I Found the Bass… Then Made a BIG Mistake
I found the bass on Tennessee’s Duck River, caught a beautiful 17¼-inch smallmouth, and had a fantastic morning of fishing.
Then I made a mistake that I knew better than to make.
The morning started cooler than expected, and I figured the fishing might not pick up until around noon. Instead, the fish were biting early!
I was working current seams, rocks, and moving water from my kayak, successfully using finesse presentations. I landed a great 17¼-inch smallmouth bass, another quality smallmouth, and a bunch of chunky rock bass.
But later in the day, I had a huge topwater blowup that I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Rather than moving on and continuing to cover productive water, I became fixated on trying to catch that one fish. By the afternoon, the bite had slowed considerably, and I was left wondering whether I’d wasted valuable fishing time.
Was it a giant smallmouth? A gar? Something else? I’ll probably never know.
Along the way, I share how I approach fishing moving water, what I’ve learned about free rigging, and an unusual little tackle trick using something from around the house.
A special thanks to John at JCM Custom Tackle for introducing me to the free rig and sharing so much fishing knowledge. This isn’t a sponsored video – just a fellow fisherman I’ve learned a lot from.
And thanks to the subscriber I met on the river, Chris. I always enjoy meeting people who watch ChunkyFellaFishing!
**Featured fishing techniques:**
– Free rig fishing for river smallmouth
– Fishing current seams and rocky structure
– Topwater bass fishing
– Finesse presentations in moving water
**Location:** Duck River, Tennessee
If you enjoy kayak fishing, smallmouth bass fishing, and exploring Tennessee’s rivers, consider subscribing to ChunkyFellaFishing.
**Question for you:** When you miss a fish you think is a giant, how long do you keep trying before moving on?
Tight lines!
#DuckRiver #SmallmouthBass #kayakfishing
0:00 A Cool Morning on the Duck River
1:52 Back on the River
2:19 First Fish of the Day
2:53 How I Fish Moving Water
4:02 Learning the Free Rig
5:05 Hooked Into a Big Smallmouth!
7:36 Measuring a 17¼-Inch Smallmouth
8:11 The Megabass Free Rig Setup
8:59 Another Quality Smallmouth
9:44 Finding a School of Rock Bass
11:49 My Unusual Free Rig Trick
13:08 A Huge Topwater Miss
13:55 The Fish I Couldn’t Forget
15:17 Second-Guessing My Decisions
16:02 When the Bite Shut Off