Midwest Finesse Fishing the Spawn....

[analfisherman]

I've been thinking (OH-OH).

The Ned Rig concept or as Ned calls it, Midwest Finesse Fishing concept to ME would be the IDEAL rig to use for Bed Fishing spawning Bass.

If you use the Zman Elaztec baits or another floating type plastic and a mushroom head jig........I can't help but think that it would mimic a creature, shad (baitfish/shad etc.) trying to feed on the eggs on the bed.
After all, when rigged right the nose of the plastic is face down and the tail end straight up just like a creature/fish feeding.

The traditional rig is using smaller plastics in the three inch or so length.
Now the traditional TRD type would probably be good but something like the
TRD HogZ should be deadly.


or the Finess ShadZ


or the MinnowZ


Especially the MinnowZ....toss it on the far side of the bed...swim it to bed and let it drop at the edge of bed.
Sit....hop it a quarter inch or two and let it sit.
Repeat throughout the whole bed.
Should really mimic a raiding fish robbing eggs for dinner.
Head is always down as if it's feeding and standing straight up.

Now these are 3" and 4" baits and my thinking is when/if the bass simply 'mouths' to pick it up and move it the hook should already be in it's mouth and a simply sweep set should work great.

Shaking the tip while it's on the bed should create a 'quivering' action just like something eating.
Or maybe even a 2.75" Finesse Frogz.


Soooooo...Pro Staff (members) what do you think?
BETTER YET....HAS ANYONE TRIED THE mff RIG ON A BED OR SPAWN?

[zippyduck]

No and here is why.
I want a beefier hook for the big girls. And throwing light line into a bedding area would be asking for trouble.

Now smallies on the other hand it works like a charm. And because of the open water you have a chance to land them.

[analfisherman]

ZIP, points well taken.

But they also have a  Power Finesse ShroomZ is a beefed up version that better handles larger baits and bigger fish, thanks namely to its heavy duty, forged 3/0 black nickel hook.

When I'm fishing beds rarely do I need to pull through heavy veg. and it's like a 5'-8' flip. Unless I'm boat flipping the fish 8-10 lb. line usually is sufficient in my case.
Actually if a need or want heavier line then 14lb test I'm going to usually toss braid and 30lb. braid easily can be as thin as 6-8lb. test mono.

In reality I'm thinking more about the 'floating plastics' as much as a smaller hook....but I do have some Power Finesse jigs as well as MegaStrikes E2 Shakey heads in 3/16, 1/4 and even 3/8ths and the neat thing about them is it ....allows you to drag the bait and when it stops,it rolls foward into the stand-up posture or feeding posture....they all have 3/0 Mustads.

The finesse would probably be fine for me and I've caught as big as 5+ lbers on the finesse Shroomz.
Again I'm thinking more of the effect of a nose down feeding plastic and the 'smaller profile eliminating/helping eliminate the tail grabing and moving of the baits that often happens on bedding fish.

Good input Zip!!!

[D.W. Verts]

Wellll.... before it was called a "Ned Rig" (who comes up with this stuff?) we used the mushroom head with our Chompers (Hula Grub) for spawning bass on clean banks at LOZ. I'm talkin' like 1991.

There ain't really that much new under the sun.

[analfisherman]

But you don't now....so does that mean it wasn't any good then so it definitly means it's no good now?

Didn't they have plastics in 1991.....seems to me you got a bunch this year?
Just because something was used before........does that mean it can't become better or more enticing or a longer lasting material?

Just so you know......In the 1950s, says Kehde, Woods was already fishing a version of the Ned Rig—a soft plastic 'Beetle' on a jighead with a spinning rod. "I believe Chuck Woods has probably caught more Kansas largemouth bass than any man in history."

Kind of like FORTY YEARS before the 90's.

Your reply kind of confuses me??

[D.W. Verts]

It was GREAT then...

