A Ned rig is a near-nothing bait composed of a small soft-plastic lure rigged on a jig head. And yet if you had to coax a bite from a bass anytime, anywhere, a Ned rig might very well be your best bet ...

I slowly raised my rod tip, feeling the bullet weight inch across the bottom until my plastic worm rested against the ruins of a drowned willow tree. As I lowered my rod tip and reeled in the slack, I ...