largemouth in smallmouth fisheries

[Mr. Aquarium]

i have a reservoir that has both species of fish but we catch more largemouth. 
back story:

it used to be a drink water supply and you could only fish it by permit if you lived in the town. ive heard stories of those days. they would load up on huge bags of smallies it was fire and rarely catch a largemouth.  it is now open to the public. ive been fishing it for a few years. my first year it was AWESOME! we smoked the smallies but they were smaller then the ones back in the day. over the years ive noticed a steady decline in smallie fishing and increase in the largemouth fishing.   ive seen days where the smallies and largemouth would blitz on yellow and white perch, it was amazing!! havent seen it in a while though

there is no boat ramp, you have to go through a smaller pond to get here. i think its 250 acres give or take a few.  the water is very clear and  50 feet deep. theres a huge amount of deep water and some offshore structure. there is some shallow water structure and cover but not much,  mostly deep water. its setup what i think would be prime smallie waters. which it used to be.   

i dont fish it like i used to, i HATE fishing it in a kayak. to big, to windy, and to deep for good fishing on the kayak.   

any ideas why the largemouth fishing has been good but the smallies declined 

[8pt172]

LMB are more aggressive and dominant. Like the Whitetail deer is to the Mule deer. 

[HookRz]

28 minutes ago, 8pt172 said:

LMB are more aggressive and dominant. Like the Whitetail deer is to the Mule deer. 

From fish kept in my aquarium years ago I wouldn't say that. A 5" Smallie I added to a 50 gallon tank had the 8" Largemouth, 10" walleye and almost mature Rock Bass hiding in neutral corners in about a week. The only fish it didnt mess with was a bullhead, about 6". Had to remove it. The rest were getting no food. 

[8pt172]

3 hours ago, HookRz said:

From fish kept in my aquarium years ago I wouldn't say that. A 5" Smallie I added to a 50 gallon tank had the 8" Largemouth, 10" walleye and almost mature Rock Bass hiding in neutral corners in about a week. The only fish it didnt mess with was a bullhead, about 6". Had to remove it. The rest were getting no food. 

Fish Biologists would tell you that any single fish can be aggressive. However as a species LMB are more aggressive and dominate the other Bass species. 

[HookRz]

3 hours ago, 8pt172 said:

Fish Biologists would tell you that any single fish can be aggressive. However as a species LMB are more aggressive and dominate the other Bass species. 

Google it. No contest. The SMB is much more pugnacious, both on the hook and in its habitat. 

[8pt172]

I agree SMB are better fighters on the line. That is because they have much wider thicker tails. They are built to swim in Current and must be fast swimmers to chase down their prey. LMB are more ambush feeders. LMB are much more adaptable and are not as sensitive to environmental factors. SMB are more of a niche species where the LMB has a much wider range and more adaptive. 

 

Just like the Whitetail deer versus the Mule deer. They are much more adaptable and can thrive in a wider range of environments. Thus more a dominant species.

[TnRiver46]

Sounds like Mother Nature just carrying out some of her cyclical variations. 5 -6 years from now you may be wondering why the largemouth fell off and the smallmouth increased. And you will probably never know the true cause/effect, in which case we blame the weather 

[8pt172]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Sounds like Mother Nature just carrying out some of her cyclical variations. 5 -6 years from now you may be wondering why the largemouth fell off and the smallmouth increased. And you will probably never know the true cause/effect, in which case we blame the weather 

SMB will never overtake the LMB in the majority of waters in the US. The reason for the SMB explosion here in MI and near by States is directly related to the invasive gobie and zebra mussel. SMB are site feeders and the clear water has allowed them to feed more efficiently. Add the protein rich gobie and even the invasive crawfish in some waters, they are growing faster and much larger. Just look at the recent State of MI records for SMB.

 

Both bass have their niche environments, unfortunately the SMB niche is much smaller. SMB are also less adaptive when water goes from clear to very stained. Not the LMB, they can be found in all conditions. LMB are not effected by poor water quality as is the SMB. SMB are like the trout species, canary in the coal mine, but not to that extent. As water quality drops so does the Smallmouth. 

 

For the record I much prefer to catch SMB over their green cousin. But as a Biologist, the Largemouth bass is like the rock bass, they are everywhere....