[loomisguy]

We didn't have the Z Man plastics back then. To me the NED is either half a Zinker Z or a TRD on a light mushroom head.. I like the ozark finesse heads. Anything else is just some kind of variation.
You can fish a TRD on a slider head but it's not a Ned. You can fish half a dinger or Senko on a mushroom head ..not a Ned.

[analfisherman]

I fish Brewer Sliders too....not as much as I probably should.
You know, a Brewer Slider Pro Head 1/4 OZ with a CrawZ just 'may' even be a better idea.
Sliders aren't just a good crappie hook/jig......they can be deadly Bass baits especially in sparse vegetation.
Loomis, you ever use any other of Charlie's  other jig heads?

Better yet....a Slider or Mushroom head with a 3.25" craw from XZone with the floating claws....slid through/from the vegetation on the far side of the bed on to the bed's edge and then worked slowly through it......hummmmmmmmm.

And Charlie Sr. has been using the 'do nothing' Sliders (well actually he's dead I believe but Jr. is still around) for like 45 years.

Ya, Ned doesn't call it a Ned Rig even....he refers to it as Midwest Finesse Fishing.......and many finesse rigs can be 'easily tweaked' to make them more adaptable to power fishing....even wacky and drop shotting.

Mr. loomis, DW, good input.

Lures to me aren't about when, where the idea came about BUT rather how YOU adapt them to work within your arsenal TODAY.
Lures/Baits are ALL ABOUT tweaking and presentation....even if that wasn't the originator's original idea for their use.

After all, a Stick Bait ISN'T a 'SENKO' although a Senko IS A stickbait.

Thanks for the input fellas!!!

[loomisguy]

No...In the ozarks a stickbait is a jerkbait..lol

[Oldfart9999]

A Ned rig is nothing more than a variation of the old jig worm, as Dale said "nothing new". Breaking a bait in half to use a smaller piece, swapping out a craw for lizard which is swapping out for a creature or tube or soft stick or sluggo......... all variations of old ideas.
Ned doesn't call it a Ned Rig because he knows it's been around for so long but he did refine it to a fine art, he experimented with it.
Rodney

[analfisherman]

Hey, thanks for the input EVERYONE.
But if you noticed.....I TOOK NED RIG OFF THE TITLE. (IT WAS simply meant FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T OR HAVEN'T HEARD THE TERM...'Midwest Finesse Fishing')

This isn't about who thought up the concept or who didn't OR when it ORIGINALLY GOT STARTED.

To me, the thought of a creature/fish head down FEEDING on eggs or feeding in the BED with it's rear end standing directly up in the air just seemed a GREAT CONCEPT OR IDEA.....creating a Bass' INSTINCTS to actually more aggresively ATTACK the bait and chomp onto the WHOLE bait as opposed to simply grabing a tail and dropping it out of the bed.

SO, DO YOU THINK THE CONCEPT WOULD WORK ON BEDDING BASS AND ANY THOUGHTS OR IDEAS ON 'TWEAKS' TO MAKE THE CONCEPT WORK BETTER........ IS THE QUESTION!!!!!!! 

Again, thanks for ALL the great input Pro Staff!! 

[D.W. Verts]

So, who is "Ned"?

[BrandonK]

Other than what a pain they can be to screw a hook keeper into, or put into a traditional bait keeper for that matter, I'm a huge fan of Zman products due to their buoyancy. I like the jika rig (picture below) with a Zman lizard for bedding bass. I also like a regular weighted Texas rig with one of their shad imitations or a lizard, as you can allow the entire bait to float up slightly and twitching will make it look like the bait is pecking the bottom. Also, Zman craws give you some extra presentation options on a jig or a shaky head.

All that said, I am not a patient fisherman and do not like bottom fishing. I love the idea of these rigs, but I'm simply too impatient to use them 

Where I use them most is on a Carolina rig though. That's money.

