Why are largemouth so much more popular than smallmouth?

[Ohioguy25]

I’ll never understand this.  Smallmouth fight harder, put on a far more acrobatic display, and are much prettier fish.  They are also much more challenging to catch.  Not to mention fishing a wild scenic river in the woods is much more adventurous and immersive than sitting on a hot stagnant lake or pond. 

 

The only logical explanations I can come up with are that they are more widespread, easier to locate and catch, and most importantly size - they get much bigger, but so what? I’ll take fighting ability over size all day. I just don’t really get it. 

[shimanoangler]

The answer to this question is simple, largemouth are just easier to catch and more plentiful....   Anyone who chases Smallmouth knows that they fight harder, are harder to catch, often requiring finesse approach, making their lb for lb fighting ability seem almost superhuman.  Its the very reason I target smallmouth as my primary and preferred bass species.   Largemouth are fun to catch, get bigger than smallmouth, are more plentiful, but they simply aren't as fun and challenging to catch as the fiercest fighting warm water species alive.....  IMHO  

[Russ E]

It depends on where you are fishing.

On the Kansas reservoirs that have both species, the smallmouth is the most targeted.

[ww2farmer]

Largemouth are just more prolific. Coast to coast, border to border they are available.

[gim]

I wouldn’t say that largemouth are always easier to catch than brown bass just based on my personal experience.

 

I live in the land of 10,000 lakes and rivers. Most lakes, big or small, have largemouth bass. Other than rivers, the closest lake with a substantial reproducing population of brownies is 90 miles away. So the reason largies are generally more popular, at least where I live, is because there are simply more of them.

[Captain Phil]

Every State has at least some largemouth bass. Largemouth bass can live in any water.  I grew up in Florida where even the smallest roadside ditch contains bass. I've caught nine pound bass in canals so ugly you wouldn't swim in it.  When I was a kid, I caught largemouth bass from a sewage plant outflow. 

 

Green bass grow larger than smallmouth.  If you think green bass don't fight, you haven't caught many big fish.  The only smallmouth fishing I have ever done was in Lake Erie around Pelee Island.  We fished with heavy tube jigs and caught boat loads of them up to 6 pounds each.  I didn't find them any harder to catch than largemouth.   If you want to see a tough bass to catch, fish in Florida after a cold front comes through.  I guarantee you will have all the challenge you can handle.  

[soflabasser]

Largemouth bass grow larger and can be caught in more places. 

[Ohioguy25]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

I wouldn’t say that largemouth are always harder to catch than brown bass just based on my personal experience.

 

I live in the land of 10,000 lakes and rivers. Most lakes, big or small, have largemouth bass. Other than rivers, the closest lake with a substantial reproducing population of brownies is 90 miles away. So the reason largies are generally more popular, at least where I live, is because there are simply more of them.

No I said largemouth are easier to catch 

[soflabasser]

2 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

I’ll take fighting ability over size all day. 

Black bass do not fight much compared to other freshwater fish. A average peacock bass will give a much better fight pound for pound than any black bass species. Peacock bass are a species of cichlid and black bass are sunfish so both are not true bass (striped bass, white bass, white perch, yellow bass). One of the hardest fighting sunfish is the bluegill, they fight harder than any equal sized black bass.

[A-Jay]

Why are largemouth so much more popular than smallmouth? 

Probably a few answers to this one.  Which all seem to have been answered rather succinctly above.

Brown bass are what I target most because this area produces trophies.  But if the same could be said about green bass locally, I would certainly find at least equal time for them as well.   I just really like fishing for big bass; brown, green and in a past life, even striped.  And trophy bass of any type are all hard to find/catch and in my book they all fight plenty hard enough for me.

A-Jay

[OkobojiEagle]

Without any doubt a large smallmouth or walleye will provide me with the most satisfaction, however, a good sized freshwater drum can elevate my excitement level a few notches...

