Zman Ned Rig Bait Colors for Southern California Fishing

[LeoSolo]

Does anyone have some top choices styles and colors for Zman baits for ned rigging? I am currently going to place a large order and I wanted to get a nice variety with effective colors. For me thus far, I only know that california craw is what I enjoy using. Otherwise, I am conflicted over what colors and why to use them...I mostly (almost exclusively) fish harbors and jetties, so I catch spotted bay bass, sand bass, mackerel, white croaker, and flounder.

 

I was going to add the following colors to my arsenal in Ticklerz/Hula Stickz/TRD forms: The Deal, Bubble Gut, Mud Minnow, and possibly Blue Claw and Laguna Shrimp. 

In general, do you guys use the Black/Blue sparkle color in SoCal? Are purple colors effective in SoCal? Pinks? Oranges? 

 

Also, has anyone had success with the TRD Crawz, TRD Bugz or Baby GOAT? They seemed fun and I thought to grab one of each.

 

Thanks y'all. 

 

[TnRiver46]

Shew buddy! I’ve never been to CA but if you can’t catch em with all those colors, they probably can’t be caught! I think the z man  bait monkey has you right where he wants you 

[Bluebasser86]

Not sure about Socal, but I could get by with a handful of colors here. I have a lot of the different profile of Zman Ned baits, but the TRD and Big TRD are by far the most productive for me. 

 

Green Pumpkin, Junebug, Green pumpkin/orange, coppertreuse, mood ring, and the deal would get me through any situation. They have colors in other baits I really wish they'd do in the TRDs that I use in other baits (purple death in the Ticklerz and purple haze in the Zinkerz, smallmouth love purple here 🤷‍♂️). The Ticklerz is a really good Ned bait also, but I don't think it's something I'd carry if it wasn't available in colors the TRD isn't. 

[LeoSolo]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Shew buddy! I’ve never been to CA but if you can’t catch em with all those colors, they probably can’t be caught! I think the z man  bait monkey has you right where he wants you 

I honestly cannot deny that! I had a good day ned rigging and it sparked this obsession 🤣

51 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Not sure about Socal, but I could get by with a handful of colors here. I have a lot of the different profile of Zman Ned baits, but the TRD and Big TRD are by far the most productive for me. 

 

Green Pumpkin, Junebug, Green pumpkin/orange, coppertreuse, mood ring, and the deal would get me through any situation. They have colors in other baits I really wish they'd do in the TRDs that I use in other baits (purple death in the Ticklerz and purple haze in the Zinkerz, smallmouth love purple here 🤷‍♂️). The Ticklerz is a really good Ned bait also, but I don't think it's something I'd carry if it wasn't available in colors the TRD isn't. 

Hmmm I see! This is making me think I should just stick to the basics in the TRD / ticklerz form. For me, the ticklerz work really well. I figured the hula stick was just an extended version of it. The colors you mentioned do sound nice but a lot of forage in coastal harbors are brownish colors so I am going to lean in that direction for sure. The Deal is one I’m most interested in trying! Thanks for your input and feedback! 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, LeoSolo said:

I honestly cannot deny that! I had a good day ned rigging and it sparked this obsession 🤣

Hmmm I see! This is making me think I should just stick to the basics in the TRD / ticklerz form. For me, the ticklerz work really well. I figured the hula stick was just an extended version of it. The colors you mentioned do sound nice but a lot of forage in coastal harbors are brownish colors so I am going to lean in that direction for sure. The Deal is one I’m most interested in trying! Thanks for your input and feedback! 

Look on the bright side it would be exponentially more expensive had you had a great day with swim baits and then started that obsession!
 

I’m guessing your water is very clear? My buddy does well with the mudminnow color in our clearest Reservoir

[Darth-Baiter]

I get by with green pumpkin and watermelon red. 
 

I should give all my other colors to some high school bass team. 

[LeoSolo]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Look on the bright side it would be exponentially more expensive had you had a great day with swim baits and then started that obsession!
 

I’m guessing your water is very clear? My buddy does well with the mudminnow color in our clearest Reservoir

Oh yeah! I get hooked quite easily on these things so I need to be careful.

 

I actually don't know how clear the water is because down below the ocean I don't know how dark it gets...I'd say medium clarity? I've seen some underwater footage and it looked nice but it could have been a bright day. Mud minnow is a color I want to try! 

 

Sometimes I wish I was in a more traditional bass fishing state because all of the pros give such great advice and techniques to use. Here drop-shotting is the go-to technique, and it's all I've done next to carolina-rig and ned rig. So, I feel a bit limited. Hence why I am obsessing over what works is because I feel there's so few options to begin with. 

[Big Hands]

Not sure if everyone realizes it, but he's fishing salt water.

 

In my experience, all of those colors work best with a small strip of squid on the hook ;~)

 

BITD when I used to live close to the ocean and would fish there regularly, the twin tail scampi on a football head jig ruled the roost. Pumpkin Pepper, Root Beer and Watermelon pepper (natural colors were very popular).

