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Ned Rig Flathead
By Justin Willmer
With the release of the TT Lures NedlockZ jigheads and addition of a few 'Ned Rig' plastics from ZMan, I have been putting the Ned Rig to work over the last year, landing a mixed bag of species including bream, flathead, tailor, trevally, grunter and more. Let's take a quick look at the background of the Ned Rig and then I'll break down why this technique is so effective on flathead, along with how, when and where I fish it.
Background
A Midwest finesse style of fishing, also known as the "Ned Rig", has been smashing it in the US and thanks to a range of 'Ned Rig' plastics designed by US company, ZMan Fishing Products and Australia's own TT Lures with their NedlockZ jigheads, Aussie anglers can now put this technique to work on our local species.
A modification of techniques pioneered in the US by angling icons like Chuck Woods, Guido Hibdon, and Charlie Brewer, the Ned Rig was conceived and brought to mainstream attention by Ned Kehde, an avid angler and veteran fishing industry writer from Lawrence, Kansas. Hence the 'Ned Rig' name. Kehde's small jighead and plastic combo may look unassuming on the surface, but its slow fall and darting action are astonishing, almost always eliciting strikes in even the toughest conditions.
On the Water
The mushroom style jighead and buoyant, 10X Tough ZMan plastics create a presentation that wants to stand upright off the bottom when paused, with the shape of the jighead ensuring this hinging from fleeing / swimming to defending / feeding is rapid. I think this is one of the keys to the Ned Rig, it is always actively fishing, whether it be swimming or fleeing from predators on the retrieve, or looking like it is throwing its claws up in defence or feeding in the bottom on the pause. It's always attracting fish and triggering strikes. Even when employing longer pauses on the bottom the plastic is still standing upright, naturally wafting around with the current and screaming to be eaten.
One of my favourite target species in the rivers and estuaries is flathead. They love lures, are accessible, trophy fish can be encountered even when fishing land based, they fight well on light gear and they are good eating if you do want to keep a couple for a feed. There are times though when the flathead aren't feeding as aggressively and smashing paddle tails, curl tails and other plastics on a standard rolling or hopping retrieve and this is when the Ned Rig comes into its own.
The Ned Rig can be fished with these same retrieves or it can be slowed right down, dragged, shaken or hopped and then because of the rapid hinging of the lure allowed to fall almost back to where it started. You can thoroughly work areas and almost drive fish that aren't feeding actively to eat the plastic. As I am often fishing slower with the Ned Rig I believe that scent is important, adding a little Pro-Cure Pilchard Super Gel Scent every thirty or so casts.
If I am fishing quicker or looking for a plastic with no appendages that hinges most rapidly, I will run a ZMan 2.75" Finesse TRD. If I am looking for more movement, fishing slower and especially when fishing saltwater yabby beds, I will fish a ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ. If I am fishing the mouths of larger drains and areas with loads of prawns, then I will fish a ZMan 3" TRD HogZ with a twitchy retrieve. For those looking for a larger presentation there is also a ZMan 4" Hula StickZ and ZMan 4" Big TRD in the Ned Rig family.
Don't discount your current go-to ZMan plastics though, as the buoyant 10X Tough ElaZtech material teams up beautifully with the NedlockZ jigheads to create a rapid stand up presentation and allow you to fish these plastics using different techniques. One of my go-to plastics for the rivers and estuaries is the ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ and it is deadly on a NedlockZ jighead as I can swim it over the weed beds, making the most of its paddle tail and then pause it when it is over the sand pockets in the weed, allow it to fall and then drag, shake and hop it through these sandy pockets to work them over thoroughly.
Where and When?
On the higher stages of the tide I will target mangrove edges, flats and drains for flathead. The flathead often don't have access to these areas when the tide is lower and as the water moves into these areas baitfish and prawns retreat into the shallows, soon followed by actively feeding flathead. On these higher stages of the tide I will generally fish the lighter NedlockZ jigheads in 1/15oz and 1/10oz weights.
