Throughout the months of July and August, hot and humid days cause local waterways to warn and levels to recede. Fishing for trout and salmon, a regional favorite outdoor pasttime, often becomes difficult due to the weather and water conditions. Some sportsmen turn to lead-core lines or downrigger outfits to dredge for fish in the cooler, deeper lake water, while others wait for cloudy, rainy days to fish or even put their rods away until autumn rejuvenates the streams.
A growing number of anglers, unwilling to surrender their favorite pasttime, turn to other finned quarry in different locations to fill the slow, hot weather weeks. I’m one of those guys. About a decade ago, I tried smallmouth bass fishing with a friend and let me tell you the fish weren’t the only ones that got hooked. I’ll never give up my pet pastime of fly fishing for brook trout, but “bronzebacks” are acrobatic, aerobatic fighters that think they are twice their actual size and actually are more active in warm conditions.
Bass generally strike about any live or artificial bait offered; soft plastic grubs, worms, crayfish and lizards, hard plastic or wooden topwater poppers and chuggers, shallow running buzz baits or crank baits and even big deer-hair bugs and poppers cast with a fly rod. On a normal half day outing, it’s fairly common to catch between one and two dozen smallies in the one- to three-pound range. There are more than a few four and five pounders out there too, and when you hook and land one of these trophies, it’s a real memory maker.
While Crown of Maine fishermen enjoy a surplus of trout and salmon rich waterways, bass thrive in warmer water and most area bass casters will need to travel at least an hour to enjoy top rate smallmouth action. The St. John River flowage from Van Buren to Fort Kent is becoming more productive over the last several years, but most bass enthusiasts head south for top rate action. Check out Baskahegan Lake, Crooked Brook flowage, Upper and Lower Hot Brook, Pleasant Pond, East Grand Lake, Mattawamkeag Lake and the Penobscot River. These spots are all encompassed in the Medway to Island Falls to Danforth triangle territory.
If you already own a 5-weight fly rod with floating line on a medium-size reel, or an open-faced spinning outfit, or closed face bait casting rig, all you need are a few bass baits to get started. Most sporting goods stores that carry rods and reels will also have some soft or hard-bodied lures, and in most instances even small metal lures or streamer flies used for trout will also attract bass to strike. Having said this, I’m now going to share with you what many experts feel is currently the most productive bass rig being used — the Ned Rig.
Ned Kehde, a 75-year-old bass buster from the midwest developed this remarkable bait and on several occasions he and a fishing partner have boated over 100 bass during a four-hour outing. Lest you think it’s bunk, or a flash in the pan trend, more and more bass casters are trying the Ned rig and duplicating the 100 fish feat all across the country. I’ve tried it, then shared the secret with a couple of close friends, and we all experienced exceptional results and not just more action, but larger fish too.
This unique, small lure is comprised of a 1/32 to 1/16 jig with a mushroom-shaped head and a 2-3/4 inch plastic stick bait. To be more exact, and it does make a difference; the jig head is a Z-man Finesse, which boasts a special wire baitkeeper on tip of the shank to hold the worm in place and several head colors. There are multiple other styles of mushroom head, but none work like the Z-man.
While it’s possible to cut 5-inch Senko, Zero, or Zinker Z sinking plastic worms in half to save money, TRD (The Real Deal) Z-man baits work better and are really more cost effective. Made of ElaZtech, they stretch and withstand abuse far better than soft plastic. Ned, the innovator, has actually caught 182 bass on one bait. Green pumpkin, PB &J and Junebug have been most effective colors for me on local bass waters.
I use a 6-1/2-foot light/medium action spinning rod, open-face reel with 6-pound monofilament and slowly cast and retrieve the Ned rig in 2- to 8-feet of water along shore. The lightly-weighted bait extends upward and wiggles like the tail of a feeding bait fish. By lifting the rod tip and slow reeling, the realistic lure hops, swims, and dives to “feed” along the bottom. Bass can’t wait to devour the life-like bait.
If you enjoy fishing in general and have yet to try casting for smallmouth bass, you are really missing out on some top rate action. And if you are already a bass buster and aren’t familiar with the Ned rig, don’t wait any longer, it really ups the action. Check local rod and gun shops, a favorite catalog or look it up online to read stories or view actual videos. The Ned Rig is a bass-fishing bonanza.
