Hey, Keith here.

I’m sure you’ve seen it before.

A Facebook post features someone holding up a big bass.

Like clockwork, someone responds in the comments, "Where did you catch it?"

This question reveals the number one challenge for bank anglers: finding new spots to fish. 

But what if I told you it doesn't have to be that hard? That the truth is there’s a fishing spot within a few miles of just about everybody reading this?

I'm not talking about state parks or crowded piers.

I’m talking about creeks running directly under the bridges you drive over and ponds that are just off the service road.

So, I pulled together 20 of them from across the country.

It all started with a borrow pit I had passed a thousand times, nothing but a patch of water that opened up into some gravel pits, just off the highway.

One hot afternoon I walked back to it, threw a four-inch Baby Brushhog, and put four bass on the bank in about 20 minutes.

I still fish that spot today, and it’s all because I gave it a try. 

One thing before you go pulling onto a shoulder: On most navigable water you are fine to park in the highway right-of-way and fish under or beside a bridge.

Step up onto the bank past that right-of-way, though, and you are trespassing on private land. 

Same with interstate ponds. A lot of them are public, but some aren't, so know which is which before you wet a line.

Now, here are 20 spots, a true national spread.

Every creek and river that ducks under a bridge is a fishing spot waiting on you. The overpass throws shade and the pilings break the current. These final 10 spots are locations you'll find under the highway. 

1. Georgia: Satilla River There is a small pull-off by the Highway 203 bridge where you can park a truck and walk down to the water. The stretch up around the Highway 121 bridge reportedly holds some of the best fishing in that whole corner of the state: redbreast and bass on a narrow, tucked-away river.

2. Oklahoma: Barren Fork Creek near Tahlequah The state DOT keeps public access at the Eldon Bridge on Highway 51, with parking just southeast of the bridge. This is premier wet-wading smallmouth water. Ninety-five percent of what you catch will be smallmouth. 

3. Arkansas: Crooked Creek in Yellville A Blue Ribbon smallmouth stream, the bite is best once the water tops 55 degrees, which usually means March through late October. Try Kelley's access, right at a bend in the creek. 

4. Missouri: Bryant Creek near Gainesville Above the Highway 95 bridge is a wade-fishing smallmouth stream that flies completely under the radar, with good public access up at Vera Cruz on Highway N.

5. Pennsylvania: Susquehanna River at Tunkhannock Where Tunkhannock Creek dumps into the Susquehanna, the mixing water stacks up smallmouth. It is the most popular spot on that branch for a reason.

6. Minnesota: Mississippi River Pool 2 in St. Paul Off East River Road just north of Fort Road, anglers park and fish under and on both sides of the Fort Road bridge. Smallmouth, walleye, and bass, though note these three are catch-and-release only in this pool. 

7. California: Lower Kern River near Bakersfield Highway 178 hugs the river through the canyon, with bank and wade access through Kern River County Park. Mostly smallmouth with some largemouth mixed in. 

8. Maryland: Deer Creek in Harford County This smallmouth and shad creek crosses a string of country roads as it runs toward the Susquehanna. You can reach the upper water from Route 24, then wade the riffles and pools.

9. Virginia: James River at Craig Creek in Eagle Rock There is gravel access right where US Route 220 crosses Craig Creek near town with smallmouth, rock bass, and even muskie in this stretch of the upper James. 

10. Illinois: Illinois River at Ottawa At the confluence of the Fox and Illinois rivers you will find roadside access to smallmouth.

As I have illustrated over the last few weeks, when a highway crew needs fill dirt, they dig it out of the ground right beside the road, and those holes fill with water and quietly turn into bass ponds. Here are 10 Interstate ponds I found from Louisiana to Illinois: 

11. Oregon: Freeway Lake in Albany Right off I-5 in the Willamette Valley lies Freeway Lake, not actually a lake but rather three connected ponds. Bank access runs around the East and Middle ponds, and you'll find largemouth, crappie, bluegill, and catfish.

12. Washington: Silver Lake in Cowlitz County Hop off I-5 at exit 49 and you are minutes from good largemouth and slab crappie. 

13. Arizona: Rio Vista Pond in Peoria A quarter mile west of Loop 101, off Rio Vista Boulevard just north of Thunderbird Road, you'll find largemouth and bluegill in an easy-access city pond. 

14. Colorado: Pikeview Reservoir in Colorado Springs Pikeview comprises eight acres tucked off Garden of the Gods Road just west of I-25, and it's filled with largemouth, bluegill, and channel cat. Just keep in mind it's non-motorized only.

15. Utah: East Bay Pond in Provo Right off I-15 next to the East Bay Golf Course, this little retention pond drains into Utah Lake and holds more bass than it has any right to. It's loaded with vegetation and cover, so weedless power worms with a sliding weight will produce here. 

16. Texas: Wichita Borrow Pit in Wichita Falls This one's a true roadside borrow pit, the kind dug for highway fill and left to fill with water. Largemouth bass will be your main target here.

17. Illinois: Roadside strip pits in Hardin County Down around Cave-In-Rock, old water-filled coal pits dot the back highways, and the locals will tell you they drive past pit after pit and never see a soul fishing. Steep banks, so step carefully as you seek largemouth, bluegill, and crappie.

18. Florida: Tamiami Trail canals west of Miami The canals lining US-41 are packed with largemouth, peacock bass, and panfish, and you can pull onto the shoulder almost anywhere. Cast at a 30-degree angle to the far bank and work it all the way back.

19. Louisiana: Bonnet Carré Spillway in Norco The spillway runs right under US-61 and I-10, and the old clay pits inside it were filled and stocked with largemouth and bluegill. It is a public wildlife management area, so access is easy.

20. Virginia: Sandy Bottom Pond in Hampton Worth knowing for where it came from, this 12-acre pond is a borrow pit dug to build I-64. It is heavy with bass and bluegill and sitting in a free-access city nature park. Use beetle-spins to cover a lot of water here.