Why the Design of the Zman TRD Matters

The TRD by Zman Fishing is a versatile and effective soft plastic bait that can be used for a variety of fish species in both freshwater and saltwater. It is known for its soft, durable ElaZtech construction, its natural swimming action, and its ability to catch fish even when they are finicky.

The TRD was specifically designed with a slender, forage-like profile with a small tail-end. This design gives the bait a natural darting action when rigged vertically, or a gliding action when rigged horizontally. The TRD is also incredibly soft, which allows it to compress easily when a fish bites down, resulting in a higher hookup ratio.

One of the key features of the TRD is its ElaZtech construction. ElaZtech is a proprietary material that is extremely durable and buoyant. This makes the TRD much more resistant to tears and punctures than traditional soft plastic baits, and it also allows the bait to float up off the bottom when rigged weightless or on a Ned-style jighead. This makes the TRD ideal for fishing in shallow to deep water and around cover when rigged weedless.

The TRD can be rigged in a variety of ways, but it is most commonly used on a Ned rig. The Ned rig is a simple but effective rig that consists of a small jig head and a soft plastic bait. The TRD is an incredibly effective bait for a variety of fish species, including bass, trout, panfish, as well as inshore saltwater fish. It is also very versatile and can be used under a variety of conditions. 

Although many anglers think the Ned rig was designed to mimic small baitfish foraging on or moving along the bottom, Drew Reese, the original TRD designer had another type of forage in mind. 

Take a few minutes and listen as Drew explains his reasons for designing the TRD and why he believes it’s the best Ned rig bait on the market…

Can a Ned Rig Catch Big Bass?

The Ned rig is a popular finesse fishing technique that has gained immense popularity among bass anglers in recent years.

Ned Kehde, an avid, mid-western finesse angler, was looking for a finesse technique that could help him catch more bass in tough fishing conditions. He experimented with different baits and presentations before finally settling on a simple rig consisting of a mushroom-shaped jig head and a soft plastic stick bait.

The original Ned rig consisted of a small jig head with a short hook shank and a round, mushroom-shaped head. The hook was typically inserted into the head of a soft plastic stick bait, such as a Senko or a Z-Man Finesse TRD. The bait was rigged so that the hook point was exposed, allowing for better hooksets.

The Ned rig proved to be incredibly effective at catching bass in tough fishing conditions, such as clear water, heavy fishing pressure, or during cold fronts. It's simple design and subtle presentation mimicked natural prey items that bass feed on, making it irresistible to even the most finicky fish.

The question is can the Ned rig be used to consistently catch big bass?

According to Lurenet's Frank Scalish, the answer is absolutely, so long as you know where and how to use it!

Take a moment and watch the following video as Scalish describes the conditions, environment and presentations where the Ned rig shines at not only producing finicky bass but big ones as well...

Although he discusses the use of Yum products in this video, the same approach and presentations will work using your favorite Ned baits as well!

Can You Fish a Ned Rig Over Submerged Grass Flats?

When it comes to fishing a Ned rig, there's one bottom compostion situation where I only fish a Ned with a weedless, EWG-style Ned jig head; where the bottom is blanketed with submerged grass and a standard Ned jig head will get fouled with grass.

It just so happens however, there is a specific presentation called feathering that you can use with a standard Ned jig works great when fishing a Ned rig over extensive submerged grass beds. Take a few minutes and watch the demo desribed in this video from the folks at Lurenet and see what I mean...

Next time I fishing tough conditions and over submerged grass flats, I'll be breaking out my lightweight Ned heads from Jade's Jigs, pairing it with some Floating Bum Neds from the Crazy Hick Baits and give feathering the Ned a try!

Is the Tiny Child Rig a Weedless Ned Rig?

If you search YouTube for information on weedless Ned rigs, one of the set ups it returns is the Tiny Child Rig (TCR). 

Unlike a traditional Ned rig however, the TCR does not actually use a Ned jig head but is constructed using a nail or Neko style weight inserted into the head of the bait and the worm hook is the Texas rigged from the tail end as demonstrated in the following video from the folks at TW…

Since the hook is rigged from the tail end of the bait and weight is located at the bottom, the TCR tends to fall more vertically during descent and the tail leads the head during retrieves making it completely different from a traditional Ned rig where the tail of the bait follows the head. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that the TCR isn’t a good rig, it’s highly weedless and an excellent fish catching Ned rig alternative. Just to me, it’s not a weedless Ned rig since it doesn’t involve a Ned jig head, plus the bait descends and retrieves differently when being fished.

Deep Water Ned Rigging

Take a stubby little soft stickbait; rig it on a "mushroom-style", lightwire jighead; work it around bank structures and cover and what do you get? 

One of the most intriguing, fish catching bait rigs around, the Ned rig!

During my time using the Ned rig, I've primarily used it rigged on a fairly light (1/15 to 1/10 oz) Ned head in water depths less than 10 feet where where bottom cover (vegetation and brush) is sparse to patchy.

It is highly effective especially when fishing conditions are tough.

I never gave the Ned rig much thought when probing deeper depths (>15-20 ft) for smallmouths.

After seeing this video from B-Lat and the folks at Z-Man Fishing that will change this coming season!

Take a moment and watch as B-Lat overviews the system he developed for chasing deep water smallies and spots with a Ned rig!

Stubby Ned Worms As Compact Jig Trailers

Stubby Ned worms like Z-Man's 2.75" TRD fished on a lightweight, open-hook jighead has been one of the hot finesse baits for catching bass under the toughest of conditions for several years now.

Over the past few years, more and more adaptations have come to life ranging from Texas, Neko and Child rigs to using the TRD-style worm as an ultra-subtle trailer on compact and finesse type bass jigs.

In the following video, Z-Man pro Luke Clausen discusses his application of the TRD as a trailer on different finesse style bass jigs when fishing the clear water lakes across the northern U.S. for smallmouth bass.

Though the TRD is specifically mentioned in the video, any type of short, straight tail worm should work as well. 

As a matter of fact, I often use a shortened Mann's Jellyworm as a finesse trailer with fantastic success!

One other note... 

I agree it works on smallies but I also assure you it works well on largies and spots especially when the bite is tough!

Adapting Soft Stickbaits When Ned Rigging

We all run into those days when moving baits only produce the occasional bass strike. Often using finesse type presentations like the Ned rig will not only produce a few more bites but enough bites to "load the boat" as they say.

Properly modifying a soft stickbait and matching it to the right style and size Ned-head can be the key to optimal fishing success. 

Take a few minutes and listen as bass pro Ott Defoe explains his approach to different fishing conditions

Tight lines n full livewells!