Fished the Upper Mississippi today. Cranks and drop shots caught a few early. Had a Ned rig hanging over the side of the boat about 2 ft down. I heard my rod sliding over the gunnel and grabbed it. Smallie on. Used the Ned the rest of the day in the shallow rocks. It was dynamite. Not many whoppers, but fun. Hard to believe it’s that effective. Live and learn.
Welcome to the club! Took me a while too my favorite is a Ned head jig with a 3 inch chigger craw.
I use the Ned when the bite is very tough. It catches more dinks than other presentations because of its size though. And it’s not great in thicker weeds. But it does catch fish in tough conditions, I can’t argue that.
The Ned does catch more dinks, but I can also say that my PB large mouth (22″) and PB smallie (22.5″) have both come on a green pumpkin Z-Man TRD.
Funny, how I hardly used the Ned this year after I picked up the Free Rig and Poop baits. (I gave up drop-shooting altogether). They are different than the Ned, but service the same general area of the water column, The upside is that I don’t think I caught anything under 14 inches with those two techniques (unlike the Ned or DS), and got a good number of 20+ inch fish of both species.
Frydog, I ended up not using it the last couple times out. Do you still get a good thump with the free rig when a fish bites? I have a hard time with the Crig feeling the bite even with very sensitive rods?
Frydog, I ended up not using it the last couple times out. Do you still get a good thump with the free rig when a fish bites? I have a hard time with the Crig feeling the bite even with very sensitive rods?
The bite is in between the typical Ned bite and Carolina mush. Free Rig usually just gets heavy on the pause very much like a drop shot. In fact, it’s closest to a power version of a DS.
Not to hijack a good old fashioned Ned Rig discussion, but I also bought weights for a Free Rig in a couple sizes and tried it out a few weekends ago but could not get the feel for it all.
When I cast, the weight and my (Z-man) plastics ride out together, and I could never get the sense there was any separation between my weight and my plastic, which made it really feel like a Texas Rig.
I was fishing it on submerged weeds/drop-offs much like a drop shot; do I just need to trust that somehow down there my weight is separating from my hook?
Ok Guys what is Free Rig how do you do it. I also gave up drop shoting this summer.
It is a super simple rig that (I think) originated in Japan and seems to be taking off like a rocket. You put a weight on your line (it is like a drop shot weight, but with an eye hook so it can ride “free” up and down your line.)
From there I’ve been rigging it on various EWG hooks with various plastics but so far no luck; maybe I’m doing it wrong 
p.s. the closet corollary as near as I can tell is a non-pegged Texas rig, and to be honest I’m not sure why or how this is so different.
Also Mr. Pike it is funny you gave up the drop shot; I took it up this year in an effort to quit relying on the Ned Rig, and that is what I threw most often for any finesse fishing all summer. I’m still Ned Rig Forever but I caught a lot of fish on the drop shot this year and it seems overall more versatile than the ned.
Not to hijack a good old fashioned Ned Rig discussion, but I also bought weights for a Free Rig in a couple sizes and tried it out a few weekends ago but could not get the feel for it all.
When I cast, the weight and my (Z-man) plastics ride out together, and I could never get the sense there was any separation between my weight and my plastic, which made it really feel like a Texas Rig.
I was fishing it on submerged weeds/drop-offs much like a drop shot; do I just need to trust that somehow down there my weight is separating from my hook?
I think the Free Rig is somewhere between a Texas Rig and a beefed up Drop Shot. The biggest difference is on the fall. The weight obviously sinks faster than the lure so they separate – and by the time the weight hits the bottom, the plastic may be 3-5 feet above… still slowly descending. If you’re not getting separation it could be your weight is too light… I usually use 1/4 oz but sometimes 3/8.
At the time the weight makes bottom contact, it stops pulling the plastic down and kind of stops momentarily… the plastic slowly hovers as it sinks towards the bottom. This is when about half the strikes happen so you hav to watch your line.
After it stops, then slowly twitch/lift a few times until the lure and weight make contact… and yes from there its a slight lift/drop action like a T-rig. You can however, give it a bigger pull upward to let the weight and lure separate again much like when you first cast it out.
Have to try a few different ways and see what the fish want any given day.
Thanks for the replies. Is the weight a small bell sinker? As for the drop shot I really tried it and just got more fish with wacky or Ned rig or jig worm.
As for the drop shot I really tried it and just got more fish with wacky or Ned rig or jig worm.
Same here
Mr. Pike you could use a bell weight but they make specialized free rig weights that are skinnier like a drop shot weight and presumably less likely to hang up.
Just google “free rig weights” but for example:
https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Matt_Luna_Fishing_Tungsten_Free_Rig_Weights_5pk/descpage-MLFR.html
Thanks for the replies. Is the weight a small bell sinker? As for the drop shot I really tried it and just got more fish with wacky or Ned rig or jig worm.
I have found the traditional casting or bell sinkers work, but have a tendency to “grab” the grass if present. The above weights broeker linked are good – have found they go in and out of stock frequently so here’s another to consider:
Amazon: “Muunn Tungsten skinny free rig weights”
Thanks for the information everyone.
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