In our last column we talked about using big plastic baits to catch bass big and small. Without a doubt they do that. But, like any fishing technique or presentation, they won’t work all the time. Sometimes we need something that’s a little more subtle, something with a bit of finesse to it. Recently I have been using the Neko rig more frequently for that finesse presentation.
Much is made of the Neko rig but in truth it’s really a simple concept. It’s a head weighted plastic lure with a hook somewhere up the body of the bait. When fished properly it’ll wiggle like a wacky rigged lure while standing upright on the bottom instead of drifting horizontal towards the bottom.
Everybody has their own way of putting these things together. Here’s the way I do it most of the time.
I put a 1/8-ounce weight on the fat end of my plastic. My hook is a Gamakatsu Aaron Martens Split/Drop Hook. My preference is a #1 size but that can change depending upon the size of the fish I’m targeting and the size of my plastic.
The rod you want is basically the same one you use for a drop shot. My personal rod choice is a 7 foot, 4 inch Cashion Drop Shot model. I use a 3000 Series Shimano reel spooled with 12-pound-test Sunline SX1 braid to which I tie an 8-pound-test Sunline Sniper leader, 15 to 18 feet long. The long leader serves two purposes. It keeps the braid away from the fish, and it allows me to retie often without tying on another leader.
Here are a few additional things to keep in mind…
In the picture I show a mushroom-type weight, but you can also use a nail weight. I like the mushroom-type weights most of the time because they’re easier to rig, and they tend to keep your bait straight. A straight fall matters. I only use nail weights when I’m fishing light, 1/16 of an ounce or less.
Hook placement is key to the technique. I place mine perpendicular to the body of the lure, about two-thirds up, away from the weighted head. This helps me keep the bait upright during my retrieve, and it makes the whole body of the bait move. A lower placement will make it more difficult to keep your lure upright, but it will give more tail action. However, you still want to be near the middle so the bait collapses when you pull on it.
Some anglers keep their hook in place with an O ring. The theory is that it saves plastic. The only time I’d do that is with a really soft bait like a Senko. Otherwise I believe running it through the plastic without the O ring is better.
The trick to catching fish with this rig is to keep the lure upright during the retrieve. The only way you can do that is by keeping a slight bit of tension on the line while you shake it. If your line goes too slack, your bait will flop over and lay dead against the bottom. You don’t need to work it heavy to get bit. The lighter you move it, the more fish you’ll catch.
The exposed hook will snag but you can avoid most of them by carefully working the bait through any cover that’s around and by not setting the hook when your bait comes into contact with a piece of wood. Take the time to learn the difference. It’ll pay big dividends
When the bite’s really tough I sometimes downsize my presentation to snack size by cutting 2 1/2 or 3 inches off the fat end of my lure. I rig everything else just like I would with a full-size presentation.
You can rig almost any straight plastic bait to a Neko rig. My first choice is the Missile Baits Fuse 4.4. It’s durable so I don’t have to worry about O rings, it has great action, the blunt end holds my weight securely and it works just fine if I shorten it to downsize my presentation. The coolest part is that the claws move around when the bait is slightly twitched.
Color selection is a matter of experimentation. I start with green pumpkin and various shades of brown. If they don’t seem to be what the bass want, I get more creative.
The Neko rig is versatile. I could give you a long list of places to fish one, but it makes more sense to just say you can fish it anywhere you’d fish a drop shot. It’s especially good around pressured fish and when the bite is finicky.
There’s one final trick I want you to keep in the back of your mind. Suspended bass can be hard to catch. A Neko rig will help solve that problem. Count it down to the bass and then bring it back on a horizontal plane with slow twitches of the rod while reeling up the slack at the same time. It’ll have action and stay at the right depth. They will bite it.
Spend some time learning to fish the Neko rig. It doesn’t require a lot of expensive tackle and you can fish it almost anywhere. More important, it catches them when other techniques don’t.