Ned Rigging for Bass – by Greg Wintrup

One of my favorite ways of fishing is wading in rivers. I grew up around rivers and have fished them as often as I could using mostly just a bare hook, a couple pinch weighs and whatever bait I could catch. Grasshoppers, horseflies, worms, etc. 

As I got older I started trying new techniques using spoons and jigs, until a few years ago when a good friend of mine and fishing buddy introduced me to the Ned rig. It changed my life and fish count immensely! 

In case you never heard of it, The Ned Rig is a finesse style of fishing that requires light and sensitive gear. When using the Ned Rig in the rivers, I like to match the weight of the jig head with the depth and flow of the water to keep the bait right along the bottom of the river for as long as possible on the drift, without getting snagged up on rocks and weeds. 

For faster and deeper water I use heavier jigs, 1/6oz & 1/5oz jig heads and for slower water I go as light as a 1/20oz jig head and a small Ned style bait. When matching the water flow and depth it is important to have just the right combination of weight and bait size to reach the bottom of the river to just skip and bounce of the rocks creating the action of a food source floating by for the fish to take. 

Personally I play around with bait sizes and styles to get it just right. Making small adjustments in the size of the baits can make a big impact on the action. I have found that color also plays an important role in catching numbers of fish. The color that worked today may not work tomorrow so have some variety of colors and styles of baits with you as well as an assortment of different weight jig heads so you can get that perfect set up to land good numbers of fish.