Winter Ned Rig Fishing
In the winter, less is usually more when it comes to bass fishing. And the Ned rig defines that concept.
It doesn’t get more simple and subtle than a Ned rig. Without a doubt, the Ned rig is the most reliable way to catch winter bass.
Why Fish a Winter Ned Rig
Bass in the winter time are sluggish and very picky. The usually don’t want to chase after fast baits or fight with a big meal.
They just want a super easy, super slow, super subtle moving bait that doesn’t take any effort to eat.
If you ask any experienced anglers, the Ned rig will most likely be their go-to rig during the winter time.
There are certainly days where you can catch bass on crankbaits, underspins, or other more aggressive lures, but when the bite gets really tough in the winter, the Ned rig will always produce bites and catch you fish.
Ned Rig Components
The simplicity of the Ned rig is what makes it so effective. It is just a small shroom shaped jighead and a small stick bait plastic. Ideally, you want to use floating baits like the Zman TRD (the original Ned rig bait).
The floating baits make it much easier to fish the Ned rig. They keep the hook up off of the bottom, reducing snags and keeping your bait out of the muck.
And the floating worm also make it much more easier for the bass to see the bait and look much more enticing standing straight up.
Just a small jighead and a small worm. It doesn’t get simpler than that.
How to Fish the Ned Rig in Winter
Slowwwww is the name of the game for winter Ned fishing. There’s no such thing as too slow when the water is super cold and bass don’t want to move.
Once the bait hits the water, just let it sink slowly all the way to the bottom. Then let it sit for a while.
Bass will often watch it fall down from a short distance away and then slowly swim over to investigate.
After 5-10 seconds, start giving the Ned rig very small hops, drags, and shakes with your rod tip.
Again, less is more with your retrieve. Don’t be jerking or hopping the bait around like you would a jig in warm water.
Very, very small movements are the key to cold water finesse fishing. Especially if you are using the elaztech style baits that float, the little stick baits entice the bass enough just by sitting on the bottom and moving ever so slightly.
A lot of guys even deadstick their Ned rigs for 1-2 minutes at a time to mimic a dead or dying creature that trigger bass to bite with absolutely zero movement of the bait.
Personally, I usually don’t deadstick mine for more than 30 seconds or so because I just don’t have the patience for it.
The important thing to understand is that there is no such thing as too slow, but it is very easy to go to fast in the winter.
Where to Fish the Ned Rig
Location is super important for this technique because of how slow it is. Hopefully I drilled in the idea of fishing this bait incredibly slow.
And when you’re fishing that slow, you need to make sure that you are fishing in the right area.
If you aren’t very close to bass, it’s going to take you all day just to make a handful of casts.
And all that time will be wasted if there aren’t any bass where you’re fishing. I’ll break down the ideal fishing locations into two categories. Ponds and lakes.
Where to Fish in Ponds
The Ned rig is hands down the best technique for winter pond fishing. The reason for this is that it is super easy to find bass in ponds.
The bass are going to be condensed into two locations. The first is any piece of cover.
Ponds rarely have much cover, so tons of fish will compact near whatever cover there is.
The second location is the deepest water available. Find these two spots on your pond and cast the Ned rig to them.
When fishing the cover, don’t cast directly into the cover because Ned rigs are an open hook setup and will snag on pretty much any hard structure.
But just near the cover and entice the surrounding fish to bite.
Where to Fish in Lakes
Lakes are pretty much the same concept, but it takes a bit more electronics. In deeper water, look for ledges, grass lines, and isolated rocks.
In the shallow water, cast to docks, rock piles, and the outside of brush piles.
Again, you don’t need to get your bait directly into the cover, especially because the water is usually very clear in the winter time.
So the slow, subtle action will draw fish out of the cover.
Winter Ned Rig Baits
Like I discussed earlier, the TRD style baits are by far my favorite for the winter season.
During the rest of the year, there are actually a bunch of different Ned baits that I like to use.
But when bass are super finicky in cold water, the stick baits produce the most bites.
No action, no appendages, no unique shapes. Just a short, straight stick bait works the best during the winter.
Gear for Ned Rig
You don’t need anything fancy to fish this technique. A standard finesse setup works perfectly.
A medium or medium-light action spinning setup is perfect. And then 6-8 lb line is usually what i use.
Most of the time I use 8 lb test, but in super clear water up North, I’ll drop down to 6 lb test.
Reeling this In
When the bite gets tough in the winter time, less is more. And it doesn’t get any less than a Ned rig.
The subtle, slow action paired with a no-action soft plastic gives the bass exactly what they want. Next time you are having a tough time getting a bite, tie on a Ned rig.
