How to Fish Ned Rigs for Big Smallmouth Bass

[@raymaylone8563]

Awesome tips! The TRD hogs works really well when throwing a split shot rig. I use this to cover water just like the old Ball an chain👍

[@eugenemccracken3810]

Awesome info bro just getting into small mouth bass fishing

[@dannylalumiere6538]

Stupid question for you Ben, could senko broken in 1/2 coud be recycled for a Ned? Or its too soft? Thanks

[@cclawman]

He doesn't know what he's talking about. Do not follow this advice!!!

[@midwestfischerman]

I would love a video about the prespawn transition from using jerkbaits and super cold water lures to Chatterbaits and squarebills.

[@VPFreerider]

Same!!!

[@DCBronzies]

That tip about leaders and breaking off because they are too short is great...never thought about it like that!

[@SeriousAnglerBassFishing]

The Einstein of Smallmouth Bass

[@brnowak_fishing]

Haha thank you bruh 🙌🏻

[@midwestfischerman]

Nowadays in the gin-clear water of Lake Michigan at times when I'd throw small hair jigs, chenille & marabou jigs, or a float & fly I now go to a Ned Rig with the lightest weight I can get away with. I get a similar compact bait with a super slow fall and lots of quiver without too much bait movement. The buoyancy and jiggly nature of Elaztech takes the place of the flotation of the hollow bucktail or the flutter of feathers.

[@HeavyChevy32]

Love the Ned Rig, I will rig almost anything on the Ned to accommodate for water temps, profile of the bait, forage and even finicky fish. Right now my favorite ned head is the Z-Man Power Finesse head. A little bit of a stouter hook, 1/4oz is my favorite too since I fish rivers in heavy current. I need to try the braid as backing on my setup, I switched to straight flouro and absolutely hate it. I lost so much line because it all just jumped right off my spool and as you stated I'm not casting far at all

[@brnowak_fishing]

I feel you dude - I’ve never tried the power finesse head. Give the backing a try - it’ll help a ton and save you some money!

[@upstateangler9575]

You should try the mag finess . It has a 3/0 hook and comes in weights up to 3/8 . Its for rigging the larger plastics like the bangsticks and hulasticks . I still fish the 1/4 oz but the larger hook and the bigger plastic you can cast further . It also allows you to upsize the bite with the larger profile at times. I mean its still only a 5in worm ,but when sitting on a group of fish it allows you to change up profiles after catching a few of them all ready .

[@TeamJesusOutdoors]

No bait has had more impact on my bass fishing, since the Senko!

[@Matt-sy6dv]

Hair jig vid!

[@brnowak_fishing]

YES! I need to do that soon!

[@Matt-sy6dv]

The Smallmouth Experience that would be awesome. There aren’t many instructional videos out there on it!

[@billgibson9968]

Its a guarded secret!

[@tomstarcevich1147]

Thanks for the tips Ben i love the ned rig it catches crappies , large mouth bass , small mouth even stocked rainbow trout thanks again Goodluck with you're fishing and keep the vids coming 🎣🐟👍😊

[@brnowak_fishing]

Thank so much Tom! It's such a good bait for all species, not just bass. I've caught soooo many species on it as well, it's just an all around good bait!

[@coledeubell9399]

Would you still run a 30ft leader if you were fishing lake run smallies out of 7ft deep holes in tributaries? Or would you shorten it then?

[@midwestfischerman]

Ben, get Z-Man Bang StickZ and cut them in half! The front half is a TRD, the back half is a TicklerZ! Most importantly, Bang StickZ are NOT packed with salt like ZinkerZ, so no need to soak the Bang StickZ!

[@moop1981]

So you reel a knot into your spool? Doesn’t that impact cast ability? If not then what knot are you using. I use a uni to uni and don’t like even going through my guides yet alone in my reel

[@nawinchester]

Ben, love this series of videos. Becoming my go to on how to because your focus is my focus, ie smallmouth. Really appreciate the SM specific focus and approach. Hitting the water again tomorrow. Taking stuff from the last two videos with me. Video ideas suggestions, using your graph to find fish (side and down imaging), trolling motor or talons and why and more how to videos on spring time / pre, spawn and post spawn applications. Awesome stuff Ben. Look forward to future content.

[@kmor5049]

20 minutes of a guy talking in his driveway....

