Jim Elam

Drift sock was a life saver last Saturday. Finally got so strong that I actually tied up to a tree and fished the area methodically with the Ned. Worked great, but there was some cussing at the wind going on. Getting that braid down on the water in a crosswind is crucial. Keeping that rod tip in the water is also important in the crosswind. If you can fish straight downwind or upwind, it is just better.

Braid on the spinning reels works way better IMO. That FC would be great as a leader on the end of 10 lb power pro or spider wire. Very little trouble with twist up, long casting, very tough and long lasting with no memory. Best move I have ever made on my spinning rigs. Light braid on spinning reels is awesome.

LOL! Tried to do a quality bite trip last Monday. Started at 615 and finally picked up the Ned at 830 after picking up a few on the "power baits" (Thanks Bo - the NuTech jig is hands down the best jig I have ever thrown for several reasons). The Ned fished deep picked up lots of fish in the 15-18 inch range. On a 7'2" light action Fenwick rod with 10 lb braid and 6 lb red label Saguar leader, getting into numbers of these sized fish feels like quality! Caught a 3.5 lb LM that was a blast on that rig. I'm sure one of these days I'm gonna hook a big girl on the Ned and be sorry I'm using the light equipment, but I'm having so much fun on the darn thing I think I will take my chances...

I like pistol grip hook removers for a down the throat deep hook removal approach. Have a turn type that Dave mentioned for through the gill approach, which I probably have used once or twice ever. I started using the pistol grip types in Canada when small "hammer handle" pike would attack wake baits. They are handy in a pinch with trebles on toothy critters, but I found they can really be helpful in the throat of a bass when he is hooked deep with single hook baits. They are cheap and they make life easy for most situations, and don't tear up the fish or your bait. I appreciate all of the great responses, especially about barbless. I think that is a great way to go, and lots of times you can get the shorts off the hook at the boat just by giving them slack for a "quick release". They simply spit the hook and take off, letting me get my bait back out there for a shot at another (hopefully larger ) fish. I have to plug Dave's heads. Have really tagged the fish in the last 3 weeks on the unpainted mustad 1/16 oz and 1/8 oz heads. Bill is right, it is a system if you plan on posting big numbers. These heads are a big part of the system IMO. The hooks are top shelf on these heads, and resist the corrosion issues that come up when pre-rigging with zeros on inferior hooks. Have ordered more for the annual Canada trip. Can't wait...

Reading about a few deep hook sets on recent threads got me thinking about some past lessons on this topic. The Ned is a truly amazing setup, but I think we may see a few more gut and gill hooked fish with it than many "power" offerings. I think the best available evidence supports the idea that removing the hook is the priority in all cases. Leaving a hook in a fish is usually a death sentence so it behoove's us to have something in the boat that can be inserted at least 4 inches into the fishes mouth to extract a hook. Indeed, 6 inches is sometimes needed. It is important that this tool is available in the boat and that the angler is familiar with the tool and it's proper use. In my opinion a dedicated hook degorger (even as simple as a hemostat or similar) is much better than pliers. Many variations exist. IMO, all work better than simple pliers or fingers. A good rule of thumb is to hold your breath while working on getting the hook out of the fish's mouth, especially as the water temp rises over 60 F. Getting the fish back in the water or a live well during prolonged degorging to avoid hypoxic stress is important. When the angler feels the need for a breath, the fish probably needs some water exposure soon, even brief water exposure can be helpful. If the bite is on and you feel the need to simply cut the line and retie to get back to catching, consider doing so and placing the fish in the livewell so the hook can be removed later when catching has slowed down. Approaching the hook through the gills is a delicate but plausible option in some situations and should be considered when other approaches are fruitless. In most cases being aggressive with a degorger will cause less risk than leaving the hook. Again, the livewell is often a great place to see the fruits of your labor while continuing to catch fish. If the fish does die, you have the option of eating it or returning it to the lake for the benefit of another creature. Recently, during an outing with a friend on a day when we boated 85 fish on the little rig , my buddy stuck a fish deep and the thing was bleeding like a stuck hog. We were both pretty sure the fish was a goner. The bleeding was impressive. I suggested that it go in the livewell. Was at about noon. We left about 6 pm and to my surprise, the bass I was sure would be dead was actually in great shape. We were able to release that fish to fight another day. The livewell allowed the fish to get oxygen and rest, and provided an opportunity for the fish to recover in a dark quiet place. Pretty neat. Lots of folks on here will have lots better stories about salvaging deeply hooked fish than me, but felt this topic was worth bringing up. The conventional wisdom that one can simply cut the line and release the fish and the hook will simply rust away has been shown repeatedly NOT to be in the fishes best interest, especially when the deep throat is involved, so removing the hook is a priority if we are to give the fish the best chance of survival possible so that they can be enjoyed again. The little rig is so much fun, I would hate to lose a shot at fighting a fish again...

