[patx]

I need some advice - thank you in advance!

I was out on LBL today and found a few fish interested in a ned rig. The problem, however, was that the fish were right up against cypress roots or inside sticky structure, which made fishing a ned rig tough. Lots of snags. I think I spent half the time re-tying. I didn't have any weedless ned heads, mostly because I never found them very weedless and I felt like things slowed down whenever I used them.

I noticed that a cast into the right spot resulted in a quick bite or a bite after a few minor drags or twitches, which made me wonder if I could adjust the ned technique with its exposed hook?

I tried Texas-rigging the ned worm I was using (roboworm ) with a small pegged bullet weight but it just looked....really goofy. I played around with it on a shallow spot and it looked weird in the water. It suspended really weirdly which makes me think ned worms are designed to maybe have a jig head on them?

What would you all do to target these fish? I was thinking a weightless 3 inch senko with a 1/0 EWG, or maybe weedless wacky? Senkos sink so I figure it would shimmy down there eventually. I don't own anything in that profile (I didn't even know they existed until I found them on TW) so before buying something I was hoping I could solicit some opinions on here.

 

[Longhorn314]

I've had success with this type of head. I use 1/16 oz mostly. I make these but there are lots for sale on ebay. I bury the hook point back in and rarely get snagged. This is a #1 hook.

 

[nstavola]

Zman makes something similar called the NedLockZ jighead. Another option would be the 'tiny child rig' which is just to insert a neko weight into the head of the Ned bait and a small T-rigged hook in the tail. Here's a video describing how it works Fishing the Tiny Child Rig.

 

[patx]

Thanks for the advice and ideas! Turns out Owner makes their block head jig in an offset weedless option - it looks like a cross between the two images you posted. Placed an order for a few packs and am excited to give them a try.

 

[Liebersdad]

good question and good responses, thanks y'all

 

[nstavola]

So, I decided to take my own advice and tried out the 'tiny child' rig at LBL for a couple of hours on my day off. Ended up catching four bass (including a 4 pounder) on that rig as well as a drum that was just under 7 pounds. Last picture is the smallest of the 4 bass, but you can clearly see how the Ned bait is set up as a tiny child rig.