Featured Stories

Considering seasonal conditions and choosing spinnerbaits and presentations accordingly can help you catch more bass this fall.

Learn how to find the bass this time of year and how to choose and use the best fall bass fishing lures.

When summer turns to autumn, days grow shorter, and nights grow longer. The water temperature drops, and as favorable oxygen levels spread throughout the water column, largemouth bass start roaming. One day they’re deep; the next day they’re shallow. The day after that they’re suspended at middle depths. Pinpointing and catching bass and choosing the best fall bass fishing lures can be as frustrating as trying to fillet a fish with a butter knife.

So, what’s an angler to do? One good idea is to consult with folks who are on the water more than most this season – like fishing guides and pro anglers. Years of experience give these fishermen a knack for dealing with the season’s challenges.

The traditional wacky rig, neko rig and flick shake rig are similar in ways, but each is distinctive. Learn when to choose each and how to use all to catch more bass.

You know the wacky rig, and you’ve likely at least heard talk about the neko rig and flick shake rig. You may not know that neko and flick shake rigs are variations of a wacky rig, each with different applications but with definite similarities.

Seeking a better understanding of these three highly effective rigs and when to use each for early spring bass fishing, we went straight to Frank Scalish, best known in the bass fishing world as Uncle Frank. The popular host of Day 4 on Bass Talk Live and former Bassmaster Elite Series pro uses all three rigs at times, with the depth of the water he is working being the largest determinant of which one he picks up.

A drop shot rig is highly effective for catching bass during summer. However, the best specific rigging and presentations vary by situation. Read on and refine your summer drop-shotting game!

During the summer months, former Bassmaster Elite Series pro Frank Scalish always has at least one rod on his boat’s deck rigged with a drop shot. It matters not where in North America he happens to be fishing nor whether he’s after largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass.

Summertime drop-shotting consistently keeps Scalish in touch with bass, especially when more aggressive tactics strike out. However, his drop-shot rig and how he works it vary depending on where he is fishing and the species of bass that swim there.

Learn why the Ned rig has become so popular and how to fish this finesse rig effectively.

Just as the title implies, we are going to break down the ever-successful Ned rig technique that has swept across the country as a great way to easily catch bass in tough conditions.

What is the Ned rig?

The Ned rig is a finesse fishing technique that involves using small plastic worms, craws, or creatures paired with a light mushroom style head so it can easily float off the bottom. This rig was originally created by outdoor writer Ned Kehde and popularized in the Midwest – so the name Ned rig stuck because of him!

The Ned rig might have reached popularity in the last ten years, but it has been around for quite a while in some form or fashion on most pressured fisheries. The first rig I learned growing up was actually a type of technique similar to this, but we simply called it “jig head worm fishing.” This was casting out a small YUM finesse worm on a light jighead with the hook exposed and slowly dragging it back to the boat. I bet I have caught 1,000 fish on this technique in every type of water imaginable, so it is easy for me to see how the Ned rig has become so popular.