 

 

oe

[Ohioguy25]

17 minutes ago, OkobojiEagle said:

Without any doubt a large smallmouth or walleye will provide me with the most satisfaction, however, a good sized freshwater drum can elevate my excitement level a few notches...

 

 

oe

Walleye?! They’re like the least game of any fish! d**n good eating but they don’t fight for crap and are extremely easy and boring to catch.

[OCdockskipper]

3 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

I’ll never understand this.  Smallmouth fight harder, put on a far more acrobatic display, and are much prettier fish.  They are also much more challenging to catch.  Not to mention fishing a wild scenic river in the woods is much more adventurous and immersive than sitting on a hot stagnant lake or pond. 

 

...I’ll take fighting ability over size all day. I just don’t really get it. 

I believe the answer is a combination of components, not just a single part.  Yes, smallmouth fight harder, but largemouth do fight hard, just for a shorter period of time.  Depending on the lake, they will also put on a acrobatic display, not to the extent of a smallmouth, but one nonetheless.  So you aren't comparing a 10 to a 0, rather a 10 to a 7.

 

As far as prettier fish, that is in the eye of the beholder.  I find the lighter colored largemouth to be better looking than any smallmouth, but I also prefer brunettes over blondes.  When they get larger, smallmouth lose their proportions, their head is too small for the rest of their body.  The head on a largemouth grows with the rest of him, so one that reaches lunker size doesn't look like some weird Picasso type fish.

 

Wild rivers are indeed beautiful, but on the west coast, they are rare and if they do exist, have trout instead of bass.  So like the average looking girl who will go to the prom with you, just being available counts for something.  That also plays into being catchable, smallmouth are notorious for being here today, gone tomorrow.  You can't catch what isn't there.  One of the reason why sunfish and catfish are popular than Musky is you can catch the former while the latter wears you out for just one bite.

 

I agree that fighting ability is more important than size, that is one of the reasons I prefer catching a 1 lb bass over a 2 lb trout.  However, when that size changes the fight, it needs to be accounted for as well.  I inadvertently hook catfish over the 15 lbs every year and they fight like the dickens.  However, after about 10 minutes of them pulling my boat around and taking drag, I just want to land them, check them out & move on.  Catching a fish is a date, not a relationship.

 

I'll end this with something I wrote to another poster who felt like you.  A 5 lb smallmouth jumping 2 feet in the air will take your breath away.  However, the first time you see an 8lb largemouth break the surface with his big ol' bucket-head and thrash about, mouth open, I guarantee a "Holy S***!!" will come out of your mouth, even if it is a Sunday and you just got back from church.

[Finessegenics]

30 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Walleye?! They’re like the least game of any fish! d**n good eating but they don’t fight for **** and are extremely easy and boring to catch.

Extremely easy? I’m not a walleye guy but I’m going to have to disagree. Maybe it’s less work in the sense that you’re trolling or bottom bouncing , so you’re not constantly casting/working. But those schools of summer walleye roam like smallmouth do and can be hard to track. Even once you find them, it can be pretty hard to get them to bite without live bait. 
 

To answer your original question, largemouth are just far more prevalent and that’s why they are more popular. They get more attention from media because they are easier to make money off of especially if they’re more common throughout the country than SMB. It makes sense for the industry to gear itself towards largemouth because the baits would be easier to sell and so on.
 

I know this is the reason because it’s the opposite here. Smallmouth are much much more common than largemouth and get bigger than the largemouth. Sure, there’s probably a 6-7 lb largemouth somewhere in Quebec but any largie above 4lbs is rare. In the meantime, almost all our waters have smallmouth and the opportunity to catch a 20” + is present in any river or lake. If you go to tackle shops here you will find a lot more selection in dropshot baits, tubes, ned baits etc...

Flipping jigs, creature baits, 10” worms and even just a tungsten weight heavier than a 1/2 oz are harder to find. The flipping jig section at my local tackle store takes up a few pegs on a 4 foot stand.. Meanwhile they have a whole wall dedicated to different TRD colors and Zman baits. 