That is right on majicwormman. Barbless is a solid option with the Ned. I'm convinced most of the Ks I catch on it would poop it out before they would spit it if I never set the hook! I'm all about the slack line technique on this bait, but I try to have some contact with the bait every 5 seconds or so if dead sticking. Cuts down on the deep hook issues. Barbless loses very few fish if properly played.

That's awesome. Great to see a fellow OAF member giving his talents and resources freely to such an organization. You are to be commended!

When you get to Springfield go to Fin n Feather on South Campbell just a few miles south of Bass pro and buy some of their 1/8 oz jigs. Easy to cut off collar with light wire cutters and you end up with a good Ned jig. I think $10 for 50 or so, or .... BPS and buy Zman heads 6 for $4.79, or... Make due with what you have or what you can get at WM.

I think the quality fish are still deep. Still catching mainly K and brown fish inside the coves. Gonna move out deeper tomorrow and put down the little rig. We will see how long I can last power fishing again...

What he said.

In at Baxter 630. WT 60 F, light wind. Threw only the Ned and hit several spots from Baxter to Campbell pt. 24 fish, only 3 solid keepers, most fish 14 inches ( mostly Ks), all keepers were LM and appeared to be males. Most fish 10-15 in the usual prespawn areas. Got windy and fishing picked up a little but needed to leave at 1230.

It has been a great spring already with lots of numbers days on the Varmint, wart, etc. Always trying to learn new things though, so I recently put down the little rig for 1/2 hr or so to work a swing head. Trailer was a large creature bait, and I had no bites, but can see the potential with the correct trailer this time of year. My question is this... What situations besides the prespawn and spawn have people had success on these baits? Does it differ substantially from a Jika (jig rig)? If so, when and where would you use each? Just trying to expand my horizons. Thanks in advance to those who have learned and and are willing to contribute. Jim

I have a bunch of TTs in my worm box! Loved that electric blue worm in the summer.

Big O, super R, Deep Jim, original wood bomber in black, hellbender, and the black jitterbug at night. Loved those baits.

Awesome. Thanks for the report.

The brown bass were really locked in on areas with some pea gravel. I missed several fish the slapped at the wart half way back to the boat. Pausing it momentarily helped.

Brown crawdad. Pause it before it gets to the boat for a half second or so, then crank it in. Fish were in 6-10 fow. I'm sure some other cranks would work too. Caught a few of the nicer ones on an old Deep Jim in same color. Gets a little deeper...

Happy Easter C4F

April 4 big cedar area stained slight brown no debris, clearing toward Dam. State park area green stained 3 ft vis. Dam area a little better.

A few pics

Bluebird skies when I put in at 1pm. WT 56 F, no wind, water vis 3-4 ft and green. Bluff ends with Arig, Ned nothing. Mouths of spawning coves with wart, Ned nothing. Secondary points and banks with mixed rock and pea gravel with wart, 9 fish in 1.5 hrs, 7 keeps all but 2 were brown fish. Largest brownie 3.5lb. Most others 2-2.5 mostly females. Lone LM approaching 4 lbs. Bite stopped and finally got back on them swimming a shad colored grub on secondary points. 15 total, 12 SM, 1K, 1LM, 1 Meanie. Best 5 were 14 ish. Fun day. Should be better tomorrow for those who can get away.

Agree. Capoilene base layer for me, BPS ProQual bibs and a good insulated waterproof Goretex parka. Can't beat it with a stick.

Agree. Bill is not pushing folks to spend that much money. Just making a point about the costs involved with doing what we all enjoy. I would love to have those nice toys, but like I said, I can't make a living with them so pretty hard to justify. Bill makes a living with his gear. Takes clients out and shows them a first rate time, start to finish. I have used him as a guide some years ago and he was excellent, the equipment was first rate, and I enjoyed riding In his nice pickup and top end bass boat. Learned lots and had a fun day...

Must be a lot of folks that manage money better than me. I make what I consider a pretty good living and cannot imagine spending over 40g on a bass boat unless I was gonna make an income with it. Just looked into buying a new F-150. Same deal. Prices are outrageous IMO. Will stick with my old Toyota and pay my mechanic to keep it running so it can drag my old paid for tin can back and forth to the lake. For all you guys with new trucks and 60g bass boats, good for you. That is awesome. Just can't bring myself to do it boys...