I still consider myself fairly new to green bass fishing.

 

I'm not a rookie but I still have a ton of learning.

 

As the title somewhat alludes, there seems to be many choices when it comes to this "category" of bass fishing. Almost too many.

 

Neko

Shaky

Wacky

Ned

Free rig

 

Is there a time and a place for ALL of these?

 

For example, in my nonexpert eyes, I see no reason to throw a shaky head over a neko. But I was on Omnia a little bit ago and a guy gave a review and said he was alternating between the two. Is there much of a difference??

 

So, what, why and when do you throw some of these?

 

FYI - I've fished the wacky worm and the ned rig quite a bit so far. Best way to not get skunked. Fished the free rig some with a bell sinker last year and zero to both the neko and shaky. That WILL change though.

 

THANKS!

Some of that may be regional.  I fish highland reservoirs that range from 100-200 feet deep.  The Ned is a seasonal go to for me.  The shaky is a year round and always tied on a couple of setups.  I’ve never caught a fish on wacky and my partner who sometimes uses it hasn’t either.  The others I have not used.

One man’s opinion

I don’t see a reason to use a Ned rig over a shaky head.

I don’t see a reason to use a free rig over a Texas rig. Tried it and didn’t like it.

 

Wacky, Neko, Shaky head, and dropshot are all highly effective and have slightly different applications. 

1 hour ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I still consider myself fairly new to green bass fishing.

 

I'm not a rookie but I still have a ton of learning.

 

As the title somewhat alludes, there seems to be many choices when it comes to this "category" of bass fishing. Almost too many.

 

Neko

Shaky

Wacky

Ned

Free rig

 

Is there a time and a place for ALL of these?

 

For example, in my nonexpert eyes, I see no reason to throw a shaky head over a neko. But I was on Omnia a little bit ago and a guy gave a review and said he was alternating between the two. Is there much of a difference??

 

So, what, why and when do you throw some of these?

 

FYI - I've fished the wacky worm and the ned rig quite a bit so far. Best way to not get skunked. Fished the free rig some with a bell sinker last year and zero to both the neko and shaky. That WILL change though.

 

THANKS!

Neko is a new name for nail weight rig used for slower head down fall rate using soft plastic worms of various sizes.

Shaky is a jig worm presentation.

Wacky is hook placement used for Neko and Senko’s (Stick baits)

Ned if another jig worm rig using mushroom head jig with short 3” to 4” cut down Stick bait worm.

Free Rig is another style of Texas rig worm using sliding cylinder weight in lieu of sliding bullet weight.

Neko and Ned are primarily finesse spinning rigs.

Shaky and Free rig can be fished on baiting reels or spinning depending on the weight used; 3/16 oz and up baitcasting, 1/8 oz or less spinning.

Tom

PS, Glenn has videos for each presentation.

Just a few of my own opinions, observations, and preferences...

 

Neko over shakyhead for soft bottom areas and vegetation. All things equal it has more action, fishes shallower, falls slower and differently than shakyhead.

Shakyhead over neko for wood and cleaner, deeper, and harder bottoms, except chunk rock. Fishes deeper, subtler, and faster (if necessary) than neko.

 

Wacky - Anywhere and everywhere, throw at targets, too slow for covering water, I far prefer flickshake which can be fished faster and/or deeper. Ned - Clear clean water, typically more smallmouth oriented. Free rig - I dabbled but gave up on it.

I’m really hooked on the Wacky Worm. It just kills it in the River 

2 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

One man’s opinion

I don’t see a reason to use a Ned rig over a shaky 

 

I for sure did yesterday.  I never had a bite on Ned but boated 11 on a shaky.

1 hour ago, Jig Man said:

I for sure did yesterday.  I never had a bite on Ned but boated 11 on a shaky.

What do you think the difference was?

 

Bigger presentation?

I Neko w tiny weights.  The sink is slow. Good for grass and that snot weed.  
 

shakey is heavier and sinks fast.  Deeper water presentation.    Carolina rig for even deeper waters, but I never use it.  I just never warmed up to it. 
 

 

I’m 95% Neko over Shaky head - the nose is pliable on a Neko and doesn’t get stuck in rocks as easy as a Shaky. And a Neko hook being a little higher up the worm seems to stay out of the fine mossy stuff better. 

Think of a ned rig as small finesse shaky head.

A wacky rig is just a way to rig a worm or stick bait to get a lot of action and a slow sink rate.

A neko is similar to shakey head in the way you fish it, but it looks different on the fall.  The neko also has the advantage in rocks and soft bottom.  There is no jighead to snag in rocks or get loaded with grass or slime.  The line is also more protected with a neko since it isnt constantly being dragged on the bottom.  I prefer a shakey head over a neko, I guess I'm just old fashioned.

A free rig is essentially an unpegged T rig with a ringed weight.  That ring allows to weight to slide up and down the line with much less friction than a bullet weight, meaning it breaks free from the bait very quickly.  That weight will fall almost straight down unlike a bullet weight which wants to pendulum back towards you.  That allows the free rig to cover small target effectively.  The bait also has more time to free fall as well. 

