Scott Petersen offers some suggestions on how to change up your Ned Rig presentation to produce more bass bites.

Bass fishing, like most everything, has gone through some changes over the years. It used to be you could pull your boat out to the 7-foot depth range and make casts back towards the shore with a spinnerbait and catch all the bass that you wanted. Yes, we are starting to see glimpses of this spinnerbait pattern come back in certain situations, but we are not all the way back to what it was in the early days.

In Minnesota, you could track early bass finesse tactics because they really started right here. I can tell you firsthand through my years, if you did not adopt and embrace bass finesse tactics here in Minnesota when fishing tournaments, you were going to be left behind.

Ned jig options

In the early years of finesse bass fishing, the combination of a mushroom jig head and a 4-inch ring worm was making waves catching bass and winning tournaments in the Upper Midwest. Fast forward to today, and once again the mushroom jig head is creating waves in the Ned Rig game. Ned Rig fishing is centered around the mushroom jig head, as this head style helps the plastic bait stand up off the bottom to help it get noticed.

The early years of Ned fishing were mostly done targeting bass located on hard-bottom areas. Thus, the open-hook mushroom jig was standard equipment. As the Ned craze grew, this basic mushroom jig head has gone through some changes. Weedless options are now available in the mix, allowing you target and expand to more bass-holding locations.

To stay in the game, expand your jig head selections to include weedless options. Many times, I have added a simple 1/16- and 1/8-ounce weedless ball head jig to the mix. It performs just as well as some of the other weedless Ned jigs that you can purchase. This simple setup has allowed me to fish a Ned Rig in many more conditions than before adapting with a weedless jig.

Ned baits choices

Ned baits come in many different forms. When I started to fish a Ned, I was using a 3-inch piece of plastic worm that I threaded onto my jig. The standard Ned bait is usually a 3-inch stickbait.

The Z-Man Company really got behind the Ned bait movement. They offer Ned baits made from Elaztech, whose claim to fame is that they do not tear up. You can catch multiple bass on the same bait and just keep on fishing. Another characteristic of Elaztech is that it floats. When rigged on a mushroom jig head, the Elaztech bait stand ups on the jig head while on the bottom. This, in some cases, will help get your bait noticed and trigger more bites in tough-bite conditions.

I carry a few bags of Elaztech in my collection, but I rely on other bait options as well in my Ned arsenal. If you want to make your own Ned baits out of Elaztech, you can purchase 5-inch Strike King Zero stickbaits and cut them in half. This will give you a few color options you cannot buy in stores.

I also use Big Bite Baits Stickbaits for my Ned bait options. I can use a full 4-inch bait or I trim it down if I feel that is needed. I am also a huge fan of a 2.75-inch bait offered by Lure Parts Online called a Finesse NED Stick. This bait comes in many of the top Ned color options and gives me an easy bait source to use.

The baits that I have mentioned are my go-tos on a regular basis, but with the current popularity of Ned fishing, you need to open your plastics box and pick a few different bait shapes to set you apart and get you more bites. I am a big fan of using a 3-inch craw in my Ned mix. I do not know of many fishermen that are doing this. I am also using a 3.75-inch Big Bite Jointed Jerk Minnow as well.

Rods and reels

You can fish a Ned Rig on some of the rod options you are currently using for other finesse tactics; 7-foot, medium-light or medium-action spinning setups are viable choices to start with. I use a size 20 Lew’s Custom Spinning reel. I fill the spool with Sunline Asegai braided line in 10- to 12-pound test. I also use Sunline Maboroshi FC leader material as my leader choice. The reason for the Maboroshi is that it is colored every 6 inches, allowing me to match bottom conditions where I am fishing. My line will blend in better with the surroundings, creating more strikes during my day on the water.

One adjustment I will make from time to time is my leader choice. If I am faced with tough bite conditions, I change to a monofilament leader. This will build more stretch into my mix, making it harder for the bass to be able to sense me when they pick up the bait. Also, because of the floating characteristics of monofilament, it will also slow the fall of my bait, creating a more natural look when fishing in tough conditions.

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