GRAY CLOUDS HUDDLED in the skies over the Niagara River not far from Lake Ontario when Patrick Duncan eased back on the throttle.
It was a downright cold-front blustery morning, but we were determined to get after the pugnacious smallmouth bass that filter into the river in early spring.
Duncan figured it was going to be a Ned rig kind of day and handed me a tricked-out Z-Man TRD.
“What’s this?” I asked as I fumbled with the TRD that had a small spinner protruding out of its tail.
“Just cast it out there toward the bank where there are some rocks on the bottom,” he said with a smirk as he picked up a Ned rig without the spinner and cast toward shore.
It wasn’t long before I felt a tiny “tick” at the end of the line and was soon battling a determined 4-pound smallmouth to the boat.
Was it the spinner addition or simply the Ned rig presentation?
On this day, Duncan proved that it was
