but I don't trust them anymore after that. There are other brands that I do trust and have bent back into shape a handful of times before they get trashed.

2 hours ago, lynxcat said:

Interesting point of view. I’m the opposite. I bounce it off the bottom and practically never swim it (with great success). I fish it almost identical to a shakey head. 

That only works for one cast here, two if you are a lottery winner. Then you are tying on a new jighead 

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

That only works for one cast here, two if you are a lottery winner. Then you are tying on a new jighead 

It's way more fun (and cheaper) to just chuck rolls of quarters into the lake at the launch.