it , and went on to win hundreds of thousands of dollars on it with no one knowing what the heck it was .
By now you probably know what it is , but if you don ’ t , take a stickbait , rig it wacky style and put a nail weight in one end . That ’ s the basic gist . Ehrler , of course , has perfected it .
He ’ ll use either a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko or a Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Straight Worm for either rig , with a rubber O-ring . On the Senko , he ’ ll use either a No . 1 or 1 / 0 Gamakatsu G- Finesse Stinger Weedless Wacky Hook and on the Straight Worm , he ’ ll use the same hook but in either No . 1 or No . 2 sizes . For his Neko rig , he ’ ll add a 3 / 32- ounce Ark Tungsten nail weight , and he ’ ll be sure to slide the O-ring down closer to the nail weight as opposed to in the center of the worm like he does on the wacky rig .
He uses a similar setup with both worms : 7-foot , 1-inch Daiwa Tatula Elite medium Dropshot rod , Daiwa Tatula reel , and 12-pound-test Sunline Xplasma Asegai braid to an 8-poundtest Sunline FC Sniper leader .
From there , it ’ s just trial and error to see which worm does best .
“ The Straight Worm falls slower on the Neko ,” Ehrler says . “ So if the fish are suspended , I ’ ll usually use that to allow it to hang in his face longer , and he ’ ll usually eat in on the sink .”
As for when to use it , Ehrler still prefers the wacky rig if he ’ s fishing shallow ( 5 feet or less ), as that allows it to hover and tempt bass best . But anything deeper than that , the Neko gets the call . He ’ ll even choose it over a drop-shot many times when he feels the fish are truly bottom-oriented , feeding on crayfish .
“ If I ’ m fishing vertically or if the fish are looking down to feed , the Neko rig pretty much is my go-to presentation ,” Ehrler says .
Ned Rig
Few rigs make anglers roll their eyes more than the Ned rig , but as much as some anglers seem to loathe it , no one can argue its effectiveness . Something about that pudgy little offering on a mushroom head makes bass attack it like it ’ s personally wronged their families .
However , the lure seems to have been pigeonholed into one solely for smallmouth or to catch numbers instead of big fish . Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit pro Grae Buck disagrees .
“ I pick up a Ned rig over a Texas rig or shaky head whenever I need to finesse the fish even more to get more bites ,” Buck says . “ The Z-Man TRD is only 2.75 inches . It ’ s a tiny , tiny bait . So
they don ’ t even have to be actively eating . They ’ ll just go pick it up because it ’ s so small . It ’ s like a little snack for them .” And whether you ’ re little or big , most of us can ’ t help grabbing a little snack if it ’ s just sitting in front of us . And that goes for all species of bass .
Buck has two different ways he likes to fish a Ned rig . The first is on a 1 / 5- ounce Z-Man Ned LockZ HD head , which he ’ ll use when the fish are feeding on the bottom . However , if the fish are suspended and he ’ s targeting them with forward-facing sonar , he goes with 1 / 16-ounce Hayabusa Brush Easy head , as it causes the rig to sink so slowly , most fish will just swim over and eat the snack before it ever gets close to the bottom .
“ It ’ s incredible how they ’ ll just immediately attack it .”
Regardless of the head , Buck throws a Ned rig on a Favorite Jackhammer 741 MH spinning rod , which helps with casting distance for such a light lure . He also spools up his Favorite Jackhammer 2500 reel with 15-pound-test Seaguar Smackdown braid to an 8-pound-test Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon leader .
Now , as effective as this little snack can be at getting bites and how much more versatile it can be than anglers give credit , Buck admits it does have some limitations .
“ It ’ s definitely not great for skipping ,” Buck says . “ And while it comes through rock decently well , it ’ s not great in grass or around wood unless you ’ re using one with a hook guard . And even then , because it ’ s so small , it ’ s usually best in more open-water situations where the fish can see it more easily .”
Or , as one of the most underrated bed-fishing lures you ’ ll find .
“[ A fish on a bed ] might not look at a Texas rig or even a drop-shot sometimes ,” Buck says . “ That ’ s when you throw in a Ned rig . It ’ s incredible how they ’ ll just immediately attack it .”
64 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | JUNE-JULY 2022