What’s your biggest River smallmouth?

[FryDog62]

I was marveling at the huge VA smallmouth post... not only is that just a big fish, but extra exceptional as it was caught in a river where the fish stay lean from swimming in current all day.  What a rare beast!
 

As a comparison point, I fish river smallies a lot all over Minnesota which is thought to have some of the best river smb fishing in the country.  Have caught more than I can count over 20 inches and yet none have been close to that Virginia fish.  
 

Here are my two biggest at 21 and 21.25 inches, but didn’t even crack 5 lbs...  
 

Whats your biggest river catch?

[TnRiver46]

Well, rivers and lakes are one and the same in TN...... the bottom fish is one of the biggest i have caught in the rapids, the top one was in fast current but like 19 feet deep where its more of a reservoir

[FryDog62]

I think I’d like fishing in Tennessee..!

[Fried Lemons]

 

Here’s one from the Potomac. Terrible picture but it’s the only one I’ve got. The spot is where I go to catch dinks on the ned rig so sometimes you never know.

[Cam R]

Plenty of 16-17” one 18” and a 19” during the spawn last year

[Scott F]

It seems some rivers produce broader fish than others. The Wisconsin and the Menominee both put up some wide fish that are heavier for their length than other rivers. I never weigh anything so I can’t comment on what any fish weighs. 
Both of these fish were around 20”. Not exactly skinny.

[Steveo-1969]

My biggest river smallmouth is the one in my avatar. 19" length, the fish was not weighed. Caught out of the Susquehanna River in PA, the only time I have fished this river.

 

99% of my fishing is in the Upper Potomac and my biggest smallmouth there is 18.5" (4x).

[Log Catcher]

The biggest SMB I can remember catching was around 16" long and about 2 pounds. I was fishing for LMB and not even trying for SMB. I caught it on a Zoom Trick Worm. All of them I have caught have been caught on baits more for LMB than SMB.

[BoatSquirrel]

11 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

What a rare beast!

I was so shocked when a 4lb smallie ate my topwater early this summer, I thought it was a drum!  I did not know they got that big in streams.  The rapid section just downriver spoiled my chance of a pic. 

What did you catch those two hawgs on?

[moguy1973]

Mine is in my avatar also. 4lb 7oz and was about 21.5” long. Choked a buzz toad in the middle of November about 4 years ago. 

[FryDog62]

2 hours ago, BoatSquirrel said:

I was so shocked when a 4lb smallie ate my topwater early this summer, I thought it was a drum!  I did not know they got that big in streams.  The rapid section just downriver spoiled my chance of a pic. 

What did you catch those two hawgs on?

I got lucky - the 21 on a white wacky worm in late Fall... and the 21.25 in early June on a Caffeine Shad..

[roadwarrior]

 

 

 

 

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[diehardbassfishing]

Susquehanna - PA

 

[Swamp Yankee]

So far, my biggest river smallie was 2 lbs, 8 oz. 

Them river smallies are scrappy devils for sure.

[WRB]

A river is a river and a riverine power generation lake is a reservior, not a river.

California State Record Smallmouth bass is 9.82 lbs, River record smallmouth is 5.11 lbs Colorado River, lake Havasu on the Colorado River record Smallmouth is 6.46 lbs.

I rarely fish river Smallmouth bass and 4 lb class from Columbia River would be my PB.

Tom

[Dwight Hottle]

You guys have all got me beat. I have never fished for river smallies. 

[FryDog62]

15 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

You guys have all got me beat. I have never fished for river smallies. 

They are a breed amongst themselves... very smart and agile.  They are so strong from working out in the current all day and know just how to turn with or against it in a split second to get a little slack and spit a hook.  That being said they seem to go airborne much more than lake smallmouth and are very entertaining fish to catch.  ...but they can break your heart too!

[Bird]

Smallmouth are a prominent breed of fish here in the many rivers in VA.

 

The James , new, Potomac and Shenandoah are great for citation class fish.

 

They're much easier to catch than largemouth around here. 

[TnRiver46]

13 hours ago, WRB said:

A river is a river and a riverine power generation lake is a reservior, not a river.

California State Record Smallmouth bass is 9.82 lbs, River record smallmouth is 5.11 lbs Colorado River, lake Havasu on the Colorado River record Smallmouth is 6.46 lbs.

I rarely fish river Smallmouth bass and 4 lb class from Columbia River would be my PB.

Tom

Last time I checked the river runs right through the dam on a reservoir....... guntersville, pickwick, and chickamauga are still the Tennessee River. The delineation is not even close to cut and dry 

[FryDog62]

On 11/22/2019 at 7:33 PM, Log Catcher said:

The biggest SMB I can remember catching was around 16" long and about 2 pounds. I was fishing for LMB and not even trying for SMB. I caught it on a Zoom Trick Worm. All of them I have caught have been caught on baits more for LMB than SMB.

Smallmouth have quite an attitude and at times will hit almost anything, often bigger lures than a largemouth would hit.  I was once chucking a foot long muskie lure a few years ago and caught a 10 inch smallmouth. 

[Drew03cmc]

13 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Last time I checked the river runs right through the dam on a reservoir....... guntersville, pickwick, and chickamauga are still the Tennessee River. The delineation is not even close to cut and dry 

While you're correct, the channel exists, a lake is completely different than a river. The lakes are still managed for water level, flood storage, etc. The rivers have constant current, fish hold in different locations in current than they do in a lake. The dam has altered the river. To insinuate they are even similar is simply wrong. 

[Montanaro]

One of the largest smallies ever caught came from a river in WV.  Almost 10 pounds.

 

South Branch of the Potomac....you can just about pee across it in some areas if you drank enough coffee.

 

Anyone know if it is the largest river smallie on record?

 

Gives hope to all those creek fishermen, that they too could tangle with a monster.

 

[TnRiver46]

10 hours ago, Montanaro said:

One of the largest smallies ever caught came from a river in WV.  Almost 10 pounds.

 

South Branch of the Potomac....you can just about pee across it in some areas if you drank enough coffee.

 

Anyone know if it is the largest river smallie on record?

 

Gives hope to all those creek fishermen, that they too could tangle with a monster.

 

Do tailwaters count?

11 hours ago, Drew03cmc said:

While you're correct, the channel exists, a lake is completely different than a river. The lakes are still managed for water level, flood storage, etc. The rivers have constant current, fish hold in different locations in current than they do in a lake. The dam has altered the river. To insinuate they are even similar is simply wrong. 

So you are referring free stone streams only ? The dam also alters the river below

[WRB]

On November 25, 2019 at 3:47 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Last time I checked the river runs right through the dam on a reservoir....... guntersville, pickwick, and chickamauga are still the Tennessee River. The delineation is not even close to cut and dry 

The water behind a dam is a reservior....even in TN. The only dam that water runs around is a wing dam. All power generating dams have gates to control when and how much water is released.

Off topic, believe what want.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

Well i guess i have never caught a river smallie according to this thread so my new answer is 0 lbs 0 ozs. In a state without natural lakes nonetheless....

2 hours ago, WRB said:

The water behind a dam is a reservior....even in TN. The only dam that water runs around is a wing dam. All power generating dams have gates to control when and how much water is released.

Off topic, believe what want.

Tom

Every drop of water in the whole state is behind a dam, some just further upstream than others