How one rig is the perfect weapon to get you into your first smallmouth.
When the fall bite in the surf is either not in full swing, or perhaps meeting your expectations, why not switch things up? Escaping the crowds and going to the sweetwater, could be your local lakes or rivers, is a great option to get into an aggressive fish.
By this time of the season, smallmouth are on the hunt eating whatever they can find – crawfish, minnows, hellgrammites, and the kitchen sink – to stock up for the winter. This presents a great opportunity for anglers to rig up a Ned and hunt down some stocky smallies.
If I only had one rig to fish with for smallmouth it would be the Ned rig. The Ned rig is designed to imitate a crawfish or smaller minnow bait, with a sinking mushroom jighead this rig creeps along the rocky bottom where smallmouth hunt. Smallmouth inhabit rocky areas so if you find rocky bottom or rock ledges in bodies of water, you can jig up some smallmouth. This rig is also super effective in crystal clear water; in one case when sight fishing for trout on the fly, I picked up my spinner and caught a smallmouth instead.
What makes smallies such a sought-after freshwater fish is how aggressive they are from start to finish. When you hook a smallmouth you know; it’s like your Ned rig got hit by a bus. Since they are usually found in fast-moving waters, they are built to handle the conditions with their natural power in addition to their agility. Thanks to evolution the smallmouth are equipped with a big tail using that for powerful thrusts and long runs to escape the hook. Bow to the freshwater king, smallies will also jump out of the water during their fight, a telltale sign you’ve got one on.
Assembling your Ned rig arsenal is really a breeze; consider this your shopping list. Starting with fluorocarbon in 6- to 8-pound test. As for jighead size the ranges will be based on conditions; for clear, pressured water I use a 1/16-ounce, while in deeper, stronger current waters level I might up that anywhere from 3/16- to quarter-once mushroom head.
For your Ned rig bait, match the hatch with a crawfish or worm-style bait. Classic colors include green pumpkin, natural brown, but my go-to is peanut butter and jelly, so much so that I drew up a smallmouth sticker where he’s dreaming about that specific color Ned rig.
For your sweetwater combo you can stick with a rod in the 7-foot range, anywhere from 6 feet, 10 inches to 7 feet, 2 inches, typically medium to medium light with a fast action. For the reel, a 2500 would be the maximum size; consider it a light tackle setup if you wanted to use it for skinny water fluking too.
You can work the Ned rig in multiple ways to coax a smallmouth to bite. To imitate the tasty crawdad, let your rig hit the bottom then drag and pause. Crawfish will crawl along the bottom and pause, just don’t get snagged and keep working it in. You can even get away with deadsticking for smallies while working your bait in with longer pauses; this is a good hack to get those finicky fish to finally bite.
In a current, focus on boulders, current breaks, fallen trees and slack water, and go for a swing. Swing by casting upstream and across the current enabling the Ned to swing downstream while staying on the bottom. Of course you have to get jiggy with it; lifting the bait with a light twitch of the rod and letting it drop will trigger a bite. One thing to keep in mind is that smallmouth can and will hit on the initial drop, as I’ve had them hooked before I close my bail.
When casting, let it hit the water and begin its drop. I keep my finger on the line in case I feel them hit early so I can swiftly close the bail so the hook doesn’t get swallowed.
Every fall and winter I see on social media surfcasters crying to the choir if the striper bite isn’t good. Instead of being bummed, expand upon the species you target and get bent on some smallmouth. Don’t let cabin fever win, flex those smallies on the Ned!