 

As far as a variety techniques that work here, I think there are many that are effective, but just are not utilized like they could be. Although there are not a lot of great shallow water vegetation type lakes, many have some small areas where that stuff can work. All kinds of topwater walking baits, glide baits, wakebaits, poppers, swimbait, crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, creature baits, jigs, texas rig baits, weightless plastics, splitshot (slipshot), carolina rigs, and jigging spoons are all effective here at least some of the time in our lakes.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

You can get some JJ's Magic chartreuse and dip tail end in for some added color & scent.

[J._Bricker]

Just curious @LeoSolo if you are able to get any Calico Bass in the mix and which size TRD you’re throwing? It’s also good to know work they work in both salt and fresh water 👍

[Hammer 4]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:04 AM, LeoSolo said:

Does anyone have some top choices styles and colors for Zman baits for ned rigging? I am currently going to place a large order and I wanted to get a nice variety with effective colors. For me thus far, I only know that california craw is what I enjoy using. Otherwise, I am conflicted over what colors and why to use them...I mostly (almost exclusively) fish harbors and jetties, so I catch spotted bay bass, sand bass, mackerel, white croaker, and flounder.

 

I was going to add the following colors to my arsenal in Ticklerz/Hula Stickz/TRD forms: The Deal, Bubble Gut, Mud Minnow, and possibly Blue Claw and Laguna Shrimp. 

In general, do you guys use the Black/Blue sparkle color in SoCal? Are purple colors effective in SoCal? Pinks? Oranges? 

 

Also, has anyone had success with the TRD Crawz, TRD Bugz or Baby GOAT? They seemed fun and I thought to grab one of each.

 

Thanks y'all. 

 

When I use to fish the salt, I found that using colors that mimic small crabs work best for most times catching spotties, sandies and calico's. So greens, browns and red's.

[Jig Man]

Buy all of the colors you can get.  Try them out and see what works.  Send the ones that don’t work to me and I will add to my collection.  I have 22 colors and have caught fish on 20 of them.

[bigfishnfreak]

green pumpkin save your money. it works every where here.

[LeoSolo]

6 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

When I use to fish the salt, I found that using colors that mimic small crabs work best for most times catching spotties, sandies and calico's. So greens, browns and red's.

So far this has been my experience! A nice lighter green in the hot snake was working for sand bass too. Great observation on that color spectrum! 

8 hours ago, J._Bricker said:

Just curious @LeoSolo if you are able to get any Calico Bass in the mix and which size TRD you’re throwing? It’s also good to know work they work in both salt and fresh water 👍

I always feel like Calicos are in a bit of deeper water than I am able to reach from the shore, so I have not. But word around town has mentioned reddish colors for calicos. I only throw the regular sized TRD's, 2.75 inch I believe. 

[Hammer 4]

29 minutes ago, LeoSolo said:

So far this has been my experience! A nice lighter green in the hot snake was working for sand bass too. Great observation on that color spectrum! 

I always feel like Calicos are in a bit of deeper water than I am able to reach from the shore, so I have not. But word around town has mentioned reddish colors for calicos. I only throw the regular sized TRD's, 2.75 inch I believe. 

Where about are you fishing.? I fished the LAB, Los Alamitos Bay, Newport, Huntington Harbor mostly, fished Cabrillo twice.  

[PressuredFishing]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:04 AM, LeoSolo said:

Does anyone have some top choices styles and colors for Zman baits for ned rigging? I am currently going to place a large order and I wanted to get a nice variety with effective colors. For me thus far, I only know that california craw is what I enjoy using. Otherwise, I am conflicted over what colors and why to use them...I mostly (almost exclusively) fish harbors and jetties, so I catch spotted bay bass, sand bass, mackerel, white croaker, and flounder.

 

I was going to add the following colors to my arsenal in Ticklerz/Hula Stickz/TRD forms: The Deal, Bubble Gut, Mud Minnow, and possibly Blue Claw and Laguna Shrimp. 

In general, do you guys use the Black/Blue sparkle color in SoCal? Are purple colors effective in SoCal? Pinks? Oranges? 

 

Also, has anyone had success with the TRD Crawz, TRD Bugz or Baby GOAT? They seemed fun and I thought to grab one of each.

 

Thanks y'all. 

 

All those colors work, but if you love roboworms, you may just fall in love with their colors for ned rigs, they don't float but they have the laminated color schemes land the fan favorites like aarons magic or margaritas mutilator.

[WRB]

Inshore/bay bass like bright orange that replicates sand crabs and Blood worms.

Any combination of Z-Man that has smoke and brown/greens combined with orange and reds will work for a Spotted Bay Bass, Calico, Sand Bass and most surf fish. 

Tom

[LeoSolo]

On 8/22/2021 at 1:06 PM, J._Bricker said:

Just curious @LeoSolo if you are able to get any Calico Bass in the mix and which size TRD you’re throwing? It’s also good to know work they work in both salt and fresh water 👍

I haven't caught a calico with a ned rig yet. In fact, I have almost completely switched over to dropshotting as of late and have been doing well! In my experience, small profiles work the best. I am talking 2.5-3inch baits that are catching my PB bass (keep in mind my PB isn't that big). I started getting Calicos recently but they are teeny tiny, but still fun to catch! I did notice that a bright yellow/orange color worked for them (at night). However, I tend to get bit on most of the things I dropshot with. 

