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Best Finesse Rig for Fishing Rocks


bp_fowler
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So fished a new spot today. Had to hike 30 minutes through some thick brush but it was well worth the effort.  


Started out throwing a football head jig and was doing very well.  After a while they stopped biting on the jig.  
 

So I grabbed my spinning outfit and started throwing a shaky head (1/8 once with 4 1/2” finesse worm), and starting catching fish again.  Started getting hung up a lot though.  Switched to ned rig (1/4 ounce weedless with 4”senko) caught fish just as well as the shaky head but frustratingly kept hanging up.  
 

I understand that dealing with hangups and losing lures is the price you pay when fishing rocks, but is there a better choice out there as far as finesse setups go that might minimize hang ups? Or should I just get used to packing extras?

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I’ve been in the same situation and got tired of my lightweight shakey heads & Ned Rigs getting snagged too much which lead to breaking off. I had really good luck switching to a Neko Rig using a big TRD. Hardly got hung up at all. Comes thru rocks really well. 

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Around here in NC a football jig is great trimmed up a lot with a small trailer.  I like Yamamoto twin tail grubs.  Deadly in the summer time on the rip rap when the wind is blowing in.

 

Shakey head is also working it's way into my arsenal and I have had success throwing it when nothing else was getting bit around rock.

 

I think you had the right baits but working baits uphill from the bank in rock is treacherous!

 

Maybe instead of finessing them, see if they'll hit something moving slowly/twitching quickly/flashing around over their heads.

 

Light weight swim jig /spinner bait/Jerkbait could be deadly.

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2 hours ago, bp_fowler said:

So fished a new spot today. Had to hike 30 minutes through some thick brush but it was well worth the effort.  


Started out throwing a football head jig and was doing very well.  After a while they stopped biting on the jig.  
 

So I grabbed my spinning outfit and started throwing a shaky head (1/8 once with 4 1/2” finesse worm), and starting catching fish again.  Started getting hung up a lot though.  Switched to ned rig (1/4 ounce weedless with 4”senko) caught fish just as well as the shaky head but frustratingly kept hanging up.  
 

I understand that dealing with hangups and losing lures is the price you pay when fishing rocks, but is there a better choice out there as far as finesse setups go that might minimize hang ups? Or should I just get used to packing extras?

That's the worst isn't it?! At least your football head isn't hanging up. I've had to resort to free rigs, t-rigs in a deep glacial lake I fish. Can't even drag a football head to finesse them.

 

Have you found a football-shaped shakey head/ned head that won't get hung up?

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4 hours ago, wdp said:

I’ve been in the same situation and got tired of my lightweight shakey heads & Ned Rigs getting snagged too much which lead to breaking off. I had really good luck switching to a Neko Rig using a big TRD. Hardly got hung up at all. Comes thru rocks really well. 

I never thought of that as the Neko Rig is one of the finesse techniques I’m not really familiar with. However I do have the things I need to rig one.  If the weather holds out I’ll give it a try tomorrow and report back.

 

4 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Around here in NC a football jig is great trimmed up a lot with a small trailer.  I like Yamamoto twin tail grubs.  Deadly in the summer time on the rip rap when the wind is blowing in.

 

Shakey head is also working it's way into my arsenal and I have had success throwing it when nothing else was getting bit around rock.

 

I think you had the right baits but working baits uphill from the bank in rock is treacherous!

 

Maybe instead of finessing them, see if they'll hit something moving slowly/twitching quickly/flashing around over their heads.

 

Light weight swim jig /spinner bait/Jerkbait could be deadly.

Also swim jigs and soft plastic swim baits are also something I have on hand and will give a try.

 

3 hours ago, Fat Ika said:

Have you found a football-shaped shakey head/ned head that won't get hung up?

I’ve never seen one of those but sounds awesome.  I’m not sure if it’s the size or the shape of the football head that keeps it from getting hung up, probably some combination of both I’m guessing.

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This jig gets through rocks remarkably well.  Shore fishing the breakwalls of lake michigan is the biggest, baddest thief in chicago.  I think the light head, 1/4oz, and the short puffed out skirt, allows it to never fully wedge.  Worth a shot....

Tightrope firework finesse jig

 

scott

 

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IMG_6822.thumb.jpg.9675e6053a241747a364df13c2683684.jpg

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1/4oz is a huge ned rig head. I don't even use anything that heavy for a shakyhead a majority of the time. I use a 1/16oz and rarely let it actually touch bottom. Rocks are the main thing I fish them in and snags aren't an issue. 

 

A tiny mojo rig type thing is another option that I use often in rocks. A 1/16 or 1/8oz bullet weight pegged about a foot up the line from the bait and just drag it through the rocks. The weight is so small it rarely snags. 

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These work really well for mojo rigs. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Vike_Tungsten_Carolina_Weight/descpage-VIKECAR.html

They come through rocks and grass much better then the short wide carolina weights.  I do wish they made them in 1/6 or 3/32, but since they are thin and long the weight disperses pretty well.  The rubber insert takes alot of the sensitivity away, but I like knowing that the light FC I use.  VMC makes them too, they just dont have the inserts.  If you dont mind using lead go with Phenix, they also make them in 1/16.  