[soflabasser]

35 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Peacock bass are not native to Florida.  If we are going to compare bass to non native species, why not compare them to Arapaima?  With all the weird things living in South Florida, I'm sure there must be some by now. ?

 

Seriously, if you want to fight big fish in Florida, forget bass and fish for Tarpon.  They live in the same canals with peacocks and largemouth. 

Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass have been introduced in many places outside their natural range and most members on this forum would agree that they like catching these fish, even if these fish are not living in their natural range. I have caught tarpon they are fun but I rather fish for big sharks if my only goal is to catch a hard fighting fish. 

45 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Why are largemouth so much more popular than smallmouth? 

Probably a few answers to this one.  Which all seem to have been answered rather succinctly above.

Brown bass are what I target most because this area produces trophies.  But if the same could be said about green bass locally, I would certainly find at least equal time for them as well.   I just really like fishing for big bass; brown, green and in a past life, even striped.  And trophy bass of any type are all hard to find/catch and in my book they all fight plenty hard enough for me.

A-Jay

If you could only pick 1, largemouth bass or smallmouth bass which one would you choose? I would choose largemouth bass since they grow larger than smallmouth bass.

12 minutes ago, Finessegenics said:

In the meantime, almost all our waters have smallmouth and the opportunity to catch a 20” + is present in any river or lake. 

In South Florida you have a good chance at catching a 20 inch or bigger peacock bass in almost any freshwater canal or lake and the average size is around 12-17 inches.

[Ohioguy25]

On 9/7/2020 at 11:36 AM, Finessegenics said:

Extremely easy? I’m not a walleye guy but I’m going to have to disagree. Maybe it’s less work in the sense that you’re trolling or bottom bouncing , so you’re not constantly casting/working. But those schools of summer walleye roam like smallmouth do and can be hard to track. Even once you find them, it can be pretty hard to get them to bite without live bait. 
 

To answer your original question, largemouth are just far more prevalent and that’s why they are more popular. They get more attention from media because they are easier to make money off of especially if they’re more common throughout the country than SMB. It makes sense for the industry to gear itself towards largemouth because the baits would be easier to sell and so on.
 

I know this is the reason because it’s the opposite here. Smallmouth are much much more common than largemouth and get bigger than the largemouth. Sure, there’s probably a 6-7 lb largemouth somewhere in Quebec but any largie above 4lbs is rare. In the meantime, almost all our waters have smallmouth and the opportunity to catch a 20” + is present in any river or lake. If you go to tackle shops here you will find a lot more selection in dropshot baits, tubes, ned baits etc...

Flipping jigs, creature baits, 10” worms and even just a tungsten weight heavier than a 1/2 oz are harder to find. The flipping jig section at my local tackle store takes up a few pegs on a 4 foot stand.. Meanwhile they have a whole wall dedicated to different TRD colors and Zman baits. 

Why is that, do smallmouth do better in cooler water? What part of Canada you in? Last summer in August we went to a place in Ontario called Crow Rock Lodge for my cousin’s 40th birthday. The fishing on the main lake was pretty mediocre but my dad and I ventured off to a remote hidden lake they called bass lake. We saw a map of it in the lodge and asked about it and this really old guide volunteered almost immediately, he was the resident bass pro.  He took us there, about a 15 min ride and then a 15 minute hike to the lake, via a trail formed by native Americans.  There was a boat waiting there on the small spring fed lake. It was like fish in a barrel, we must have caught 30 smallmouth, and I’m talking good ones. Awesome experience! We were the talk of the trip. The rest of the group had one or two northern to speak of, the rest chased Muskie around all day. 

 

 

 

 

[Captain Phil]

All fishing is good.  I don't find one fish better than another. A 600 pound marlin pulls harder than a 10 pound bass. I have caught both. There is something special about a largemouth bass. My offshore fishing friends find this amusing.  Their bait is bigger than most of the fish I catch. I think this has more to do with my youth.  I spent many hours dreaming about big bass.  All I ever thought about was fishing places like Rodman, Orange Lake and Okeechobee.  I wore out piles of Bassmaster magazines looking at the photos of big bass.  These days I can fish whenever and where ever I want.  It doesn't make it any less exciting. 

