Ned Rig Fishing on Trinity Lake
Trinity Lake · California · West
Trinity Lake (also called Clair Engle Lake) sits at roughly 2,370 feet elevation in Trinity County, impounded by Trinity Dam on the Trinity River. The reservoir runs long and narrow through steep canyon walls, with a blend of rocky points, submerged timber, clay banks, and deep creek arm channels that push bass across a wide depth range throughout the year. Water clarity is typically excellent — often exceeding 20 feet of visibility — which shapes nearly every tactical decision an angler has to make here.
Ned Rig pairs a 3–4" ElaZtech-style floating plastic (TRD, Finesse TRD, or similar) on a 1/15–1/6 oz mushroom head jig. The bait's buoyancy causes it to stand upright on the bottom, creating a subtle action that triggers bites when nothing else will. Exceptional on hard bottom, gravel, and rock.
Ned Rig Setup for Trinity Lake
| Rod | 6'10"–7'2" medium-light spinning rod, moderate-fast action |
| Reel | 2500 size spinning reel |
| Line | 10 lb braid + 8 lb fluorocarbon leader |
| Weight | 1/15–1/6 oz mushroom jig head (Z-Man Finesse ShroomZ or similar) |
| Hook | Size 1 or 1/0 wide gap, built into jig head |
Seasonal Tactics on Trinity Lake
Lake: As water temps climb through the 52–62°F range from late March into May, largemouth and spotted bass stack on the upper ends of creek arms in 8–18 ft over submerged timber and clay banks. Rocky main-lake points see smallmouth pushing shallow to feed on crawfish, making a 3/8 oz brown or green pumpkin football jig one of the most reliable tools of the season.
Ned Rig: Deadly on pre-spawn fish holding on gravel and pea-gravel flats in 4–12 feet.
Lake: Thermocline development pushes bass into the 20–40 ft range by mid-July, particularly along main-lake points and channel swings where bait schools suspend. A drop shot rigged with a Roboworm Straight Tail in morning dawn or Aaron's magic color, on 6–8 lb fluorocarbon, covers the finesse end; a swimbait like a Keitech Swing Impact Fat 4.3" on a 3/8 oz head handles the bigger-profile search.
Ned Rig: Work deeper rock piles and main lake points. Drag slowly, let it stand. Green pumpkin and watermelon dominate.
Lake: October and November bring shad and threadfin movement into the backs of creek arms and upper flats as surface temps drop back through the 60s. Bass follow tight, and a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 or similar jerkbait in a shad color pattern, worked on a moderate pause-and-twitch retrieve in 6–14 ft, consistently produces largemouth and spots during this window.
Ned Rig: One of the best techniques as fish get finicky before winter. Match shad colors on sandy/gravel bottom.
Lake: Cold winters push bass deep — 35–55 ft is not unusual for main-lake smallmouth — where a 1/2 oz football jig dragged painfully slow across rocky main-lake structure is about as reliable as anything gets. Water temps below 48°F demand near-stationary presentations; the fish are there, they just won't chase.
Ned Rig: Best cold-water finesse technique after drop shot. Extremely slow drag on hard bottom near deep structure.
Best Conditions
Clear water, hard and rocky bottoms, post-cold-front, heavily pressured fish, any season except peak summer spawn
Use Z-Man ElaZtech plastics exclusively — they float and are nearly indestructible. Regular soft plastics sink and kill the technique.
More Techniques for Trinity Lake
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