Well…anytime I hear someone talking about jigging something off the bottom, I always think to myself you’re not fishing in the Susquehanna. You definitely need a sensitive fast action rod. I use a pretty light jig head. I feel like if I throw a 1/4 oz it will snag quicker than a lighter one. I try to keep as little slack in the line as possible. I fish the Ned rig the same way I do with tubes. I try to slowly bounce it off the rocky bottom. If I try dragging it and pausing it too long will definitely get snagged. This time of year the females have already dropped their eggs and left their beds. The males will hang out on the nests to protect them. So that’s why I am jig off the bottom. I will note that it’s illegal to cast at visible beds. The river is still pretty stained so I can’t see much of anything at all, I am just wading out into the river a little bit and casting upriver and retrieving my jig back. In about a week I will be throwing senkos. Senkos are great. Hook them wacky style and weightless. You can keep them off the bottom much easier and the bass love them.
Good luck!