Caught the biggest smallmouth I’ve ever caught today

[Ohioguy25]

Great weekend, the fall bite was strong on the river w the temps kicked up a bit. Today I caught the biggest one I’ve ever caught, I thought it was gonna break my 6’ St. Croix Premier Med-Light. Any idea how long this is? Didn’t have a scale. For the small river I fish this is a hog.

 

https://ibb.co/HrnZMqV

 

The deep hole I caught it in I’ve had success in before, it’s right next to an old stone house (1800s) so I’m guessing there was a mill there. 

[Scott F]

Next time, lay it along side your rod and note the length. Measure it when you get home.

[Ohioguy25]

2 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Next time, lay it along side your rod and note the length. Measure it when you get home.

Smart 

[Ohioguy25]

11 hours ago, Scott F said:

Next time, lay it along side your rod and note the length. Measure it when you get home.

Thinking back it had to have been close to 20 inches, it was huge.

[Bird]

Good fish, congrats. 

[J Francho]

Nice job!  This fish is close to 22", for reference: Erie Smallmouth

[TnRiver46]

Congrats, Did it eat a minnow? Looks like it may be a 3 lber, I take fish pics from that angle a lot and they always look smaller in the photo

 

[soflabasser]

A 20 inch or bigger smallmouth bass is big enough for a Ohio smallmouth bass master angler award.

[Ohioguy25]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Congrats, Did it eat a minnow? Looks like it may be a 3 lber, I take fish pics from that angle a lot and they always look smaller in the photo

 

No this one was on a nightcrawler. Yeah it’s hard to do it justice in pics, if I was on land I would’ve laid it on it’s side next to paddle or pole.

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

A 20 inch or bigger smallmouth bass is big enough for a Ohio smallmouth bass master angler award.

So you think it might be smaller?

[soflabasser]

From what I researched a 20 inch or bigger smallmouth bass is big enough for an Ohio smallmouth bass master angler award. You can send the picture to Ohio DNR and if they approve it you will get an Ohio smallmouth bass master angler award.

[Ohioguy25]

37 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

From what I researched a 20 inch or bigger smallmouth bass is big enough for an Ohio smallmouth bass master angler award. You can send the picture to Ohio DNR and if they approve it you will get an Ohio smallmouth bass master angler award.

Awesome, any idea where I send it?

[TnRiver46]

21 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Awesome, any idea where I send it?

Well you have to measure them to enter 

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

Awesome, any idea where I send it?

You can go to Ohiodnr.gov and check out the section called Fish Ohio Recognition Program that shows how to qualify for Ohio master angler award. From what I researched a 20 inch or bigger smallmouth bass is enough to qualify for the award. You will have to send them the photo.

[Bankbeater]

Nice looking smallie, congrats!

[PaulVE64]

St Croix rods tend to behave heavier than most other rod makers but thats a good fish on a 6 ft rod.

Must have been a nervous fight.

[Ohioguy25]

3 minutes ago, PaulVE64 said:

St Croix rods tend to behave heavier than most other rod makers but thats a good fish on a 6 ft rod.

Must have been a nervous fight.

By behaving heavier you mean they are stronger?

[roadwarrior]

Not necessarily stronger, but stiffer. St. Croix medium is more like MH for other brands.

[Ohioguy25]

4 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Not necessarily stronger, but stiffer. St. Croix medium is more like MH for other brands.

Yeah I love em, I think I’m a lifer now. This shimano Nasci is incredibly smooth too. I can’t imagine a better combo for $200.

[KayakJimW]

River smallies are the best!  My favorite river combo these days has to be my PS70MLF (just like yours, but 7') with a stradic 1000fj.  It has plenty of backbone for hookset, but keeps a nice bend in the rod so they are less likely to throw the lure.  

[Fallser]

I would think it's closer to 18 inches than 20.   Still it's a nice fish for a small river.  Here's one for comparison this one's  18 inches or so.  Came out of lake in Northern Ontario.

 

 

[Ohioguy25]

14 minutes ago, Fallser said:

I would think it's closer to 18 inches than 20.   Still it's a nice fish for a small river.  Here's one for comparison this one's  18 inches or so.  Came out of lake in Northern Ontario.

 

 

That’s a fat boy! You ever heard of Crow Rock Lodge near Kenora?

[Koz]

On 9/27/2020 at 9:43 PM, Scott F said:

Next time, lay it along side your rod and note the length. Measure it when you get home.

You can also grab some fishing line and cut it to the length of the fish. Repeat the process cutting line to measure the girth of the fish. Not only will you have the length, but you can utilize one of those online weight calculators to estimate the weight of the fish.

[J Francho]

Time to get a scale, now that your catching good size fish!

[gim]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Time to get a scale, now that your catching good size fish!

Or a bump board/measuring stick.  Or both.

[Ohioguy25]

2 hours ago, Koz said:

You can also grab some fishing line and cut it to the length of the fish. Repeat the process cutting line to measure the girth of the fish. Not only will you have the length, but you can utilize one of those online weight calculators to estimate the weight of the fish.

That’s brilliant