 

 

15 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Neko

Shaky

Wacky

Ned

Free rig

 

Is there a time and a place for ALL of these?

I very rarely find a time or place for any of them.

 

If varying weights of Texas Rig, weighted hook, or swing head do not work, I will probably be trying something other than soft plastics

They all have their time and place (although I've never really got into the free rig). 

 

A Ned isn't a shakyhead, I don't fish them at all alike and one is often much more effective than the other. For me, a shakyhead is a slow, strictly bottom contact bait. A ned may occastionally touch bottom, but is largely fished off bottom and constantly moving.

 

A Neko is more about the slow fall, that seems to be what triggers them to bite it more often than not. If it doesn't though, the head down scooting action on the bottom triggers them. It's not the same movement as a shakyhead where the line is tied to the end instead of the middle of the bait. 

 

A wacky is again, a different action from the rest and really most effective while it's falling. I know it can be fished deeper, but it's most effective for me in shallower water around cover. 

 

From what I've seen, a Free rig is sort of a variation of a T-rig where the bait has more freedom of movement, but the times I've tried it have been largely unproductive. It's likely user error, but maybe it's just not effective when/where I'm using it. 

I bought these Ryugi shake head weights where I can attach any hook.  

 

I have yet to use them.  hahahha..bait monkey can suck it. 

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

A Ned isn't a shakyhead, I don't fish them at all alike and one is often much more effective than the other. For me, a shakyhead is a slow, strictly bottom contact bait. A ned may occasionally touch bottom, but is largely fished off bottom and constantly moving.

Interesting. I have fished the ned as a bottom contact “soak” bait. I’ve had ish success. Maybe I should fish your way!

7 minutes ago, Smirak said:

Interesting. I have fished the ned as a bottom contact “soak” bait. I’ve had ish success. Maybe I should fish your way!

You can slow drag them, dead stick them, straight retrieve, and lift and drop.  All of those work for some people some of the time.  For me, if I'm going to a ned (that's my primary finesse bait) I'm treating it like a cross between a texas rig and a swim jig depending on the cover.  Usually cast it out to a target and let it sit a second.  Give it a little hop or lift.  Then swim it back near the bottom.

One thing I've started doing is combining some of these techniques. I'll have one rod with a neko hook tied on, but I'll have a wacky worm and a neko worm on VMC crossover rings in my pocket or on the deck so I can swap them back and forth as the situation changes. I use the EWG style Ned head and keep a Ned style bait and a finesse worm in my pocket so I can swap them back and forth without retying. 

All of those rigs are a form of finesse fishing to me.  I have used them all at one time or another.  There are suttle differences in all of them.   The biggest consideration is which one you feel the most comfortable using and have the most confidence in.  I don’t like a wacky rig so I don’t throw it.  Others swear by it.  Doesn’t make it better or worse, it just means it works better for them than me.  Try them all and you will naturally gravitate to what works best for you.  

4 hours ago, Smirak said:

Interesting. I have fished the ned as a bottom contact “soak” bait. I’ve had ish success. Maybe I should fish your way!

It can certainly be fished that way, and I do occasionly but usually only during the winter months. If you search the Midwest Finesse retrieves, my usual retrieve is the swim-shake-glide retrieve. 

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

It can certainly be fished that way, and I do occasionly but usually only during the winter months. If you search the Midwest Finesse retrieves, my usual retrieve is the swim-shake-glide retrieve. 

 

My favorite retrieve is, cast it out, let it sink to the bottom.

 

Notice that your line is wrapped around the tip of your pole.

 

After about 20-30 seconds after figuring out which way it was wrapped around, you begin to reel a little and bam, "fish on!".

 

60% of the time, it works every time.

8 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

My favorite retrieve is, cast it out, let it sink to the bottom.

 

Notice that your line is wrapped around the tip of your pole.

 

After about 20-30 seconds after figuring out which way it was wrapped around, you begin to reel a little and bam, "fish on!".

 

60% of the time, it works every time.

My wife and kids are pretty good at that technique, except it's usually wind knot "Dad!", untangle said knot, hand rod back, fish on. 

A neko is just a wacky with an inserted nail weight into the end of it. I use the neko when fishing deeper weed lines and the wacky in 5 feet or less.

 

I feel like a Ned rig is just a down sized version of a shaky head.

 

Exposed hooks tend to get hung up in thick weeds so I will switch to a Texas rigged plastic.

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

but usually only during the winter months

That’s the problem then…being an Alabamian, I know not of this season you speak of…

I'm around a lot of grass so I like a shakey head and prefer one with a 4" hula stickz over a weedless ewg ned rig (or a smh or deception worm for a traditional shakey head). Similar thing with senkos I still like to throw them but a wacky rig gets hung up a lot so I've ended up going with the 3/0 owner twistlock. Actually read about throwing a senko with that hook from an old post on this forum and that's actually the hook Gary Yamamoto suggested for the senko a while back and it still works great for me. Also haven't gotten into the free rig...if I want to throw something like that it's probably going to be a drop shot or maybe a carolina rig or an unpegged texas rig depending on what I'm trying to accomplish.

Wacky out fishes any finesse presentation here in the clear water.

It's the slow fall on the steep banks.