Zman Fishing's soft plastic baits are known for their unique material and design, which set them apart from traditional soft plastic baits offered by other companies.
Zman baits are made from a proprietary material called ElaZtech. This material is extremely durable, buoyant, and flexible, providing a lifelike action in the water. ElaZtech is more durable than traditional soft plastics, which means that Zman baits can withstand more bites and catches before needing replacement.
ElaZtech is buoyant, allowing the baits to float naturally in the water. This feature is especially beneficial when using techniques like the Ned Rig, where the bait stands upright on the bottom, imitating a feeding or injured prey.
Although ElaZtech is a buoyant plastic, Zman does add salt into the formulation helping to add weight and adjust sink rates. The salt content also decreases the buoyancy sometimes causing bait to lay flat on the bottom especially if any current is present in the waters you're fishing.
Nick from the Bass Hookup YouTube channel created a pretty cool underwater video showing how a simple tweak to Zman's finesse soft plastics can greatly enhance a bait's buoyancy and performance.
Take a few minutes to watch and see what I mean...
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…
As summer gives way to fall and smallmouth bass adjust to the changing conditions, the Ned Rig offers a finesse approach that consistently produces results. Its simplicity and natural presentation make it an excellent choice for hooking into transitioning bass.
Why Choose the Ned Rig for Summer to Fall Transitioning Smallmouth Bass?
Smallmouth bass experience changes in their metabolism, feeding habits, and preferred habitats as summer transitions into fall. They often move from deeper, cooler waters to shallower areas in search of prey like baitfish, crayfish, and other aquatic creatures. This is where the Ned Rig shines:
Subtle Action: The Ned Rig's finesse approach perfectly imitates the slow movements of injured prey, making it an irresistible target for transitioning bass.
Natural Appearance: The compact size and lifelike texture of the soft plastic bait mimic the look and feel of the bass's favored prey items, increasing your chances of getting a strike.
Versatility: The Ned Rig can be presented in various ways, such as dragging it along the bottom, hopping it gently, or even dead-sticking it. This versatility lets you adapt to the changing preferences of smallmouth bass.
Ned Rig Techniques for Success:
Choose the Right Gear: Opt for a light spinning rod and reel combo with 6 to 10-pound test fluorocarbon line. The light gear ensures a delicate presentation and allows you to feel even the slightest nibbles.
Jig Head Selection: Use a rounded edge, mushroom-shaped jig head in the range of 1/16 to 1/4 ounce. This weight keeps the rig close to the bottom while maintaining its natural, horizontal posture.
Soft Plastic Baits: Experiment with various soft plastic baits like stick worms, finesse worms, crayfish, and creature baits. Colors that mimic natural prey are usually effective, such as green pumpkin, brown, and watermelon.
Retrieve Techniques: Try different retrieval techniques to find what the bass prefer on a given day. Drag the rig slowly along the bottom, occasionally lifting it a few inches and letting it settle. Allow the bait to rest on the bottom for a moment, mimicking a feeding opportunity.
Location Matters: Focus on transition zones between deeper and shallower water. Look for structures like rocky points, drop-offs, submerged vegetation, and areas with current.
Patience is Key: The Ned Rig requires patience and a keen sense of touch. Strikes can be subtle, so pay attention to any slight changes in line tension or movement.
Bassmaster Elite series pro Josh Douglas is a specialist at fishing for big northern smallmouth bass. Take a few moments and watch as he explains several of the adjustments he makes to his Ned rig when fishing for transitioning smallies, especially in the north country...
Remember, each fishing day is unique, so adapt your techniques and approach to the conditions you encounter on the water. With practice and persistence, you'll be reeling in those smallmouth bass during this exciting seasonal shift.
The Ned rig has become a go-to technique for bass anglers in recent years, allowing you to effectively fish in areas other lures can't touch. While the original Ned rig consists of a mushroom-shaped jighead paired with a soft plastic bait, the weedless version takes this finesse presentation to a whole new level. If you're looking to catch bass in and around heavy, matted vegetation, the weedless Ned rig should absolutely be in your arsenal this summer.
The basic components of the weedless Ned rig are straightforward - a light wire weedless jighead and a buoyant soft plastic like a Z-Man TRD or other Ned-style bait. The jighead allows the bait to stand up vertically in the water column, while the weed guard deflects most floating vegetation or wood cover encountered. An exposed hook point either behind a wire weed guard or pinned into the plastic helps ensure solid hook-ups when you get bit.
In terms of technique, the retrieve is nothing fancy. After making a long cast, simply lift and drop the rod tip occasionally while reeling slowly. This will cause the Ned rig to subtly rise and flutter down, mimicking a wounded baitfish or crawfish. You can also pause the retrieve for several seconds between subtle twitches to really tempt following bass. Focus on fishing just above the top of any weeds and reel quickly over any open pockets.
Here's a short video from the folks at Northland Tackle with more insight into fishing a weedless Ned rig effectively using their Weedless Nedster jig:
When Summer bass are holed up in the nastiest slop, the weedless Ned rig allows you to present a tempting morsel right in their face. While you'll still hang up occasionally, the weed guard vastly improves your odds of success.
Persistence and patience are key, but more often than not, this subtle finesse technique will help you fool some of the biggest bass in the area. Give the weedless Ned rig a shot this summer and enjoy reeling in bass from the thickest cover you can find!
Ever since its widespread introduction to the bassin' world about a decade ago, the Ned rig has become one of the "go-to" finesse baits for most savvy bass anglers.
Despite the growing varieties of soft plastic baits and jig head styles available today, the Ned presentation system is one of the simplest techniques for catching numerous bass of all sizes throughout the calendar year, especially on highly pressured waters.
The ultra subtle appearance of the light, flat-bottomed jig head and stubby 2 3/4" soft stickbait trailer makes the Ned rig bait a highly productive bait during the cold water period during late fall, winter and very early spring.
Dead the Ned!
Although any of the standard Ned rig retrieves may work during the cold water period, "deading the Ned" by using a dead-stick and super slow drag presentation is often the best option when the water is cold (low 40s or colder)!
A relatively new finesse bait called the Ned rig has been a staple of mid-western bass anglers for several years.
Though some believe it to be a modern adaptation of Charlie Brewer’s “Do Nothing” slider system, this little bait has a number of its own attributes setting it apart from early subtle bait presentations…
In its simplest form the bait utilizes a small (< 3″) soft stick bait with minimal salt content on a “mushroom” style jig head allowing the bait to stand almost vertically off the bottom when dead-sticked…
Want to know more? Check out the following video from the folks at Z-Man Products explaining the system in detail!
One thing for sure ...
When the fishing gets tough, so does the NED rig ... on bass that is ;)