[@jamespowellii1191]

Love your suggested baits. I currently own all 4 on your list and use them consistently. I would add TRD Crawz, awesome crawfish . Picasso tungsten Ned is an awesome Ned head,check out the location of the hook eye. The Aaron Martens Rhino Ned is another great hook.

[@brnowak_fishing]

I’ve been looking at those AMart Ned heads - sound like I may have to give them a shot sometime! Thanks James

[@craigmickelson8057]

take off your friggin shades!!!

[@JoseMartinez-dq4km]

Great video love the Ned but my robo choice green pumpkin perch

[@brnowak_fishing]

I’ll have to check those out!!!

[@ROZDAB]

I use ewg style ned jigs.

[@kevincoffey6022]

Great info, but a int. Slow down a bit on the speed of your talking for us older guys.

[@kevincoffey6022]

a hint, not a int!

[@funkymojo111]

New sub. Looking for weedless setups, fishing winter time in SoCal urban creek with HEAVY cover and snag hazards galore on the bottom (thanks urban campers).

[@RogerFordTheSmilingBassHole]

Fan-BASS-Tic instruction! Love every suggestion. I fish for smallmouth at my home lake nearly daily (weekends are way busy there) and this information will help me improve my chances for smallie tug-of-war. Thanks!

[@geralds5834]

Enjoying the videos. How about locating fish and tools for small northern inland lakes with high pressure. Say 250 to 600 acres

[@XaltLures]

One question Benjamin: do you use scent on elastec ned-rig lures to catch more fish? Thanks for sharing! Richie.

[@relentlessobsession9705]

Thought all your advice was spot on but the length of leader but depending on how you fish I do agree but I think 10 foot is bout all needed and reason for me is lots my fish are u see 30 foot from my kayak and it wouldn’t be benefit to have braid. I just find The hocks are so sharp and with a 7 foot medium light rod you really don’t have to set the hook that hard and just barely pop it to set the hook and that way you’re not putting all that strain on the fish to start with but I don’t disagree with you on the reasoning just the benefits from my style really enjoyed the video

[@arronkowalczyk9869]

Ben, great Ned video. Suggestion for a future video, based on a comment you made early in this video, "Seasonal Searchbaits for Smallmouth". Thanks!

[@kevinohara80]

I always hear that lighter is better when picking ned heads but I typically fish heavier like you do. What’s your thoughts on the super-light ned heads (like 1/15oz)?

[@BassGeek]

Man I have feel in love with the Sukoshi Bug. It has killed with the bedding smallies.

[@brnowak_fishing]

I’ve never thrown it but have heard guys are smashing fish on it!

[@midwestfischerman]

I've been doing the "Midwest Finesse" thing since I read about jig worms in In-Fisherman as a middle-schooler back in the late 80's. The elaztech baits from Z-Man and earlier from Strike King were game changers! The CRAZY DURABILITY, the buoyancy, and the super-soft texture that allows the bait to quiver with almost no movement with the jig, ELAZTECH CHANGED THE GAME!

[@Shawn_Lai]

I'm glad I'm not the only person who remembers the Strike King 3X baits that were the OG Elaztech!

[@jimking2299]

@@Shawn_Lai Thanks for this. It reminded me that I grabbed some 3X baits from a bargain bin a year or more ago and never used them. I have just put them in my finesse box and they will get some use this weekend (if it doesn't snow!).

[@brnowak_fishing]

I remember seeing elaztech a few years before the Zman craze and thought - wow, that’s silly...whoops 😂

[@midwestfischerman]

@@brnowak_fishing The original Cyber-flexxx got SO STICKY in water. And back then no one had the wire keepers on jigs, just the collars. The stuff WAS STRONG but too hard to use. I did not dig out my old Cyber-flexxx baits until the Ned Rig took over angling.

[@StelmachsWorld]

Ay man i lost a big one with the hook bending out, how loose should your drag be to not affect the hookset? Im running 6 pound fluoro. I guess im nervous about loosening it too much to when i go to set the hook the drag slips

[@brnowak_fishing]

I typically try to set the drag so it barely slips when I set the hook

[@StelmachsWorld]

@@brnowak_fishing much appreciate your help brotha!

[@rvfishingyet]

Thank you for the great Ned Rig 101, from the types of rods/reels/lines to the hooks and bait! For us bank anglers would you change anything about your rod/reel/line selection?