On 8/22/2021 at 10:08 PM, Hammer 4 said:

Where about are you fishing.? I fished the LAB, Los Alamitos Bay, Newport, Huntington Harbor mostly, fished Cabrillo twice.  

I have hit almost all of those areas but not frequently enough to get a good feel for them. I just go off jetties from Long Beach down to Newport. I don't do piers and Cabrillo I got a nice fish ONCE but never since them. Also almost got washed off that jetty, too. So I don't go there anymore xD. 

On 9/23/2021 at 11:10 AM, PressuredFishing said:

All those colors work, but if you love roboworms, you may just fall in love with their colors for ned rigs, they don't float but they have the laminated color schemes land the fan favorites like aarons magic or margaritas mutilator.

Wow! I should have read your reply before posting a thread specifically about Roboworms! I agree their color choices are great. However, I am realizing that perhaps less than color, the bait profile seems to have a big impact on my success. I have hard time getting fish to bite anything bigger than a 3 inch bait. So with 4.5 inch Roboworms, I am curious to know if they would work. However, they do have a slender profile, so perhaps might look tasty. So, from Zman to Roboworm I go! My friend and I went halves on a big Zman lot so we are starting to test them, but we snagged so much recently that I have switched almost exclusively to dropshotting. 

 

A major question I have is if these Roboworms will work for the inshore saltwater species? -rubs chin- Hmmmm.

On 9/23/2021 at 6:10 PM, WRB said:

Inshore/bay bass like bright orange that replicates sand crabs and Blood worms.

Any combination of Z-Man that has smoke and brown/greens combined with orange and reds will work for a Spotted Bay Bass, Calico, Sand Bass and most surf fish. 

Tom

I agree with this 100%!! Just curious since we are talking blood worm here...Do you think a Roboworm in Oxblood would do me justice? Or does it have to be a smelly Berkely gulp bloodworm? (talking strictly plastics here, not looking to dig for these worms) 

[Hammer 4]

I should have mentioned that I float tube the places I mentioned 98 % of the time, and did so over a 3 year period, plus won a couple of small club tourney's too. 

As mentioned any color that mimic's crabs, sand crabs, baby lobsters will get bit.

I've also caught spotties, sandies, and checkers on Bass jigs with craw type trailers.  3" Big Hammer swimbaits work very well also.

I have never used plastic worms although I'm sure they would work. Oxblood, or even bluegill in a roboworm should do fine.

[PressuredFishing]

18 hours ago, LeoSolo said:

I haven't caught a calico with a ned rig yet. In fact, I have almost completely switched over to dropshotting as of late and have been doing well! In my experience, small profiles work the best. I am talking 2.5-3inch baits that are catching my PB bass (keep in mind my PB isn't that big). I started getting Calicos recently but they are teeny tiny, but still fun to catch! I did notice that a bright yellow/orange color worked for them (at night). However, I tend to get bit on most of the things I dropshot with. 

I have hit almost all of those areas but not frequently enough to get a good feel for them. I just go off jetties from Long Beach down to Newport. I don't do piers and Cabrillo I got a nice fish ONCE but never since them. Also almost got washed off that jetty, too. So I don't go there anymore xD. 

Wow! I should have read your reply before posting a thread specifically about Roboworms! I agree their color choices are great. However, I am realizing that perhaps less than color, the bait profile seems to have a big impact on my success. I have hard time getting fish to bite anything bigger than a 3 inch bait. So with 4.5 inch Roboworms, I am curious to know if they would work. However, they do have a slender profile, so perhaps might look tasty. So, from Zman to Roboworm I go! My friend and I went halves on a big Zman lot so we are starting to test them, but we snagged so much recently that I have switched almost exclusively to dropshotting. 

 

A major question I have is if these Roboworms will work for the inshore saltwater species? -rubs chin- Hmmmm.

I agree with this 100%!! Just curious since we are talking blood worm here...Do you think a Roboworm in Oxblood would do me justice? Or does it have to be a smelly Berkely gulp bloodworm? (talking strictly plastics here, not looking to dig for these worms) 

Yes roboworms work well for perch, the smaller size. Also they make ned rig baits (roboworm) that are shaped like TRD baits, they look like this. Also people overthink calico fishing way to much, personally I catch a majority of my calicos on crappie tubes and grubs, they are easier to catch imo using crappie techniques, ned rigs are also alright but try a micro finesse jig or 2.8 kaitech. These calicos aren't like lmb, or even smb, I'd consider them more like a panfish, same with perch inshore, people throw big jerkbaits that are overkill, try little grubs or kaitechs or even spoons. 

 

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Roboworm_Ned_Worms/descpage-ROBONED.html?from=gshop&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyvvX7LOx8wIVIQ_nCh3gowz7EAQYAiABEgK37fD_BwE