The Ned rig doesn’t pass the eyeball test. If that simple plastic stub looks like anything, it’s a half-cigar or small turd. I was more than skeptical the first time I saw one. But turd-fishing can catch a crapload of fish, especially heavily pressured bass.
The Ned rig is named after Ned Kehde, a finesse fisherman who spent decades catching 25 bass per hour—almost exclusively using this system. It works for smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass in tough conditions. Two good reasons why it’s among the best bass rigs, and worth buying some of these silly-looking plastics to learn how to rig and fish them.
How to rig a Ned rig
The Ned rig is a finesse lure that’s easy to rig up. You simply slide a short stick worm onto a mushroom-shaped jig head, exposing the hook point for easier hook sets (see image below).
Dedicated Ned Heads will use a dot of superglue to secure the plastic body to the hook. If you let that glue dry, you’ll have a jig-and-plastic combo that’ll hold together bite after bite.
Why is a Ned rig effective?
You might be wondering why Ned rigging—aka “turd worming”—can be so effective on bass and other species? Weirdly enough, that simple shape seems to be the recipe for landing neutral and negative fish.
The fact that those plastic stubs look like nothing in particular also lets them look like almost everything at the bass buffet, from crawfish to bluegills, baitfish or leeches. The short and stubby profile promises a high-calorie meal that moves super slow—a low risk, high reward proposition for finicky fish. Plus, the plastic’s subtle action doesn’t spook them as much as bigger baits with more aggressive action.
Overall, this is a finesse rig for cranky fish that are turned off due to fishing pressure, cold fronts, and cold water. If you’re fishing a popular lake—casting to the same docks, stumps, rock piles, and weed edges as everybody else—this low-key presentation may give you the edge over other anglers.
Ned rig setups
You don’t need an elaborative setup to fish Ned rigs effectively. You just need some simple plastics, some lightweight mushroom-style jig heads, and basic spinning tackle to bring bass to your fiberglass boat or fishing kayak.
Ned rig lures
The classic Ned rig plastic is a 2 ½ to 3-inch stick worm. Many anglers simply pinch off a segment of a Senko and Ned rig it. Your favorite bait shop or box store should also stock several 2 to 4-inch plastics that work just fine. However, if you polled dedicated Ned Heads, 9 out of 10 would probably recommend Z-Man plastics, such as the Z-Man Finesse TRD (TRD = “turd”).
Z-Man uses a special plastic called ElaZtech, which is super buoyant and stretchy. The buoyancy slows down sink time—coaxing more strikes as the bait falls down the water column—and also helps the bait stand on end when it hits bottom. Plus, ElaZtech plastics stretch so much that bass shouldn’t rip them off the hook or bite off ends and appendages. They’re so durable the rig’s namesake, Ned Kehde, once caught 232 bass on the same Z-Man plastic.
Science and personal experience show the standard turd/cigar/pinkie finger shape fools fish. I’d start with that profile—no matter how stupid it looks. However, you can also Ned rig more conventional plastics, such as crawfish, 4-inch worms, or shad-style baits.
Standout lure options
Ned rig hooks and jig heads
Mushroom-style jig heads are anglers’ go-to for Ned rigging. This shape helps the lures fall naturally and then stand up on end when they reach the bottom.
As a rule of thumb, you want to cast Ned-style plastics on the lightest jig heads possible. Using a 1/32 to 1/16-ounce head lets the plastic sink slowly, which triggers most bites on this rig. If you’re primarily fishing the bottom in deep water, you can switch to ¼ ounce shroom heads to keep them down and maintain more feel.
My tackle box includes Z-Man’s Finesse Shroomz Ned Rig Jigheads in 1/20 to 1/10 of an ounce. However, any mushroom head jig with a lightwire hook will do.
Rod and reel options
This is a finesse system, so keep your biggest, baddest baitcasters at home. Ned rigs call for medium-light to medium spinning rods and reels.
I prefer medium-light rods for this style of fishing, especially in shallower water. Less rod softens up my hooksets, making it less likely to bend those lightwire hooks. Plus, lighter rods protect lighter lines when a largemouth dives or a smallmouth goes berserk. However, I’d rig up my medium-action spinning rod if I were targeting bruiser bass in bigger water, such as smallmouth fishing on Lake Michigan or Lake Erie.
