Great news for Ned Heads – VMC’s new Ned Rig Jig helps anglers of all skill levels hook and hold bass, making it easier than ever to both catch ‘em and boat ‘em.
“It’s really easy to hook those fish with a Ned Rig Jig,” said VMC® Pro Ott DeFoe. “It’s not like a Texas-rigged worm. Pretty much, you can reel down and just lean into ‘em.
“This is something you can put in the hands of a young kid – or someone who’s new to fishing – it’s easy for anybody,” continued DeFoe, the 2019 Bassmaster Classic Champion and now a star on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour. “A professional to a novice can use this Jig very efficiently.”
A hybrid bend in the Ned Rig Jig’s 1X-strong, forged, fine-wire Vanadium Steel hook provides extra strength. A chemically sharpened needle point and a hybrid, wide gap ensures that bass stay buttoned on.
“When those fish suck that bait in, it doesn’t have to come out all the way to the edge of their lip to actually get the hook in ‘em,” DeFoe explained. “You’ll actually get the hook in ‘em back there, back in their mouth, in the roof. You pin ‘em like that, and anybody’s going to land that fish, there’s just no doubt about it.”
A unique, beveled-edged, conical keeper on the Ned Rig Jig’s hook shank holds soft-plastic Ned worms so securely you’ll get many casts and hooksets out of each one you thread on. VMC’s design of the jig, which optimizes the distance from its bait-keeper to jig-head, causes your Ned worm to collapse tightly on the hook shank, creating superior holding power.
“Probably the part that I like as much as anything on this Ned Rig Jig is that bait-keeper,” DeFoe said. “That little lead collar-style bait-keeper works well for keeping your stuff on.”
DeFoe also credits VMC’s design and engineering team for the Ned Rig Jig’s “perfect size” and “perfect-shaped head,” which resembles a miniature grain bin, with its squat cylindrical body and short conical peak.
“The shape of that head, it comes through those rocks surprisingly well, with the jig having an open hook,” Defoe explained. “That kind of pointed end on the head really seems to kick it around and keep it out of those rocks, so you’re not getting hung up much.”
Available 4-per-pack, Ned Rig Jigs come in four sizes (each with a 1/0 hook): 1/16 oz, 1/8 oz, 3/16 oz and 1/4 oz..
“A general rule-of-thumb — the deeper you’re fishing, the heavier head you’re going to use,” Defoe instructed. “But I pretty much always land on the side of trying to use as light a weight as I possibly can, all the way down to that 1/16th oz.”
Ned Rig Jigs are available in three colors: black, green pumpkin and chartreuse.
“There’s times when that bright chartreuse head, just sets the smallmouth off,” DeFoe said. “We’ve got an option that’s going to cover any fishing you’re going to want to do with a Ned Rig.”
DeFoe fishes Ned Rigs on 10-pound-test braid connected to an 8-pound-test fluorocarbon leader. He often uses them to target shallow, rocky points in flat-calm conditions.
“A lot of times, those bass will lay up on those little, shallow, rocky places,” he explained. “You may be able to pick up one or two with a crankbait, but follow back up with a Ned Rig. It is an excellent one-two punch.”
When Ned Rigging is in his game plan, DeFoe stocks his boat with 4-inch soft-plastic Ned-style stick-worms, but cuts them shorter before rigging, depending on water color and conditions.
“If the fish are being heavily pressured, or it’s really clear water, I’m going to cut it down to 2, maybe 2 ½ inches,” he explained. “Or if it’s dirtier water, I’m going to keep it at least 3, maybe 3 ½ inches. Because I want a decent-size profile. I don’t want a little-bitty, tiny bait out there in off-color water.”
