Fishing fans,

I have had quite a bit of luck copying a neko rig that Easton Fothergill states he has used. Strike King 6.5 in finesse worm with that ryugi talisman hook. While it works good, I am looking for a tougher worm! Something that holds the hook a little better. I still want it to be a trick worm style worm about 6-7in. A little fatter is okay but I don't want it to lose that slim profile. Flat bottom is good. Any suggestions?

Are you using rapala crossover rings? I can fish a trickworm for a lot of fish without wearing it out.

@casts_by_fly I don’t use a ring

I like the netbait t mac, but I fish them with a crossover ring so can't speak to durability just hooking through the plastic.

They're also $5 for a 20 pack so losing my weight when it does happen hurts more than the worm.

Worms don't get much tougher than elaztech, Strike King and Z-man both make a 7" finesse worm. I can't ever remember a neko rigged one being slung off, no rings or doo-dads needed. I also just bought some geecrack neko hacks I'm looking forward to trying on non elaztech baits.

Ya gotta use a ring or the geecrack neko hack

4 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

@casts_by_fly I don’t use a ring

I get that it is an additional ‘thing’ but if a neko rig is important to you, then just suck it up and get a crossover ring set for the worms you use and a set of the pliers. A regular trick worm is a size 5 (pretty sure) ring. There is a chart on TW. You can use the rings for wacky or neko rigging. I carry size 4/5/6 which is good for a roboworm/trick worm/senko size worms. Mostly I use a trickworm and at any given moment I might have half dozen on the floor of the boat because I’ve left the ring and the weight in place on the worm but just taken the hook out. I never break the worm itself. if anything, if I grab the wrong ring then on the next fish the ring will slip off the worm as I fight the fish and the worm/weight goes in the drink. If I get it right, then you’re talking about a bunch of fish before you lose the worm and weight.

I’ve had a lot of luck this year throwing an Xzone MB Fat Finesse. I haven’t fished the KVD finesse but the sizes don’t look too far off. Plus the MB has a flat bottom.

I do use a o-ring but I still hook into the bait and I’ve found that it stays together pretty well.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?start=0&count=20&searchtext=Mb+fat

12 hours ago, Peacedivision said:

I like the netbait t mac, but I fish them with a crossover ring so can't speak to durability just hooking through the plastic.

They're also $5 for a 20 pack so losing my weight when it does happen hurts more than the worm.

The T-Mac is a tougher worm and the tail has a neutral to slight rise on a Neko rig. Check out the XZone Deception Worm and the GrandeBass Air Tail Wiggler Worm for the Neko rig as their tails rise . If rigged with their hardware - the ZMan 7” straight tail Elaztec worms are robust and the tails stand almost straight up .

The new Zoom thick trick worms work great. I use them more than any other worm now . Ring works good on em .

-Xzone Deception/ MB finesse: If you essentially want a trick worm profile with more buoyancy the Xzone deception is pretty much spot on, other than being .5" shorter. Its made of that great Xzone plastic. The head is wider and rounded when compared with the Trick worm, which is nice for nails and SHs, but the nose is narrow enough to give it good action when fished like a floating worm. Xzone makes a fat version too. I think its made more for SHs and Nekos than a floating worm, but im sure it would work.

-Hags Flatliner: This worm is similar to a trick worm until you get to the upper portion. The head is the widest part and the worm tapers down to a tail that's similar to a Trick, except its got a sharp angle on the top, to give it some action. For SH and neko especially, the wide head hold nail weight well and screw locks well without blowing out quickly. The entire worm is buoyant, which really helps in a SH or T rig, as you can just shake slack and the entire worm will move.

-Bizz dizzy diamond/dizzy fat: The DD has a traditional floating worm style profile, with a double tapered head that ends at the egg sack. The nose of the worm is slightly pointed, yet wide enough for weights or screw locks keepers. The tail is unique that its shaped like a flattened spade. I really like Bizzs' plastic because its super soft and buoyant. They aren't the most durable bait, but they hold up really well for being as buoyant as they are. I also like the strong scent they have. Bizz makes a Mag DD, which is 7.5" as opposed to the 6" DD. The only difference between the 2 is size as the shape is just upscaled.

-Black Label Hollow Point: HP Finesse, HP Fat: The hollow point has a similar shape to the Flatliner and DD, with the fat head and tapering body. The difference is that the HP has a bulbed tail with a point. Theres an air cavity which ensure the tail will float and the bulb has concave shape on the bottom, similar to SKs worms. There are 3 iterations of the hollow point. The standard Hp is 7", the Finesse HP is 5.7" and the Fat HP is 6". As far as bang for your buck these are hard to beat. You get 16 in a pack with the HP and Finesse HP and 10 per pack with HP Fat.

-Rapala Janitor worm: This worm is a hybrid design. The lower end and top of the head are ribbed. The underside of the head is flat down to the egg sack and ribbed below. The egg sack is designed to hold an O ring in place without sliding. While not being completely flat on the bottom, it darts and glides really well. I like that they come in a clam shell to keep them straight.

-Zman Finesse/Floating Worm: Thes Zman finesse worms come in 4.5 and 7 ". The profile is almost exactly like a Trick worm in width; it's just .5" longer. The TPE material floats like cork, which is good and bad. The floating worms have no salt in them at all, which gives them extreme buoyancy. Although they catch fish, the floating worms have so much buoyancy they don't look natural. The finesse worm is the same exact mold. Unlike the floating worm, the finesse worm has a small amount of salt in it to give it some weight. The salt makes it just a tiny bit less buoyant than the unsalted floating worm. Despite the salt, the finesse worm still has that unnatural buoyancy. Despite the unnatural buoyancy these worms catch fish. They last all day and my favorite part is that you don't need an O ring.

Try using a wacky hangar or neko hack. I

Zoom truck worm and wacky worm o ring. Lasts a really long time.

As others have said, the Xzone Deception and Netbait T-Mac are excellent choices.

On 6/28/2026 at 3:23 AM, ChrisD46 said:

Air Tail Wiggler Worm for the Neko

If I had to pick 1 worm for everything, it would be an airtail.

I typically go with the Nekorama with a 1/32 oz or 1/16 oz tungsten nail weight and the Geecrack Neko Hack with 8lb braid/8lb flour leader and if I need to downsize or finesse it a little more I'll use the same setup except switch to the Berkley Maxscent Hit Worm or a 5 inch Maxscent General

The Missile Baits Magic Worm is also excellent..and is a collaboration with Roboworm. Which means the colors are outstanding.

I’ve had great luck on the missle baits 6.5 quiver worm as well neko rigged

I appreciate the suggestions on the Geecrack Neko Hack. I ordered a couple sizes