When targeting mangrove edges cast in tight to the mangroves and work the lure out fairly quickly, until you believe you are past those annoying, snaggy spikes at the base of the mangroves and then allow the lure to fall to the bottom, where it can be dragged, shaken and hopped back to you. Bream, trevally, grunter and other species will often eat the lure as you bring it out from the mangroves and then flathead, including some big ones, often patrol the edge of those spikes hunting baitfish, prawns, crabs and other food. Another way to fish these mangrove edges is to parallel them and fish along the edge of the mangrove spikes.
When targeting flats I will make long casts and work the lure back across the flats, covering plenty of ground. Pay additional attention to areas with yabby holes, weed edges, depressions in the bottom and random timber and other structure on the flat. My absolute favourite Ned Rig flathead fishing is picking the sandy pockets in the weed flats and I generally utilise a 2.5" TRD CrawZ when I am purely targeting the pockets. If there is more weed than sand, then I will often run a 2.5" Slim SwimZ or GrubZ, swimming it over the weed and then allowing it to subtly fall into the pockets and make the most of the stand up presentation and Ned Rig theory.
Drains are also a favourite and I will start at the mouth of the drain and slowly fish my way up into the drain, thoroughly fishing the entire drain. Drains can produce a mixed bag of species, especially as you move further north into barra country, and I generally opt for a 2.5" TRD CrawZ or 3" TRD HogZ.
On the lower stages of the tide I will target channel edges, weed edges and drains. If the water is shallow I will stick with the lighter NedlockZ, otherwise the 1/6oz and 1/5oz are perfect for targeting steeper edges that drop more rapidly into a couple of metres of water.
Again with drains start at the mouth and work up into them. The Ned Rig is perfect for paralleling or casting to standing weed and you can just drag, shake and hop it until you entice a bite. The last couple of hours of run out and first couple of hours of run in are perfect for targeting the channel edges and again you may choose to parallel them or cast into the edge and work the lure out into deeper water, where you may also encounter a mixed bag of other species.
If the fish are active and I am running and gunning a drop off, covering plenty of ground and covering it quickly, it's hard to go past the ZMan 2.75" Finesse TRD. When I show people this plastic they think I am having a go at them. It has no appendages and no action... it looks like a stick... but that's its strength. With no appendages or action it sinks quickly and gets down to the bottom where the flathead are, or lighten the weight and get that seductive fall if you prefer. Once on the bottom I control the action and utilise that rapid hinging from fleeing to defending to quickly cover ground and work down the face of the drop off.
I will cast the Finesse TRD into the edge, allow it to hit the bottom and then give it two or three quick hops, followed by a pause and then another two to three hops. Nothing new there as this technique is commonly used for targeting flathead with other styles of plastics. The thing with the Finesse TRD is that I can fish it faster, cover more ground and find active fish. Fish don't have hands so the only way they can investigate what this creature is, is by picking it up in their mouth. It is a bite size profile that could be a worm, prawn, baitfish, or any of the other creatures that fish feed on.
The Ned Rig is another technique that is available to anglers and one that I have enjoyed fishing and had great success with. I am looking forward to taking what I have learnt while fishing this rig and applying it to deeper water, other species and a northern adventure. Maybe it's time you went fishing with Ned.
See you on the water...
Justin Willmer
PS: At the time of writing this the NedlockZ jigheads were readily available in Black, Green Pumpkin and Chartreuse colours, however I am stoked to let you know that Orange NedlockZ have just arrived! These will be a cool strike trigger colour and I also gave some prototypes a quick run on a recent adventure, rigged with a Greasy Prawn coloured 2.5" TRD CrawZ to represent a saltwater yabby. I was in the kayak in 20 knots of wind and remembered I had some in the kit to test... three casts over a yabby flat for two bream and then I packed up to get out of the wind. Check out the photo of this setup as I reckon it is going to be a fish slayer over the yabby flats. Fish on!