(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Florida pro JT Kenney is best known for his prowess with a flipping stick and heavy line in thick cover, but in recent years he’s discovered the appeal of finesse by fishing the Ned Rig. It’s not necessarily his starting point, but any time fishing is tough he’s learned to reach for it.
He found flaws with the typical Ned heads, specifically the light wire hook, which he referred to as a “salmon egg, tiny little hook.” It produces lots of bites, including some true giants, but he found that he was losing many of them because of the hook’s lack of bite, so he decided to come up with something different. He worked closely with Nichols to develop what they call the “Magnum Ned Rig Jig Head.”
He said that it’s somewhere between the standard Ned head and a shaky-head in terms of the level of finesse, but has a hook that has already manhandled 7- and 8-pound bass for him. He’s had “no issues with that hook bending out.”
His bait of choice is a 6-inch stick worm – pick your brand. “I use both ends,” he explained. “It doesn’t seem to make a difference which way you rig it.” As for colors, “It’s hard to beat black and blue and green-pumpkin.” When in doubt, he’ll go with a laminate view of those two, which goes by different names depending on the manufacturer.
In heavier cover, where the open hook of the Ned head is a liability, Kenney will use the same soft plastic to make a similar gliding version with a 3/16-ounce Reins tungsten weight and a 3/0 Trokar hook.
One of his favorite places to use the Mag Ned Rig is on waters like the Tennessee River impoundments where the ledge fish are heavily pressured. “They’ve seen it all,” he said. Whereas he might employ a 3/16-ounce head in water less than 7 feet deep, when he gets out on the ledges he’s more likely to use a 7/16-ounce model, sometimes dropping down to 5/16.
This is the golden age of the Ned Rig, Kenney added, like the first few years after the Senko or the Alabama Rig came out. It’s still new to the fish and not widely utilized by the majority of anglers. One key, he added, is to let the worm work for you. Your key retrieve may change throughout the day, but very rarely does he make big motions with the lure.
He encourages Ned-doubters to mix and match how and where they use it. The beauty of this, he explained, is that “there’s nothing set in stone.”
“You can take it out and learn your own ways to fish it.”
If you want to learn some more of Kenney's strategies for the Mag Ned Rig, including his tackle choices and the specific color deviations he makes from the norm in Florida and when fishing for smallmouths up north, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