[@ericwakeman6665]

Thanks a lot for the tips here I’ve been trying to expand my repertoire for river smallies in SW Mi this is helpful!

[@TheToyReviewer1984]

Excellent vid Ben! My biggest bass of 2020 has come on the NED. 7 lb 8 oz. keep up these great vids!

[@Christopherjamesmurphy21]

Such a wealth of knowledge. I learned fish don't have hands today.

[@joemanning6972]

Good video.just started using the Ned rig and caught some good one. thanks for all information you provided

[@timgrzybowski8800]

Are you only using in hard bottoms situations? What about weeds grass etc

[@FutureBassmaster4469]

Ben your the best! I needed this video just started fishing the ned... still want to send you my jigs!

[@cameronboake]

as always well done dude.

[@brnowak_fishing]

Thank you Cameron!!$

[@JCDropshot]

So your t-shooting while Ned rigging, interesting.....

[@brnowak_fishing]

Yessir - Witt the exception of dropshotting, I’ve started doing this on all spinning applications

[@JCDropshot]

The Smallmouth Experience I t-shot when spybaiting and dropshottimg I haven’t Ned rigging yet. Might have to you made some good points.

[@victorsimonsen921]

u should try using smaller jigs it helps you slow down

[@billgibson9968]

Berkley Half head is the best ned head all day in light cover situations! I like the 3/8 ounce Half head with a Zman TRD (Canada craw) fished in 35 -43 ft of water in Agust - September when my fish are chasing schools of white perch DEEP

[@brnowak_fishing]

I will have to try that. I have some of the 3/8 oz heads but haven’t fished them! Thanks for the info!

[@davidalejandroglennieporra6678]

I just saw your video for a recommendation of Bass Fishing HQ.Is allways cool to find out great info that help us to become better anglers. Best Regards from Monterrey Mexico.

[@brnowak_fishing]

Thank you! Ty at BassFishingHQ is awesome. Thanks for checking out the video

[@tdbass2968]

Great video and I have the same color HogZ's in Drew's craw to try soon. Dick's Sporting Goods had 2 packs on their clearance rack for some reason for $2.5ea so I snatched them up. What knot do you tie for the 6lb fluoro leaders? I've been trying to master the blood knot because it's thinner than the double uni but damn it's difficult with small line. When I do get it all to tighten down well it still sometimes burns the line a bit. Any suggestions by anyone?

[@brnowak_fishing]

I unfortunately don’t have any tips on the blood knot, but for double uni I wet the line and slowly pull the tag ends

[@rocketsurgeon1746]

Love your videos

[@brnowak_fishing]

Thank you!

[@upstateangler9575]

That TFO tactical looks sweet . I have a picifun rod with a handle like that . The rod was like 169.99 . What price point do most of those rods fall around ? I love the ned rig and wish I could get them to eat it more this spring . Seems like only once in a great while I can get a bite fishing something on the bottom . My fish are definatley in on bait fish right now . Awesome tips about swimming a ned as well . The drag is so key and I oeaened this spring fast that i was fishing way too tight a drag while jerkbait fishing . Those vision 110s have such small wire hooks I pulled a few and went way loose on the drag and seem to land just about all them now .Check out the outcast tackle perfect ned head too. Awesome jig head . Hope all is well bro . I am going to leave it as that just to show I started commenting before the end. lol Wanted to ask about the rods before I forgot the name and to ask. hahah

[@brnowak_fishing]

Yeah man - it’s an awesome awesome rod! The Tactical Elite (black rod) is $199 of the Tactical with the cork handle is $149-$159

[@glenndaugherity6187]

Coppertruese !! Our High School has been quietly using the Hogz for the last year ! Great bait !

[@brnowak_fishing]

Yeah, it’s a sleeper! I’ll have to check out the coppertreuse color!

[@dennishodson990]

Ben, You DEFINATELY need to try Canada Craw Color on Tickler Z!!

[@brnowak_fishing]

I’ve tried it out - it’s a great color when the water has a slight stain to it!

[@bassandgrass567]

If I could chose one video for you to make I would love a big, in-depth video on how to fish the prespawn up north. Things like where to find fish and how to target them would be awesome!

