If you think that’s simple enough to
follow, Ehrler uses the same setup for
both rigs: a medium-power, 7-foot, 1-
inch Daiwa Tatula Elite Dropshot rod,
Daiwa Tatula reel and 12-pound-test
Sunline Xplasma Asegai braid with an
8-pound-test Sunline FC Sniper leader.
He’ll even use the same worms for
both – either a 5-inch Yamamoto
Senko or a Daiwa Yamamoto Neko
Straight Worm. He connects to either
using a rubber O-ring. The Senko gets
either a No. 1 or 1/0 Gamakatsu G-
Finesse Stinger Weedless Wacky Hook,
and the Straight Worm gets a No. 1 or 2
size of the same hook.
From there, there are only two differences
in rigging between the wacky
rig and Neko rig: 1) The Neko gets a
3/32-ounce Ark Tungsten nail weight
in the fat part of whichever worm he’s
using, and 2) Ehrler slides the O-ring
down closer to the nail weight – “near
the egg sack” – for the Neko, as
opposed to rigging in the center of the
worm like he does on the wacky rig.
On Bottom … but Not
Why Neko over other weighted
finesse rigs? That’s simple, too: “It outfishes
a shaky head almost every time.”
Wacky rigs have an action that is
almost irresistible to bass. The Neko rig
imitates that same action – just on the
bottom.
“With the hook being near the center, you
get that same wiggling action of a wacky rig.
It stands up off the bottom so fish can really
see it, too, whereas a shaky head is more
just a dragging action.”
— Brent Ehrler
“With the hook being near the center,
you get that same wiggling action
of a wacky rig,” says Ehrler. “It stands
up off the bottom so fish can really see
it, too, whereas a shaky head is more
just a dragging action.”
Plus, according to Ehrler, with such
a light weight and very little to actually
grab hold of anything, the rig is far less
prone to snagging on rocks or other
obstructions on the bottom.
Vertical Fishing from Afar
Vertical fishing for suspended fish
an angler sees on his or her electronics
has always been just that – vertical.
The goal is to watch for fish beneath
the boat to drop a bait straight down.
However, with the drastic improvements
in electronics, Ehrler says he’s
now able to “vertically” fish for bass he
sees on his graphs that are 50 feet
away. And when he does, nothing
beats a Neko rig.
“If you’d told me 10 years ago, or
even five years ago, I
could do this, I’d have said you were
crazy,” he says.
Using forward-looking sonar, he can
search around and spot a fish or a
school in front of the boat, then make a
cast before ever getting close.
“Now, you can use a drop-shot for
this like you would normally when vertical
fishing, but it falls too fast,” he
says. “The Neko is perfect because it
can fall fast enough to get down deep
but still slow enough for them to see it,
swim over and eat it before falling past
them.”
For this technique, Ehrler typically
prefers the Straight Worm over the
Senko.
“The Straight Worm falls slower on
the Neko,” he says. “So, if the fish are
suspended, I’ll usually use that to allow
it to hang in their face longer, and he’ll
usually eat in on the sink. The only time
I use the Senko is if the fish I see out in
front of me are on the bottom. Then I’ll
go with the Senko because it will fall a
little faster.”
5-inch Yamamoto Senko
Daiwa Yamamoto
Neko Straight Worm
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | FLWFISHING.COM
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