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When I fish rocks, I use a small ribbed swim bait on a 1/32z or 1/64z head with exposed hook, on 4# line.  I don’t swim it, just let it slowly fall on a slack line. You have to be a line watcher using this method. Most of the time I just see the line twitch. This rig isn’t heavy enough to get easily hung up in the rocks. 

IMG_2699.jpeg

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  • Super User

I'll either use a split shot rig or just go weightless.  If I'm using anything else I will keep the bait moving and try not to let it get into the rocks.

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First off, I’d like to thank everyone for their replies and help.  I was able to get back out to the same spot yesterday and this morning and tried out some of your suggestions.  

We had some weather roll through last night so the fish weren’t biting like they were the first day I was out there but I still did pretty good by my standards.

 

After throwing the football head jig around for a while I tried the Neko rig in a little pocket on the one side of the dam.  This has some vegetation and weeds growing up between the rocks so it was pretty nasty.  However, I didn’t have too many issues getting hung up with it and what’s better I caught a pair of nice fish.

 

This morning I fished the main part of the dam but I didn’t see many fish up shallow so I threw a swim jig out past the ledge and tried different retrieves but I struck out there.  Tried a small soft plastic swim bait (at least as small as the tackle I had on hand allowed) and same thing.  
 

I was starting to worry so I decided to give the mojo rig a try.  I never used one before but I tossed it there in the same area as the swim jigs and dragged it up the ledge. It ended up bagging me a couple fish and saved me from getting skunked today.

 

Again thanks for all your help! 
 

(P.S wanted to add pictures but it’s telling me the files are too large?)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I will normally switch to a drop shot using a round split shot (the ones without the ears) lightly pinched on the end of the line.  If it does get stuck, a steady pull will get the business end back and you can just crimp on another split shot and you're back in business.

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Lighten up. I've gone to 1/8oz shaky heads, 2.7-3.5g finesse jigs and 1/16 oz flick shake/ned rig/neko. They don't wedge into the rocks.

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  • Super User

I hired a guide for the 1st time in my life a few weeks ago. Sold my boat and wanted to fish a lake that haven’t fished in over 25 years. New experience didn’t know what to bring so kept it minimal with few jigs my jig rod and spinning rod.

 1 bag of of jig a few pork trials and was to.d the “pro” know what to use.

Foggy start and 35 mph westerly wind with white caps. Caught a bunch of Senko bass, not my thing. Talked the “pro” into letting me jig fish bluff walls in the wind and mainlake channel swings, caught about 20 decent bass, the guide was surprised a jig bite was happening.

Enjoyed the trip once I got to do my thing.

Tom

Hooks; Owner Cover Shot Hook for T-rigged  /light bullet weight, Owner Wacky Jungle hook for everything wacky rigged, Owner Down Shot 5133 for weedless drop and slip shot rigged finesse worms.

Whoops wrong forum,

Finesse rigs for rocks; drop shot, slip shot, Nail/Neko weight, shaky head jig, finesse jigs, weightless Senko and light weight Texas rigged worms.

Our lakes are rocky so lots of practice fishing in the rocks. The key is using the lightest weight the conditions allow and still detect strikes. When you hang up and you will don’t force the snagged lure out, simply hold the rod high and jiggle it out works. If that doesn’t work try to move to the opposite direction and jiggle the lure out.

After the long drought brush has turned into a jungle and the same finesse lures work out if you use lightest weight possible with weedless hooks and patients.

Getting a hooked bass out of the jungle takes finesse also don’t force themlet them swim out, works sometimes but you will loose a few.

Tom

Hooks Owner Cover Shot, Down Shot and Jungle Wacky are excellent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm going to save you a lot of frustration.   Fat Ikas and Coverscats.  Weigh enough to get down but hardly snag.

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I usually throw football jigs and drop shot in the rocks.   Last year I hooked up a Neko rig and it was lights out.  It didn’t snag much and the fish killed it.  I was impressed.  This year I am going to try swimming an owner flashy swimmer on bottom.  The flatter fall should keep the rig from getting in the small rock jams.  At least that is what I am hoping.  

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So a lot of folks have pointed it out and I’m starting to get the vibe that what I thought was lightweight really wasn’t light enough, at least not for the task at hand.  It seemed counterintuitive to me at first but after thinking about what y'all are saying I’m starting to see the light.  Of course this means I now have a good excuse to buy more tackle. ?


I think the other big take away for me is how broad the category of Finesse fishing really is.  Here I thought it was just Shaky Heads, Neds, and Drop Shots.  Before this week I’d never used a Neko and had never even heard of a Mojo rig but they both worked well for me.  Seems like one could spend years just getting proficient at the different techniques and their little variations.  But the mats one of the great things about Bass fishing there’s always something new to learn or something old to tinker with.

 


 

 

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  • 9 months later...
On 5/11/2023 at 3:12 PM, Fat Ika said:

That's the worst isn't it?! At least your football head isn't hanging up. I've had to resort to free rigs, t-rigs in a deep glacial lake I fish. Can't even drag a football head to finesse them.

 

Have you found a football-shaped shakey head/ned head that won't get hung up?

Hey not sure if you’re still looking but the owner ultrahead finesse head is a great option. I’ll take the 3/16 oz and texas rig my favorite shakey head bait. Super weedless and you can’t go wrong with an owner hook on it!

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