[Ohioguy25]

4 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

All fishing is good.  I don't find one fish better than another. A 600 pound marlin pulls harder than a 10 pound bass. I have caught both. There is something special about a largemouth bass. My offshore fishing friends find this amusing.  Their bait is bigger than most of the fish I catch. I think this has more to do with my youth.  I spent many hours dreaming about big bass.  All I ever thought about was fishing places like Rodman, Orange Lake and Okeechobee.  I wore out piles of Bassmaster magazines looking at the photos of big bass.  These days I can fish whenever and where ever I want.  It doesn't make it any less exciting. 

You prefer largemouth to smallmouth?

[gim]

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

No I said largemouth are easier to catch 

Ya I miss typed that one originally. I fixed it now

[billmac]

I too prefer smallmouth, but I'm in smallmouth country.  However I've never found them particularly challenging to catch, not any more than largemouth.  I agree that walleye are better eating and not much for fighting, but I find them more challenging to catch than bass.  Harder to locate at any rate.  For eating and fighting, I don't think you can beat pike.

[Finessegenics]

26 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Why is that, do smallmouth do better in cooler water? What part of Canada you in?

That’s a beautifully coloured smallmouth. You can go to just about any Canadian Shield lake and if there is SMB they’re going to be giants. I’m in the suburbs east of Montreal. There are LMB nearby but I’d have to drive at least an hour to get to some good LMB spots. My guess is the LMB don’t like the cooler weather and it stunts their growth since the summers are shorter (meaning less time to feed heavily) and the winters much harsher. The same goes for smallmouth but they apparently prefer water temps a few degrees cooler than LMB. There is also a heavy, constant current in the rivers/lakes near me and LMB don’t really like that either. The smallmouth are more prevalent because their characteristics and preferences are better suited to the environment here.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

If you could only pick 1, largemouth bass or smallmouth bass which one would you choose? I would choose largemouth bass since they grow larger than smallmouth bass.

That is a Super Tough Call for me. 

And while I can respect the quest for knowledge and an inquiring mind,

I have a real fear that making this declaration of a "Favorite" would only serve to upset "The Bass Gods". 

Which could have serious detrimental consequences on my future endeavors.

And I want No Part of that action.

So I'm standing pat with my original response.

I like ALL big bass. 

 

A-Jay

 

 

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, OCdockskipper said:

I'll end this with something I wrote to another poster who felt like you.  A 5 lb smallmouth jumping 2 feet in the air will take your breath away.  However, the first time you see an 8lb largemouth break the surface with his big ol' bucket-head and thrash about, mouth open, I guarantee a "Holy S***!!" will come out of your mouth, even if it is a Sunday and you just got back from church.

I don’t really have a dog in this fight. I really don’t have access to smallmouth down here in SE Texas, and I only caught a few in Western MD many years ago. But when I set the hook on my PB (not knowing for sure at first what it was) and it jumped and I saw that, as you described “big ol' bucket-head and thrash about, mouth open”, I was definitely in Holy S*** territory lol. 

[Glaucus]

It's waaaaaaaaaay easier for me to go to the river and throw a squarebill, Plopper, and Ned and catch a literal boat load of smallies than it is for me to locate largemouth on a big lake or catch them in a pressured pond. 

[WRB]

The answer to your question has nothing to do with the Smallmouth bass and everything to do with location. Organized tournament bass fishing by Ray Scott's All American followed by B.A.S.S. Organization was located in Alabama. To this day when anyone states bass fishing it's 99% Largemouth bass. 

Smallmouth bass rarely factored in on winning tournaments until B.A.S.S. followed by FLW tournemnts were held north of the Mason-Dixon Line. 

Both Smallmouth and Spotted bass fight harder lb for lb then LMB, fighting harder doesn't win derbies weight does.

Tom