Constantly striving to provide anglers with cutting-edge products that enhance their success and enjoyment on the water, Z-Man Fishing Products is enthused by the unparalleled consumer appeal that its Ned Rig finesse system continues to realize since being formally unveiled earlier this year. In today’s age of copy-cat baits and fad techniques, the Ned Rig has proven time and again to catch a variety of species on virtually any body of water, and in an incredibly simple and easy manner for recreational and tournament-caliber anglers, alike.
The Buzz
Heralded by guides, weekend warriors, and professional tournament anglers the continent over, Z-Man’s one-of-a-kind Ned Rig is quickly generating significant consumer interest and even a cult-like following among some anglers. “It seems as though the Ned Rig is really catching on around the angling world,” remarks ardent North Carolina bass angler Mike Poe. “In fact, Z-Man’s Finesse T.R.D.s are flying off the shelf in my dad’s tackle store.” “When asked almost weekly if I’ve ever thrown a Ned Rig, I quickly suggest that it should be employed whenever pos-sible,” Poe continues. “It can absolutely aid bass anglers on all fishing trips, particularly on schooling fish, for suspended bass, as a follow-up bait, or on ponds and streams.”
If anyone can attest to the Ned Rig’s effectiveness, it’s fishing tackle industry veteran, competitor in the inaugural Bass-master Classic, and finesse fishing aficionado Drew Reese. Reese, who has spent his last 50 summers fishing in Canada, recently topped his personal record for the number of bass caught in a year by boating 4,256 before the end of July, 2016 using Ned-Rigged ElaZtech® plastics, almost exclusively.
“When Z-Man introduced several new finesse baits in 2014, I felt that I had every tool I needed to try to break my previ-ous record of 4,078 largemouth bass and smallmouth bass that I caught in 2006,” Reese remarks. “I had no idea how easy this would end up being, thanks to ElaZtech. In fact, I was visiting last night with several friends who are also Z-Man devotees, and all of us are amazed at how easy it is for two anglers to catch more than 100 smallmouth bass in a day by employing Z-Man’s finesse baits on Lake of the Woods.”
One angler who relies on the Ned Rig on a daily basis is Topeka, Kansas-based Clyde ‘The Guide’ Holscher, who utilizes ElaZtech finesse baits on virtually every fishing trip he guides because they’re so easy for his customers to use and at-tract so many bites. Adding to their appeal is the baits’ ability to catch not just the largemouth and smallmouth he most frequently targets on pressured Kansas reservoirs, but also a wide variety of species including walleye, crappie, white bass, wipers, trout, catfish and drum. “Some folks may poo-poo the fact that the baits will fool all species,” Holscher notes, “but most of my clients relish that fact.”
Z-Man pro and former Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup champion, Luke Clausen echoes Poe’s, Reese’s, and Holscher’s enthusiasm. “The Ned Rig is the best way I know to catch numbers of fish in a wide array of species and size ranges,” comments Clausen. “There’s no doubt that it’s a great way for anglers of all ages and skill levels to catch more fish and have more fun, but I’ve seen my competitors on the tournament trail use it enough times to catch quality fish in tough conditions that it will always be part of my tournament arsenal.”
“We knew that the Ned Rig system would be popular because it is easy to use and flat-out produces,” adds Z-Man General Manager, Daniel Nussbaum. “But we’ve been most surprised by the number of tournament anglers who have adopted the technique and used it to cash checks in top-level competition this year. I’ve heard from several anglers that most of the tour-level field now carries Ned Rig boxes, so it’s clear now that Midwest finesse has a place in everyone’s tackle box, from weekend warriors to tournament pros.”
The Origin and Evolution
Though the roots of Midwest finesse techniques date back to the 1950s, it wasn’t until approximately 10 years ago that small jigs were paired with ElaZtech plastics to create what is known today as the true Ned Rig. Beginning in the early 2000s, In-Fisherman Field Editor and Midwest finesse fishing guru Ned Kehde—as well as other students of the technique—relentlessly tested and refined various baits and methods to ultimately shape the techniques of legendary finesse anglers like Chuck Woods, Guido Hibdon, and Charlie Brewer into a more modernized approach by taking advan-tage of the most advanced soft plastics available today.
The ElaZtech Factor
Z-Man’s Ned Rig system differs from other finesse tackle primarily in the unique way the ElaZtech baits act and perform underwater. Thanks to the extreme buoyancy and softness of Z-Man’s revolutionary material, the jighead and plastic combinations slowly flutter and dart towards the bottom, almost never failing to elicit a strike. On the descent, the mate-rial’s buoyancy creates a slower, horizontal fall, while at rest, the baits themselves float off the bottom, quivering ever-so-slightly. Finesse enthusiasts are convinced that the unique texture and natural, almost slimy, feel of the wet ElaZtech material results in longer holds and repeated strikes. And perhaps most critically, the durable, 10X Tough super-plastic withstands continuous bites from a variety of gamefish, allowing anglers to make repeated presentations without requir-ing constant re-rigging.
The System
Creating the backbone of Z-Man’s Ned Rig system is the compa-ny’s Finesse ShroomZ™ jigheads. The result of several years of collaboration by anglers seeking a way to easily rig Z-Man’s 10X Tough material, the Finesse ShroomZ’s unique, welded-wire keeper holds ElaZtech baits securely and makes on-the-water bait replacement incredibly quick and simple. Now offered in five weights ranging from 1/20 to 1/5 ounce for shallow to deep finesse presentations, they are built around premium, high car-bon black nickel hooks with a head shape that blends seam-lessly Z-Man’s finesse baits. New weedless versions, featuring an adjustable, double multi-strand wire weedguard, will appeal to anglers fishing around grass, brush, laydowns, and other snaggy areas.
While on the surface, the 2.75″ Finesse T.R.D.™ (The Real Deal) appears similar to other small stickbaits, its super-soft and buoyant ElaZtech formulation, dimpled body, and custom salt content creates a texture, lifelike action, and sink rate that sets it apart from other finesse baits. In addition to being an incredible black bass bait, it is also a catch-all bait that has proven effective on numeroud species from panfish and trout to white bass and drum.
A tentacled stickbait-tube hybrid, Z-Man’s 4″ Hula StickZ™ has quickly proven to be effective for largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass, and scores of other species nationwide as well. At rest, its tentacles float up off the bottom and never stop moving, mimicking small crayfish and other invertebrates and drawing strikes when traditional tube baits fail to produce.
The 4″ Finesse ShadZ™, a versatile shad-shaped bait that is equally adept at fooling fish that are feeding on fish or invertebrates, sinks slowly like a dying baitfish thanks to its salt-free ElaZtech construction, and its thin wormlike tail virtually never stops quivering due to the softness of the material.