So I know a lot of guys are talking about using the Neko rig with FFS which is what Drew Gill does as a staple and Easton Fothergill did to win the classic. There are also several of the youtube guys talking about it. Basically on suspended fish or fish down near the bottom you cast your neko rig to these fish and they will follow it down to the bottom and "hold" on it. They say if you deadstick it long enough sometimes 5, 10, 30 seconds the fish will eventually bite it. Well, I can't get a fish to bite it at all. Almost all will follow it down just like a textbook but hardly any will pick it up and eat it. I've been using the Nekorama, a 6 inch Roboworm, a 5 in Maxscent General and can't seem to get any to commit doing this. I've even tried using a ned rig and they won't follow it down like they do the bigger worms. Does anyone have any advice to help me catch these fish? 

Not Neko specific, but with FFS you learn a ton about fish behavior.  Some fish are active, chasing fish.  They can be so active that they are hard to follow with FFS and even harder to get a cast in front of at times.  Some are happy to eat, but are just milling/loafing around suspended.  Some fish are attached to structure and are hard to see but if you put something on them they will hammer it.  Then there are the fish that just aren't going to eat.  They will follow a jerkbait 50' all the way back to the boat and just slowly turn away.  They will follow a minnow bait up/down/across the water column.  Fast, slow, steady, erratic.  Doesn't matter.  Sometimes you can get them fired up with an erratic big bait adn eventually they will eat it, but mostly not.  These are time waster fish.  They are the fish that you think, just one more cast and he'll eat it.  Then 20 minutes later you still haven't caught it and you've wasted that time.  The sooner you recognize that a fish isn't going to eat, the sooner you go find one that will.

 

If it were me, I'd try a couple different profiles of baits- everything you're throwing is a straight worm.  If you know that there are fish following it down like that and you're going to do it more than once, I'd have a couple different profiles- a bit straight worm like you've got, a craw worm with some floating claws, something even bigger like a 6" senko, maybe something like a bang stick that will stand up and sway.  Try a couple different things until you find one that they will hit.  And if they still won't, move on to the next one.

Any idea what the bottom composition is like?

 

Change colors?

 

First two things that popped in my non-expert head.

I am no expert on Nekos or FFS, but I remember listening to Gill or Fothergill on a podcast talking about the versatility of a Neko worm. They said sometimes they would fish it the way you describe, but other times they would want to erratically shake it over the fishes head. I think if I saw multiple fish follow but not eat, I'd start experimenting with the action I'm imparting on the bait. I'd for sure be trying a drop shot if they were following it down and not eating a neko. 

  Something that comes to my mind is trying to snap it off of the bottom. Quick jerk up a couple of feet and let it fall, maybe several times even.  Twitch it, make it twerk. See if you can get a reaction strike.

Good luck,

FM

Neko is the old nail weight worm rig, new name old rig.

The is wacky hooked but closer to the head weight end about 1” to 1 1/2” not in the center. Also cutting off 1/4” of the nose so it’s flat to insert the weight helps to stand up the worm when it hits bottom. Worms that tend to float upright are critical.

Robo/Missle Magic worms are a good choice and over looked option.

Tom

 

4 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Any idea what the bottom composition is like?

 

Change colors?

 

First two things that popped in my non-expert head.

 

 soft bottom a lot of times it's fish buried up in grass... like you can barely see them on the FFS screen but when they move you can tell they are there.....   I mostly throw green pumpkin because our craws are dark green and we have lots of bluegills.... 

1 hour ago, RHuff said:

 

 soft bottom a lot of times it's fish buried up in grass...

 

That's what I was wondering.

 

Would they have more of a difficult time finding it?

 

As opposed to it being on a hard/clean bottom?

they follow it straight down and hover right on top of it lol

@Catt always talks about rate of fall. Might be a situation where a heavier or lighter nail weight would get you a different outcome. 

On 6/26/2025 at 6:15 PM, RHuff said:

they follow it straight down and hover right on top of it lol

I'd wait the 10 seconds and then jiggle the worm..or pop it off the bottom and see if that initiates a strike.

 

Out my way, they frequently hit it on the fall rather than pick it up off the bottom.

 

Might not hurt to try another color..perhaps something darker? We also have bluegill here as a primary forage, yet they prefer purple and black and junebug.

I have found when fish follow the Neko to the bottom and you have to soak it 5-10-15 seconds at a time, that it sure helps to have a worm with a floating tail. Other worms just lay flat after a few seconds and I see the fish become disinterested.
 

If the worm has a floating tail that maintains a 45-90 degree angle it seems to really help the number of bites in my experience. That is the typical feeding angle of a worm/grub/creature on the bottom, plus at rest a floating worm undulates slightly in the current instead of laying flat/dead on the bottom. 
 

GrandeBass Airtail Rattler, Airtail Wiggler or Airtail Neko seem to work best IMO. Over the course of a day of fishing, I notice a fairly significant difference with fish interest in a floater. 

Thanks guys I usually use a 1/16 tungsten with a Nekorama in Matte Green Pumpkin..  I may order some 3/32 oz and a junebug color or something similar and see if that helps..