[@brnowak_fishing]

I love that idea. That’d be fun

[@victorxavier9977]

1:00 am and I'm watching Ben LOL! Great video Ben but now I'm going to go sleep!

[@brnowak_fishing]

Haha thank you Victor

[@brendenwlodkowski7585]

Thanks for the video! Watched it last night, and went out today and caught my PB smallmouth on LSC on a ned!

[@brnowak_fishing]

That’s so awesome! Good work

[@coltonblombergfishing4445]

I love the TRD Tubez

[@23KCOutdoors]

Yessir 🔥

[@scottmorton3660]

I saw you mention the Pline for the leader but what brand of braided line do you use as your base?

[@brnowak_fishing]

Hey Scott - I've been using Power Pro Vermillion Red

[@TheJeremy1588]

Would like to see taxes rig fishing in the Midwest for small month

[@brnowak_fishing]

I might be able to do something like that. It's not a super prevalent technique for me, but we shall see!

[@michaelwright6720]

What size hook are you using with the do-it mold? Thanks

[@brnowak_fishing]

I am using both the 1/0 and 2/0 in the Gamakatsu 111

[@timmyyandow4167]

Can you talk about the Carolina rig for smallmouth

[@brnowak_fishing]

This is a good idea :-)

[@markschwieterman2296]

Too water for smallmouth like a buzz bait or frogs

[@brnowak_fishing]

That'd be a fun topic in a few weeks! Thank Mark!

[@upstatenybassmaster4211]

Been using the trd hogs on the finesse bullets jigheads

[@brnowak_fishing]

That's awesome to know! Thanks man!

[@alexc4288]

Hey Buddy! Just wanted to thank you for all the tips and everything what you are doing here!!!! I'm sure a lot of people got some good tips and techniques from you that made them better anglers I sure did! I only start fishing last year,and i think the fish got me hooked)) And in the winter time i spend every day watching your videos and videos of the 2 guys that for sure you know who im talking about ) And the progress is unbelievable!!! From last year catching maybe 1-2 fish in a week i got to minimum 4 fish every time im going out! Still not a lot but for me is enough as a bank angler))) And there is still much to learn!!! So i appreciate everything you are doing!!!!! God bless you my friend🙏

[@brnowak_fishing]

No no, thank you man! Go smash some giants soon!!!

[@alexc4288]

@@brnowak_fishing This year is gonna be the year of my PB 😀

[@BlueJaysOutdoorsLLC]

Great tech video as always. Great tips. Going to try them out tomorrow. 👍

[@brnowak_fishing]

Go smash them dude

[@BlueJaysOutdoorsLLC]

The Smallmouth Experience thanks bro. Got two brand new Lews 300 series reels and one of them is getting spooled up this morning. 👍 Good luck today. Hope you wreckem.

[@paulhirschfield7214]

Great vid, thanks for sharing

[@brnowak_fishing]

Thank you Paul - I appreciate you watching!

[@adamwilson4834]

Caugt two 5 pounders this am on it

[@brnowak_fishing]

I’m jealous 🙌🏻

[@christianwilliams1931]

What kind of knot do you use to connect your leader? I find I have problems with my knots catching my fluorocarbon.

[@brnowak_fishing]

Right now I just use Uni to uni but the crazy Alberto is another great knot!

[@kentyler966]

I too use the uni to uni knot. I can tie it successfully sitting in a boat. Tried the FG, a bit better knot but too complicated and time consuming for me. And yes mine is a little sticky going through the first guide. No big deal.

[@christianwilliams1931]

Ok perfect thanks for the advice !!!

[@bobsuddarth]

👌

[@anthonyguzlas8408]

Good content

[@brnowak_fishing]

Thank you Anthony!

[@dylanW50]

Boat tour!

[@brnowak_fishing]

That’d be cool!!!

[@victorsimonsen921]

my best bait is the trd tube nobody talks about it don't know why.

[@brnowak_fishing]

I have some but haven’t tried it - sounds like I’ll need to!!!

[@Tommylamb16]

Have you ever fished the TRD HogZ?

[@brnowak_fishing]

Yessir - I talked about them towards the end of the video! They're a good bait for when the water is a little off colored or bass are feeding on crawfish

[@Tommylamb16]

The Smallmouth Experience okay I’m only half way through lol

[@brnowak_fishing]

6thSenseIsKing haha no worries dude!!!