The Neko Rig has proven that it's here to stay. The technique is simple, a wacky-rigged bait with a weight inserted into one end for a unique fall. It has been used for many years with anglers inserting nail weights into their favorite soft plastic baits, and in the past several years, the technique has caught fire. There is now a whole new terminal tackle category for the rig, with specialty hooks, weights, and accessories designed to help you catch more fish with the rig.
The standard approach is to use soft-plastic stick baits like the Yamamoto Senko or other straight-tailed worms, insert a weight and add your hook. This way catches plenty of fish, but there are different ways to fish the rig that works just as well and can even entice a few more bites when things get tough.
Try New Shapes
Most stick with the straight baits, but there's no limit to what you can fish with a Neko Rig. Using different styles of worms opens up a whole new world and can give your presentation a new spin and show the fish something different.
Lizards, creature baits, craws, and soft plastic jerkbaits are all candidates for the Neko Rig. The technique's possibilities are endless, and using new baits will give you a new look for this great technique.
Accessorize
If you want to spruce up the look and action of your soft plastics on a Neko Rig, several accessories can help. The Neko skirt idea was started in Japan by tackle company Zappu and hit the American mainstream after VMC released their version.
The Neko skirts are simple to use and incorporated right into your nail weight to weight your bait. The color options are vast, and you can match the soft plastic to give it a natural look or use brighter colors to help it stand out. The addition of the skirt makes the bait appear natural with flowing movement to go with the great action of the Neko Rig.
Save Your Worms
Fishing a wacky or Neko rig is a great way to get bites in all conditions, but it can take a toll on your plastic supply when fish are biting. Both rigs can be fished without an O-Ring or accessory and just hooked in the middle, but you will be lucky to catch more than one fish on a bait when rigged like that, and you are sure to lose plenty of baits even during the cast. One solution is the O-Ring or some sort of tubing.
Some companies sell tubing designed and fitted for different soft plastics. They work great, but a better budget alternative is to purchase clear silicone tubing by the foot and cut it to the desired width. Hardware stores and online retailers sell it for dirt cheap, which works great. Just slide the worm into the tubing and then secure your hook.
When fishing a wacky rig, hooking the bait through the tubing, perpendicular to the bait, is the way to go. For Neko Rigs, you can slide the hook under the tubing, inline with the bait, with the hook pointed up for best hookups. It will keep your hook secure, and you'll save on your baits.
Durable Plastics Help Your Neko
Super plastics like the ElaZtech material have become staples for many anglers, and their durability and floating properties help greatly with some techniques. For others, they can be harder to rig, and standard plastics are better. The Neko Rig is one place where the plastic's characteristics can help you catch more fish.
Instead of rigging the baits with an O-Ring or piece of tubing, insert the hook right through the bait. It's a time-saver, and the plastic is strong enough to hold the bait and will stay there for many fish. The floating property of the plastic is another benefit. Your entire rig will have more action and float off the bottom in the perfect position.
The one downfall is that the stretchy plastic is not easy to use with standard Neko weights. Z-Man makes a specialty weight that can be inserted and will hold securely in ElaZtech.
Secure Your Weights
If you've fished the rig long enough, you've likely launched plenty of weights during the cast. Unfortunately, it happens, and weights will get loose and eventually fly out. This is annoying and can get expensive with tungsten nail weights.
One solution is to use a lighter on your weights before inserting them into your soft plastic. It works well with standard soft plastics. Just use a lighter to heat the weight, insert it into your bait after heating up, and it will melt to the plastic, holding much better when it cools down.
The Neko Rig is an incredible technique for fishing around docks and offshore structure, and the unique action as it falls is one of the best ways to trigger bites. It's also exceptional when fished along the bottom, shaking it like a shaky head, and the bait will remain vertical in a unique position. It's a simple technique that's possible with just about any soft plastic bait, and using the tips listed above will make you even more productive with the Neko Rig.
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