River guys - did the Ned Rig open your eyes to how many giant, less active Smallmouth you were missing and now it is your go to?

[Ohioguy25]

7 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve never encountered that. Warmer water= increased metabolism 

But at a certain point they become sluggish no?

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

But at a certain point they become sluggish no?

Smb? Sluggish? They always seem like Tasmanian devils to me 

[PaulVE64]

I throw jig + trailer 80% of the time. Topwater, crankbaits, jerkbaits and worms/flukes round out the rest of my fishing. 

 

Occassionally I will throw a ned instead of a jig if the bottom is more mud or gravel than rock.

[smalljaw67]

We have used a Ned rig for 25 years here. It wasn't called a Ned rig back then and we didn't use mushroom style jigs either. We used a 1/16oz jig head with a size 2 or 1 hook with 1/2 of a Senko or Case Plastics Magic Stik. When it was tough we would throw it in a riffle and let the current carry it into a pool. Most times it never hit bottom when it got to the pool. We called it fishing a "dog turd" or just "turd" and it worked and still does!!!!

[Ohioguy25]

4 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

We have used a Ned rig for 25 years here. It wasn't called a Ned rig back then and we didn't use mushroom style jigs either. We used a 1/16oz jig head with a size 2 or 1 hook with 1/2 of a Senko or Case Plastics Magic Stik. When it was tough we would throw it in a riffle and let the current carry it into a pool. Most times it never hit bottom when it got to the pool. We called it fishing a "dog turd" or just "turd" and it worked and still does!!!!

That must be where the “TRD” tag originated and they simply added “The Real Deal” deconstruction later for marketing.

[Chris Catignani]

On 7/23/2022 at 5:07 AM, smalljaw67 said:

We have used a Ned rig for 25 years here. It wasn't called a Ned rig back then and we didn't use mushroom style jigs either. We used a 1/16oz jig head with a size 2 or 1 hook with 1/2 of a Senko or Case Plastics Magic Stik. When it was tough we would throw it in a riffle and let the current carry it into a pool. Most times it never hit bottom when it got to the pool. We called it fishing a "dog turd" or just "turd" and it worked and still does!!!!

This is something similar to a NED that I've been doing going on 45 years. I knew about this trick from Charlie Brewers Slider Fishing book...but adopted the technique purely by accident.

I would bite off about an inch of the Slider tail and mount it backwards on a Slider head. Though I saw this setup in the book...I did this for this reason: Back then I would come into possession of various different colors either as a gifts or purchase. Slider was making a whole lot of "Fire tail" baits. Well bream love to grab that fire tail and run with it. So I would just bite it off and reverse it.

 

[Sphynx]

Ned rigs are too light to effectively fish in the Columbia River, and they get snagged in rocks a ton which is very obnoxious...as a final point, I will outfish a Ned with a tube for both size and numbers. I've used Dry Creek Outfitters Double Dipped Tube's the last few years, and the 60 degree Tube jigs, but this year I have been playing with the BioSpawn VileTube and I am really enjoying it. 

[NYWayfarer]

It’s not my go to but it is in my arsenal.
 

It catches lots of fish big and small. If you have issues with it getting hung up, swim it instead of bottom bouncing it. Also use the lighter weight jighead (1/16 to 1/8 oz) with light wire hooks. Get a snag, bend the hook out and get it back. Use pliers to get the hook back in it’s proper shape. 
 

If you really get hung up that much use the EWG weedless version.

This…

 

Was very attractive to this river Smallie 

 

[bassnleo]

I absolutely loathe fishing a ned. I do it, but I hate it. If I'm throwing a ned (or any stickbait for that matter), it'd downright tough and I'm grinding for bites. 

[billmac]

I haven't caught big smallies on the Ned, and they are pretty prone to snagging.  But I'll never forget tying one on first time and accidently dropping it in the water about a foot in front of me from shore and instantly pulling out a smallmouth. 

[Sphynx]

8 hours ago, bassnleo said:

I absolutely loathe fishing a ned. I do it, but I hate it. If I'm throwing a ned (or any stickbait for that matter), it'd downright tough and I'm grinding for bites. 

I dunno man, I fish a lot of T-Rigged Dingers and it's full on combat fishing a lot of days, kinda like jig fishing except for I catch more fish, even if the size is smaller in aggregate. 

[ironbjorn]

2 things changed river fishing for me, forever. 1 was the Ned Rig. Absolutely hands down the best there ever was, and the guys who talk about other baits that are just like it, that are just as good, that work just as well, that they like better so they'll never use a Ned, are truly missing out. I think Ned Rig users know this well.

 

The 2nd was squarebills. It could be 1 fow. It doesn't matter. Squarebills bashing off the rock and pebble bottom, especially in fast water, is absolutely killer. 

