BlackDragon98

I just scouted a new location last week (beneath a bridge very close to my home). Caught a dozen little (4-6") smallmouth but right before I left, I hooked into a huge smallmouth (at least 4 lb). My drag was loose and the fish somehow managed to bend the little panfish sized jig I was using with worms and get away. I am planning to return and catch that big smallmouth under the bridge. The bridge does not have any pilings (I can fish the entire area from shore) and the bottom is very rocky and snaggy. However, the place is filled with crawfish in the shallows (likely what the smallmouth were feeding on). Would a football jig with a crawfish trailer be a good idea? Or should I straight up just catch some of the crawfish and fish them weightless under a bobber? On another note, I fished a bridge piling with my buddies 2 weeks ago on a different stretch of the same river and I caught this trophy (I forgot my scale but I estimate it to be around 3-4 lb) from a bridge piling, just as Mr. Acord said in the article.

I use 20 lb braid on a 7' medium rod with a 2500 sized reel and I've never lost a bass I hooked except a huge smallmouth that bent the little panfish jig (I was scouting a new area) and got away. Granted, I had a my drag quite loose at the time as well. I will also mention I am from Ontario, where bass rarely, if ever, enter the double digits. Adjust your line according to the waterbodies you fish and the area you live. Good luck!

It mainly depends on the time of year and the water quality of the area you are fishing, but rock bass are worth eating when they're decently sized. In Ontario, there's no season or limits on them so you can catch them year round and keep as many as you want. I've never caught them (rock bass) during winter myself, but I have a friend who does and he says the meat tastes the best when you catch them through the ice. They're much harder to catch through the ice though.

Walleye is number 1 for me, followed by any sort of wild trout/salmon, smallmouth bass, rock bass, and then yellow perch and sunfish. Sunfish and yellow perch are usually too small for me to bother keeping and here in Canada, sunfish don't grow to the same sizes as those south of the 49th parallel north.

You probably just live in a highly pressured area. Fishing around sunrise or sunset tends to work the best in these area. Why not try fishing for stocked trout in your area? You can use the same rig and they're more fun to catch. Make sure to get some powerbait as well.

Good evening (my time) everyone, My name is Steve and I am from Ontario, Canada. I've been fishing since I was 7, across different lakes, rivers, and ponds in Ontario. I have been subscribed to the Bass Resource newsletter for some years already; a big thank you to all the contributors for their knowledge and expertise! I've been fishing bass (largemouth and smallmouth) since the start, but I have diversified my target species over the years to walleye and trout (I eat them). My current goal is to catch the big smallmouth(s) living under a bridge near my home, I hooked one a couple days ago but it bent my panfish jighead and got away. Hope to meet and learn from everyone here! -Steve