[Bud Kennedy]

Ned was most likely a Canadian.  They are known to be very thrifty and will get maximum use out of anything they have.  One day he was using a senko and a fish bit it off leaving only a stub.  So, Ned not wanting to see anything go to waste he just used what was left and it caught fish.  From that point forward it was known as a midwest finesse bait but his friends just called it Ned's rig and later just Ned rig when the drop weight was added.  If this ever gets out it will be called the EH Rig

While none of this is true it does seem quite logical.   

[Dreadnaught]

So, who is "Ned"?

Ned Kehde

[Smallie_Stalker]

So, who is "Ned"?

Dale, here is a good article on the man.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/culture/the-ned-rig/

[Oldfart9999]

Other than what a pain they can be to screw a hook keeper into, or put into a traditional bait keeper for that matter, I'm a huge fan of Zman products due to their buoyancy. I like the jika rig (picture below) with a Zman lizard for bedding bass. I also like a regular weighted Texas rig with one of their shad imitations or a lizard, as you can allow the entire bait to float up slightly and twitching will make it look like the bait is pecking the bottom. Also, Zman craws give you some extra presentation options on a jig or a shaky head.

All that said, I am not a patient fisherman and do not like bottom fishing. I love the idea of these rigs, but I'm simply too impatient to use them 

Where I use them most is on a Carolina rig though. That's money.

So what came first, the Jika rig or Swing Head jigs?
Rodney

[Oldfart9999]

Ned was most likely a Canadian.  They are known to be very thrifty and will get maximum use out of anything they have.  One day he was using a senko and a fish bit it off leaving only a stub.  So, Ned not wanting to see anything go to waste he just used what was left and it caught fish.  From that point forward it was known as a midwest finesse bait but his friends just called it Ned's rig and later just Ned rig when the drop weight was added.  If this ever gets out it will be called the EH Rig

While none of this is true it does seem quite logical.   

Rodney

[coldfront]

No and here is why.
I want a beefier hook for the big girls. And throwing light line into a bedding area would be asking for trouble.

Now smallies on the other hand it works like a charm. And because of the open water you have a chance to land them.

10-12 lb flouro works very well in these situations.

[Captsteve]

10-12 lb flouro works very well in these situations.

is Flouro as hard to tie as they say?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[coldfront]

I fish Brewer Sliders too...Loomis, you ever use any other of Charlie's  other jig heads?

1/8 snagless slider head.  4 inch straight finesse worm.  magic

[D.W. Verts]

Thank ya'll. All these NEW techniques, so little time.

[loomisguy]

is Flouro as hard to tie as they say?
No, I use the same knots I used for years and years with mono. You have to wet the knot and pull it tight slowly .
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[cport]

My understanding, and from what I have observed, is that if you snug the knot too quickly, the heat from the friction actually weakens the line. So Mr. loomis is definitely correct when saying to pull it tight slowly

[coldfront]

No and here is why.
I want a beefier hook for the big girls. And throwing light line into a bedding area would be asking for trouble.

Now smallies on the other hand it works like a charm. And because of the open water you have a chance to land them.

have NO problem flipping into the heart of brush piles with 12# flouro when fishing for LMB that can push 5 lbs.  6 pounders being much more rare.  have done it with 10#  and on medium rods.

favorite technique is to drop a yamamoto fat IKA rigged backwards and/or a 3.5"tube bait.

IF I am ANAL and check my line for knicks, condition BEFORE I toss the bait in, I have YET to lose a fish.
but my line better be in primo condition.

IF I am LAZY and not hyper focus\ed on line integrity, sure, I can lose fish.



too often, the thought process is not clearly followed.  heavier lines just mean more forgiveness in the system.  IF I were a tournament guy and also wanted to SAVE TIME by not having to check my line as often, then yeah, I'd upsize the line strength.

ultralight line for me is anything under 10.,   10 is my all around preferred.  flouro, mono, on baitcasting.


that's a NORTHERN thing.  No self-respecting FLORIDA guy would agree.  and most TEXANS will pitch a fit too.  But it can be done.

PENNSYLVANIA?  really? 


(contentious by design BUT in a jesting spirit)