Ned rig questions

[ski357]

A few weeks ago Redbeard mentioned folks further south having success with Ned rigs targeting reds and speckled trout. I am not familiar with this rig and was intrigued. It seems that the freshwater folks (I am not one) are really innovating and introducing new tactics that translate well to salt. I went to a few of my local tackle shops (support your local shops!), but couldn't find any gear. So, my questions to the SL brain trust, have you utilized this tight before and what are your thoughts regarding it? Favored brands or set ups? I'm (attempting to at least) targeting reds and speckled trout.

[dsaavedra]

In it's purest form, the ned rig is a 2 to 3 inch stickbait on a lightweight, thin wire, mushroom jig head fished slowly along the bottom. The stickbait should float, so the rig stands straight up on the bottom.... this is a real crucial part of the presentation and what makes it so appealing to fish. ZMan TRD are the "original" ned rig lures, as far as I know: https://zmanfishing.com/cms/products/finesse-trd/

Now that it's grown in popularity, people are using different styles of plastics on ned rigs. ZMan has a whole line of plastics designed for ned rigging: https://zmanfishing.com/cms/products/finesse-baitz/ They even sell a kit with a few ned rig jigheads and different styles of plastics: https://zmanfishing.com/cms/products/nedrig_kit/

I'm not sure exactly which style you might want to use for specks and reds, as I've only caught them on paddle tails. Maybe you might want to try something that imitates a small crustacean, this looks interesting: https://zmanfishing.com/cms/products/crusteaz/. The original TRD would probably work well too. Do some experimenting and find out what they like.

The reason I keep linking Zman products is because their stretchy Elaztech plastic floats... remember, you want it to float! I'm sure there are plenty of other bait companies making ned rig product, but off the top of my head I'm not sure if any others float.

One last thought regarding the jighead... in it's original conception the ned rig is a finesse presentation through and through, and typically the jigheads are light weight and use a very thin wire. Just a couple weeks ago I had these hooks straighten out two different times in the same trip on average sized largemouth. While I was using 10 pound braided line, I don't think I was horsing the fish... I was using a 6 foot light power rod and the drag was set loose enough that both fish were pulling drag. For specks and reds I would definitely want to use a beefier hook. Zman has a few different options for ned rig heads, and after some research I found that the Pro Shroomz heads (https://zmanfishing.com/cms/products/pro_shroomz/) have a heavy duty 2/0 hook. I picked up a pack of these at Anglers and they definitely seem more sturdy than the regular Finesse Shroomz heads. The Zman jigheads have a wire bait keeper which works exceptionally well with the stretchy Elaztech plastic.

[mjfishnut]

Here's an article you may find interesting. When To Use A Ned Rig For Inshore Saltwater Fishing (saltstrong.com) . If you are a member you have access to other articles and other benefits. Just a FYI