Oh and here's something I think a lot of Ned Rig guys miss. I throw a 1/10 or 1/15 Ned Rig in extremely fast rapids literally right off dams. There's no such thing as water too fast or too dirty for Neds and Smallies. Think you need a heavier weight or a bigger profile? You don't. But hey as long as people keep thinking so I'll keep catching big ones all to myself.

[Ohioguy25]

On 7/24/2022 at 4:30 PM, ironbjorn said:

2 things changed river fishing for me, forever. 1 was the Ned Rig. Absolutely hands down the best there ever was, and the guys who talk about other baits that are just like it, that are just as good, that work just as well, that they like better so they'll never use a Ned, are truly missing out. I think Ned Rig users know this well.

 

The 2nd was squarebills. It could be 1 fow. It doesn't matter. Squarebills bashing off the rock and pebble bottom, especially in fast water, is absolutely killer. 

Oh and here's something I think a lot of Ned Rig guys miss. I throw a 1/10 or 1/15 Ned Rig in extremely fast rapids literally right off dams. There's no such thing as water too fast or too dirty for Neds and Smallies. Think you need a heavier weight or a bigger profile? You don't. But hey as long as people keep thinking so I'll keep catching big ones all to myself.

I tried 1/10 and 1/8, I always come back to 3/16.  Lighter weight may be more effective in calm pools but there is simply no way in fast current 1/15 is getting you in the strike zone.

[PaulVE64]

Senko > ned rig 

[ironbjorn]

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

I tried 1/10 and 1/8, I always come back to 3/16.  Lighter weight may be more effective in calm pools but there is simply no way in fast current 1/15 is getting you in the strike zone.

Sure.

 

[Ohioguy25]

11 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

Sure.

 

How are you getting your bait down to the bottom with 1/15?? Unless the fish are suspended mid column, when I throw anything under 1/8 it is downstream before it even drops 6”.

[ironbjorn]

52 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

How are you getting your bait down to the bottom with 1/15?? Unless the fish are suspended mid column, when I throw anything under 1/8 it is downstream before it even drops 6”.

It's like a quarterback leading a wide receiver in football. Know your water and throw your bait in such a spot that the current takes it to the strike zone. The current does so much of the work for you. When you stop being intimidated by the current and start trusting it to work for you, you will get a lot more bites and hang up a lot less. An aggressive swim hop retrieve is also very good in heavy current.

[KSanford33]

If you think the Ned rig opened your eyes to river smallies, wait until you try the Ned jig...

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, KSanford33 said:

If you think the Ned rig opened your eyes to river smallies, wait until you try the Ned jig...

What about the ned buzzbait? 

[KSanford33]

14 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

What about the ned buzzbait? 

Personally, I'm waiting for their latest creation, the Ned Alabama Rig! ?

 

Here is the Ned jig though: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/z-man-shroomz-micro-finesse-jig-18zmaushrmmcfn18blur/18zmaushrmmcfn18blur?sku=19516258

 

This paired up with the 2.5" TRD Craw has been killing the smallies locally.

[Drawdown]

It’ll be a real game-changer when the Ned Banjo comes out. Guaranteed dogfight every cast.

[gimruis]

9 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Unless the fish are suspended mid column, when I throw anything under 1/8 it is downstream before it even drops 6”.

This is exactly the problem I have too. My line, and subsequently, my jig head, is already past my intended target by the time it gets to the bottom. This can be mitigated by using a heavier jig head. I fish the Ned rig as a bottom contact presentation. So I need it to reach and bump the bottom frequently.

[Ohioguy25]

22 hours ago, gimruis said:

This is exactly the problem I have too. My line, and subsequently, my jig head, is already past my intended target by the time it gets to the bottom. This can be mitigated by using a heavier jig head. I fish the Ned rig as a bottom contact presentation. So I need it to reach and bump the bottom frequently.

Exactly, I avoid hang ups w EWG hooks Texas rigging the TRD.

[TnRiver46]

On 7/27/2022 at 3:14 PM, KSanford33 said:

Personally, I'm waiting for their latest creation, the Ned Alabama Rig! ?

 

Here is the Ned jig though: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/z-man-shroomz-micro-finesse-jig-18zmaushrmmcfn18blur/18zmaushrmmcfn18blur?sku=19516258

 

This paired up with the 2.5" TRD Craw has been killing the smallies locally.

I’m considering upgrading to the 200 hp 4 stroke  finesse ned rig outboard engine 

[LrgmouthShad]

I don’t know about no Ned rig but I’m very new to river smallie fishing, literally only done it about 3-4 times and right now, a jig head worm is about the only thing I’ll throw. I learned how to let current drift your bait where you want it and otherwise just used my techniques for LMB in stiller water.