Over the past several years, the popularity of the Neko Rig has exploded and it's still working great today. Fishing a soft plastic this way is a deadly approach that works in many seasons and it's one of Bassmaster Elite Series pro Seth Feider's favorite rigs. He fishes them everywhere and believes it's one of the most versatile techniques. He shares his thoughts on the best plan for maximizing your success with a Neko Rig.
When the Neko rig shines
One thing that makes the Neko Rig so popular is that it works throughout the year. While it will nearly always get a bite, Feider says it's best when things are tough.
"It'll always work; the prime time is really any time, but I like it best when the fish are acting funky," he said. "Like right after the spawn when they are lethargic and when it's real hot in the summer and all the way into the fall when things are tough."
While it can work just about any time, water clarity is critical, according to Feider. "It's primarily when fishing clear water stuff since the technique is so visual," he said. "I'll fish it way up shallow with a light weight and go out deeper, fishing brushpiles and target ledges with it a lot."
Neko baits, weight, and hooks
You can rig just about any bait Neko-style, but straight worms are the best and the most common approach, although Feider does mix in another unusual one at times.
"Most of the time, it's straight-tail worms, stick worms, and baits like the Z-Man Big TRD and Bang StickZ," he said. "Those seem to do the best, but I've had some really good success with a Z-Man Jerk ShadZ, which is a fluke-style bait when fishing for spawning fish. Throw that bait on a Neko Rig on their bed and they get pretty nutty and can't stand it."
For weights, he adjusts the style and size of them based on where he's fishing and the type of soft plastic he's using.
"I like a real light weight that's 1/16-ounce for shallow stuff, but will go all the way up to a 3/16 for fishing brushpiles to get the bait right in there," he said. "For standard plastics, the VMC Half Moon and nail weights are great and come in all the sizes you need. You need a different specialty head for the Z-Man ElaZtech baits, or they'll fly out on a cast or when a fish jumps."
He uses a VMC RedLine Series Wacky Neko Hook in either a #1 or #2 and in both the standard and weedless versions.
"That straight shank design keeps them pinned and it's really about the only hook I use for soft plastics on spinning gear," he said. "I'll even use it for my drop-shot fishing, except for really small baits where I'm nose-hooking it instead. I fish the standard a lot and use the weedless version anytime I'm around a lot of cover or starting to hang up a lot."
The RedLine is a new series of hooks but has the same straight design as the previous version, with some improvements. "It's a little thinner, sharper and stronger," he said. "All around, it's a better hook. The RedLine hooks and that design give you the best percentage of landing more of those fish."
Neko rig retrieves and setup
The rig itself gives the bait most of the action and Feider capitalizes on it to impart even more action. "I shake it quite a bit like I'm fishing a drop-shot or Ned Rig," he said. "That allows the bait to dance around a bunch and helps you get more bites. Then, every once in a while, I'll give the bait three or four hard pops to get the bait to quiver even more."
When fishing the Neko Rig, he uses a rod he designed for it, a 7-foot, 6-inch medium light Daiwa Tatula Elite and pairs it with a 3000 or 4000-size Daiwa Tatula LT reel. For line, he opts for an 8-pound Sufix 832 braid with a leader of 8 to 12-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon.
"The rod is a hair jig and Neko rod and has a softer tip for great casting, but still has good backbone for landing them," he said. "You can really pull on them with that setup and those VMC RedLine hooks are so strong that you don't have to baby the fish and can get them in faster."
The Neko Rig has become a bass fishing staple and continues evolving to where anglers use it throughout the year and in more situations. That's why it's one of Seth Feider's favorite rigs and the reason that he has one tied up every time he hits the water.
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