By Nick Simonson

If you’re my age, you remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle show as being your parents’ cartoon that was on in re-runs as a youngster.  If you’re a little younger than me, you likely don’t recall it at all because it phased out shortly after my morning cartoon viewing years.   The adventures of the flying squirrel and his bumbling moose friend made up the bulk of the program with shorts from other famous early cartoon characters such as criminal mastermind Boris Badenov, and Mr. Peabody the time-traveling dog, which made up part of the 1960s and 1970s zeitgeist as a result of the show.  While Rocky managed to get first billing on most iterations of the program and its various seasons, spinoffs and movies, he was always (perhaps due to his size) seen as Bullwinkle the moose’s sidekick, even if the rodent was obviously smarter and more adept.

In the angling world, another Rocky – the rock bass – is often seen as such an also-caught when angling for other species, and due to its favorite haunts and diets akin to more pursued fish such as smallmouth bass, walleyes, and bluegills, it is frequently encountered as part of those primary quests.  However, rock bass provide a fun target when all other fish fail and can be easily found for fast action.  Knowing where to look, what they eat, and the relatively simple tackle to use can help move rock bass up the ranks from sidekick to a fun focus when fishing.

Rock bass, as their name implies, relate to rocky structure.  Everything from gravel shoals, chunk rock riprap, and craggy reefs will hold these panfish.  They find shelter in the cracks and crevices formed by the rocks, and they locate the prey that live in those areas as well when it’s time to feed.  Thus, it’s no surprise that a rock bass’s diet is made up of items like crayfish, aquatic insects and smaller fish that reside in those spaces. Once located, these habitats are go-to summer stops when looking for rock bass and the fast action they can bring whether it’s for busting slumps or providing young anglers with consistent bites.

Rock bass are also easy to fish for as they’ll take just about any bait – a trait walleye anglers and bass anglers looking for their bigger aquatic brethren will lament from time to time – when a larger jig or even a four-inch bass tube gets attacked.  From a hook and a chunk of nightcrawler drifted into a rocky stretch on up to a jig tipped with a worm or minnow bumped along the bottom, it’s simple to offer something for these red-eyed panfish to gobble up and pull the rod tip down.  While light tackle makes battling the thicker rock bass more fun, it’s not a requisite, and any rod and reel set up with four-to-six-pound-test monofilament line is an efficient selection for finding and effectively bringing rockies to hand.  Additionally, rock bass make great shore angling targets on waters where they are present, as rip-rap edges and shallow gravelly stretches will hold them in flowing waters where they are present.  Fishable areas around concrete bridges with rock and rubble below also give shore anglers a good chance of catching rock bass on lakes.

Don’t discount the fun of rock bass this summer, or suggest they’re stuck as second fiddles for other more popular game fish.  Tangle with one approaching a pound in weight, or a series of bigger ones holed up in their preferred habitat, and you’re bound to give them the credit that the cartoon squirrel sidekick of the same name deserves!