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Summer 2026
A
s fisheries face heavier pressure than ever
before, anglers must adapt their approach to
keep putting bass in the boat. How do you cope with these conditions on your waters? I have turned toward
and embraced finesse fishing more than ever before.
Let’s break down the modern Neko rig and the tactics behind it to see how this finesse presentation can help you catch more bass when the bite gets tough.
Taking a closer look at what you have to choose from in today’s finesse options, I try to keep a closer eye on what other anglers are doing when the bite gets tough. During the Summer I fish a Senior League every Tuesday morning. Our tournaments run from 6am to 12noon. Everyone comes in and weighs their fish for the day, and the top 5 teams tell everyone how they caught their fish that day.
When teams explain how they caught their fish, I’d say about three-quarters of them are honest about the techniques they used.
Now why do they feel that they could not tell us the truth is beyond me!!! It is not like we were fishing for a $10,000 pot. You would be lucky if you were splitting a $100 bill between you and your partner that day for your winning effort.
My goal isn’t to uncover some secret winning tactic, it’s to identify the presentations consistently producing quality bags. For example, how many anglers are relying on a jig- and-pig or crankbait — and more importantly, which finesse presentations are producing the most fish?
After paying closer attention over the last few seasons, I noticed many anglers — myself included — had shifted to the Ned rig as their primary finesse presentation, while the drop shot had slipped into the second or third spot for most teams
One thing stood out: very few anglers were relying heavily on the Neko rig to consistently put bass in the boat. Of course, that raised another question: were anglers really being honest about what they were catching fish on?
In my own case, the Ned rig had become my go-to finesse tactic, with the drop shot close behind, a trend that mirrored what most of the field was doing.
This told me one thing when I walked away there were not as many anglers using a Neko rig as a top finesse presentation choice. This opened my eyes and planted a seed for my 2026 season.
using an Elaztec plastics option, or it will lay down or at an angle if you are using traditional plastics.
Both techniques catch fish, but the Neko rig gives anglers more presentation options and a wider range of bait actions.
When it comes to Neko baits you have a handful of options that you can use to give the bass a few different looks. The top Neko options are worms, stickbaits, creature baits and craws. Once again, pay attention to the plastic material that you are using, this way you can give the bass different looks and actions to see what is working best during your day on the water.
RIGGING OPTIONS
What bait you pick and how you position the O-Ring on your bait will change how your Neko fishes and the action you can get out of the bait when it falls. Your O-Ring position will have a lot to do with this as will what material your bait is made of.
O-RINGS & BAIT MAKEUP
When it comes to O-ring’s you really have two different choices you can use. First up is a standard simple O-ring. The second option is a VMC option. I lean more toward the VMC option as this ring has a tab that offers you two different hook orientations. This gives your bait more action on a free fall and I feel you get better action out of your bait. Hook orientation choices are parallel to your bait (your hook is in line with the bait) or across the bait wacky style. Because your hook is not in the baits material your bait has more movement than if you would put your hook behind the O-ring into the bait. I feel this added action can help you get a few more bites during your day on the water.
If your bait is made out of traditional plastic material this bait will sink faster due to the fact that many times salt has been added into the mixture of the plastic. This can restrict the baits fall (straight down) in some cases and can restrict the action of the bait (can remove gliding action). If your bait is made out of TPE material your bait will have a floating quality and will have a slower fall and more gliding action as the bait falls. Keep this in mind and match your bait pick to match the bite conditions that you are faced with on the water that day. If the bass are aggressive that day I will lean more towards traditional plastics. You many
NEKO RIG BREAKDOWN
HOOK PLACEMENT AND OPTIONS
Compared to a Ned rig, the Neko rig offers anglers far more rigging versatility. With a Neko rig, hook placement can be adjusted to alter the bait’s action, while a Ned rig is limited by the fixed line tie on the jighead.
Depending on your plastic material choice when fishing a Ned rig and the jig head that you choose to use you can get your Ned rig to stand on its head on the bottom when
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