By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
Developed as a finesse technique, fishing a Ned Rig has been likened to a slow dance on blind-date night. Very subtle, guarded, simplistic movements, careful not to deter the interest of your "dance partner."
Major League Fishing anglers Kevin VanDam and Luke Clausen, however would sooner mix things up. Using a heavier jighead, they prefer a quicker fall rate that creates an erratic cadence to trigger their bites.
Spoiled with some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world, Michigan is home to VanDam’s favorite smallmouth holes. But they can become wise to the usual tactics that anglers put before them. Especially tough are those days when smallmouth are in a negative mood due to fishing pressure or bluebird skies and flat water and do not want to eat unless triggered.
Ever the tinkerer, VanDam hypothesized that the best lure in those conditions would be a jerkbait. But since the fish were in deeper water, combining a heavier Ned head with light line and an erratic cadence, usually uncatchable bass could similarly be fooled.
Back home, a buddy pours him custom Ned heads in 1/4-, 5/16- and 1/2-ounce sizes. He’s not a fan of the tiny hooks that most Ned heads sport due to too many lost fish. Instead, he’ll opt for a heavier head with a strong hook.
“For smallmouth, I wanted a heavier head in deeper water to speed up the process. It was an evolution of what we have been doing with a tube, but with a different bait,” VanDam said.
Though several plastics in the Strike King lineup will work, VanDam believes the Z-Too shows out.
“It’s the perfect mix. It has salt, which adds weight, but the ElazTech makes it float and makes the rig want to stand up once it reaches the bottom. Using a Ned-style head, it always lands tail-up and once the big cloud of puff disappears, they can see it."
Bites will come in the fall or once he starts working the bait erratically.
Though he always has one rigged up, the Baby Z-Too is most effective in clearer water.
“The Baby Z-Too triggers them better than anything because it is so erratic, much like a goby that darts around the rocks,” VanDam said.
If Dirty, Go Bigger
When the water has some color to it, VanDam opts for the larger Z-Too. Even on lakes devoid of gobies, the technique is equally effective.
To keep the bait darting closer to the bottom, VanDam sweeps his rod to the side, almost quartering his rod tip toward the water. The goal is avoid ripping the bait too high.
“If I’m trying to cover water, I work it almost like a jerkbait. When smallmouth are locked on the bottom, like in the early spring, I want to short-hop it,” VanDam said. “In the warmer months, I crack it harder and want to work it more erratically.”
This technique is not a replacement for a tube because the action of a tube is very different and still very effective, VanDam says.
Luke Clausen often pulls a Ned rig far off the bottom to give fish a good look from below.
“I think that dropshotting and Ned-rigging have made fewer people use a tube as a first choice. Tubes still catch great big ones, but I think smallmouth react better to the erratic action of the Ned-rigged bait.”
Specifically for fishing smallmouth on the Great Lakes, which often requires jigheads and sinkers weighing at least a half-ounce, VanDam fishes his signature series 7 1/2-foot Lew's spinning rod. He designed the rod with a faster tip that tapers into a parabolic bend before firming up at the bottom.
He’s played with the larger spinning reels and while they cast far and make line management easier, the lightness of the KVD300 spinning reels feels more comfortable to fish. The 8-pound Strike King Tour Grade braided line is so thin that not only does it launch his casts, but the thinner diameter allows the bait to get to the bottom quicker.
Unlike most anglers, he runs a 30-foot leader of 8-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon.
“You need the fluorocarbon to allow for the lure to sink at the proper angle in the water. The added length of the fluorocarbon prevents the bait from lifting off the bottom due to the buoyancy of the braid."
Arkansas shiner is his go-to color. When bass are eating baitfish, blue glimmer, perch and smoke shad all produce. During the summer, the deal and green-pumpkin are good choices.
We all know that smallmouth follow the most realistically presented baits, often all the way back to the boat. Clausen believes the 1/3-ounce Z-Man ProShroomz head forces smallmouth to make an uncharacteristic split-second decision.
“By getting that bait to come up off the bottom and fall back down quickly, smallmouth realize they have a split second to decide if they are going to commit,” Clausen said. “If you leave it on the bottom, they have a lot more time to make that decision as to whether they are going to follow it or bite or swim away.
"When a fish has to decide quicker, they tend to make mistakes more often.”
Even when largemouth or spotted bass hare holding on offshore structure and in a negative mood, especially in clearer water, a heavier Ned can be used to trigger bites.
Expand the Window
Unlike VanDam, Clausen will pull the bait high up off the bottom, especially when targeting docks in clear water.
“Even with regular-sized weights, it gives fish more opportunities to see your bait. Cracking a lighter bait gives them a window of time. Fish can’t see below themselves very well, but they can above, out front and off to the sides."
After casting the bait out and letting it hit bottom, he’ll reel up much of the slack and crack the rod from 9 to 12 o’clock. Clausen stresses the importance of throwing slack back to the lure to prevent the bait from swinging back toward him like a pendulum.
Fishing a longer spinning rod like the G. Loomis IMX PRO 902S paired with a 3000 series Shimano Vanford spooled with 20-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line with an 8-pound leader of Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon provides the perfect fall rate.
Though green-pumpkin is a hard color to beat, shad colors work well when bass feed on baitfish.
“When you get a bite and realize that your bait doesn’t feel like it should, it’s important to take up the slack as fast as you can and lean into them,” Clausen said.