This is also a light line lure. A 10-pound braid with a 6-pound fluorocarbon leader is an ideal choice, but I’ve finessed plenty of bass on 6-pound monofilament, too.
How to fish a Ned rig
Most fish hit Ned rigs on the fall. So, once you cast, quickly reel in most of the slack and watch your line intently as the lure slowly flutters down. It’s tough to feel takes. You’re primarily watching your line, looking for subtle pauses, twitches, or sideways movements.
If you don’t detect a strike on the fall, let the lure sit on the bottom. The Neg Rig should stand up on end, thanks to that mushroom head and buoyant plastic. This mimics crawfish in their defensive position or minnows feeding on the bottom. “Deadsticking” it—letting it just sit on the bottom—makes for an easy meal that can coax a bite out of an otherwise reluctant bass.
Let it sit for 15 seconds. If you didn’t get a hit on the initial fall or on the deadstick, you can work the jig slowly and subtly. Lift the lure slightly. Pause. Pop it twice. Pause again. Drag it along the bottom a few inches. Pause. Pause even more. Pop it once. Pause.
If you don’t catch anything that way, try another cadence. Most of the time, you’ll want to keep your movements subtle and your pauses long. You’re trying to present an easy meal to lethargic or pressured fish—not provoke an aggressive or territorial strike.
Sometimes, slowly dragging this rig across the bottom is key. In rivers, I’ll cast at an upstream angle, let it sink, and coax it slowly downstream by lifting it with my rod tip. That way, the current can catch it and wash it down a run or hole at a natural speed.
Keep in mind you also want to fish these jigs close to cover: docks, weed lines, rock piles, and mid-lake structure.
Drawbacks of the Ned rig
Obviously, if you like burning spinner baits and aggressively working jerk baits, Ned rigging isn’t for you. This is almost a do-nothing system—boring, except for the whole catching a bunch of bass thing.
The Ned rig isn’t my first choice for heavy grass and weeds. Sure, some people will buy weedless mushroom heads or Texas rig their plastics to make them more weedless. However, I prefer casting Ned rigs near rock piles, docks, wooded cover, and emergent vegetation. When I’m fishing weed beds, I’m more inclined to throw 4-inch Slider worms as my slow-sinking finesse presentation for bass.
Finally, fish mortality can be higher with the Ned rig. Strikes are hard to detect, so there’s higher potential to gut-hook fish, especially bass. If you’re dedicated to catch and release (like me), be prepared to cut the line above the hook rather than trying to rip the hook out.
Better yet, get good at watching your line and keying in on subtle changes in pressure as you reel or lift your rod tip. That way, you’ll kill fewer fish—and catch more fish.
Additional tips
- There are three ways to fish the Ned rig: slow, slower, and slowest. If you think you might be fishing this rig too fast, you probably are.
- 10 or 15 second pauses are typical.
- Maximize how long it takes your Ned rig to sink by using as light of a jig head as possible and bulkier, more buoyant plastics.
- Keep your movements subtle: Aggressive jigging movements, big pops, and fast retrieves are more likely to spook fish than provoke a strike with this system.
- Bites are subtle and often not felt. Watch your line closely and feel for any changes in resistance as you lift your rod tip or reel in slack.
- Go easy on the hook set: Lower your rod, reel in the slack, and slowly lift the rod tip to set the hook. Aggressive hooksets can bend or snap the lightwire hooks.
Sometimes, silly-looking baits are the way to go. In trout fishing, there’s the mop fly—literally a piece of mop material stuck on a hook—which sometimes catches way more trout than the most beautiful fly patterns that match the hatch. In bass fishing, it’s the Ned rig—a simple plastic stub that catches more smallmouth, spots, and largemouth than you’d think it should.
Who knows why, exactly, bass prefer this nondescript shape over more life-like and sophisticated lures. But you should add Ned rigging to your repertoire if you want to catch bass in all conditions—especially when they’re in neutral or negative feeding moods. This finesse presentation excels when the fish are sluggish, pressured, and not inclined to bite other presentations.
The Ned rig. | Feature Photo: Jory Brass
