Best Five Overall

[Dwight Hottle]

7 hours ago, waymont said:

My PB Smallie was 23 1/4" and weighed 6.25. A couple 22" 1st was 5.75, less fat one was 5.5.

The fish on the bottom right was 23” and weighed 6-12. One of my fishing buddies caught a 21” that weighed 7-2. Almost all 22” on Erie weigh weigh 6lbs plus. So it’s all about the girth & the body of water you fish. Your 6.25 PB is a quality fish especially if caught in an inland lake.

[WRB]

My top five Smallies would be in the 4 lb class  caught  at Crow Lake and Height of Land Ontario Canada.

Havasu and Mojave didn’t have Smallmouth the years I fished those lakes. Locally 3 lbs would my heaviest Smallie.

Tom

PS, FishChris posted a photo on this site of his 8.94 Smallmouth at Pardee. The current California Smallmouth is 9.84lbs at Pardee bettering 9.13 lbs at at McClure. There are world class Smallmouth in NoCal!

[roadwarrior]

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

 

Strange. ^That^ orca has the same coloration as a smallmouth. 

[Dwight Hottle]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Strange. ^That^ orca has the same coloration as a smallmouth. 

 

I think that bass is a meanmouth , a hybrid not a smallie. 

[roadwarrior]

5 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

I think that bass is a meanmouth , a hybrid not a smallie. 

I think so, too. 

[Swamp Girl]

9 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

I think that bass is a meanmouth , a hybrid not a smallie. 

 

Based on its size, I'm sticking with oddly-striped orca. 

[Dwight Hottle]

6 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

I think so, too. 

 

I talked to Chris and he said he used to sight fish & then throw a live crawfish or night crawler to them on a mag light Loomis imx spinning rod. He was an interesting guy with many different hobbies that he pursued religiously. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

34 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

I think that bass is a meanmouth , a hybrid not a smallie. 

Agree.

 

Some might see an abomination, I see a truly magnificent fish, that would literally eat humans if it was 2-3x it's size ?   

25 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Based on its size, I'm sticking with oddly-striped orca. 

That might be the ultimate compliment you could give a Bass......Orca is the alpha predator in the aquatic world.    They kill Great White Sharks just for their delicious livers.  

3 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

Imagine catching that fish!!!!!!    

[Swamp Girl]

Orcas even kill blue whales! Roadwarrior is lucky to have survived. Look at the eye of RW's orca. It's eyeing the cameraperson and thinking, "Come a little closer, please." 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEo5YUdEhg0

 

When RW first saw his orca in the water, he said, "We're going to need a bigger boat."

 

Here's the video of that moment:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT9BeGNnCqw

 

[roadwarrior]

34 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

I talked to Chris and he said he used to sight fish & then throw a live crawfish or night crawler to them on a mag light Loomis imx spinning rod. He was an interesting guy with many different hobbies that he pursued religiously. 

The rest of the story as I recall...

A young fisherman caught and released the fish a few weeks before Chris caught this monster.

He was so thankful that the fish had been released which resulted in his subsequent catch he

had two replicas made: one for him and another for the guy that caught it first.

[T-Billy]

23 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

I think that bass is a meanmouth , a hybrid not a smallie. 

That was my first thought as well.

[gim]

On 1/13/2023 at 9:46 AM, WRB said:

caught  at Crow Lake

I have some family friends who have a cabin on Crow Lake, right near Nestor Falls.

[WRB]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I have some family friends who have a cabin on Crow Lake, right near Nestor Falls.

My wife’s family had a home across the bay from Red Deer lodge Lake of the Woods. Crow was considered a Lake Trout Lake by the locals but it was a excellent Smallmouth lake as well plus  a few big muskies.

Haven’t been back there since my father in passed, sold his properties in Canada.

Tom

[gim]

Just now, WRB said:

My wife’s family had a home across the bay from Red Deer lodge Lake of the Woods. Crow was considered a Lake Trout Lake by the locals but it was a excellent Smallmouth lake as well plus  a few big muskies.

Haven’t been back there since my father in passed, sold his properties in Canada.

Tom

I have not personally been to their cabin but they have invited me to go when I am able to someday.

[Swamp Girl]

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I have not personally been to their cabin but they have invited me to go when I am able to someday.

 

Oh, I do hope you go. I love the Nestor Falls area. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 1/14/2023 at 8:14 AM, roadwarrior said:

OMG!

[webertime]

28.44 would be my best 5

 

[The Baron]

Happy to say that my best 5 all came this past season, and from 4 different lakes, so I think I'm learning something on every body of water I fish.  I don't have a scale, but my best was just over 22", three in the 21"+ range and one 20".   One of the 21" fish (second pic) was build like a largemouth, and was well over 4# by estimate.  That likely puts my weight total around 21#.  Doesn't matter much to me - I went into the season lamenting the fact I still only have a canoe, then had my best season ever.  I'm now looking forward to being back in the canoe next year.?

 

[Swamp Girl]

@The Baron

 

Heck, yeah! Those are beauties.

 

However, you committed sacrilege when you wrote, "...only have a canoe." 

 

For your penance, say three fisherman's prayers: 

 

God Grant that I may live to fish until my dying day, And when it comes to my last cast, I then most humbly pray; When in the Lord's safe landing net I'm peacefully asleep, That in His mercy I be judged as good enough to keep.

[roadwarrior]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

@The Baron

 

God Grant that I may live to fish until my dying day, And when it comes to my last cast, I then most humbly pray; When in the Lord's safe landing net I'm peacefully asleep, That in His mercy I be judged as good enough to keep.

 

[drakesndrum]

Banner day yesterday.  Best five went 93.75", probably 21lbs.  Weighed two, 5-9 and a 4-5.  Phone went swimming before anything was saved ...puke.

[Jeff Zurawski]

These are all River fish.  Never weighed any of them, but I'm guessing they total somewhere close to 20lbs?

 

I posted this one in the Gallery.  I'm pretty sure it's over 20" and under 22".  It's the first real big one I caught here in WV  At the time, I had no idea fish of this size even existed in the River I was fishing.  Started carrying a tape measure after that.  Caught on a spinnerbait in May

 

 

20.5" Caught on a Jignpig in March

 

 

21" - Jignpig in March

 

 

20.5" - Jignpig in November

 

21.5" - Jerkbait in November.  This is the girthiest one I've caught.  Maybe a 5lbr?  I remember it spitting up some shad big as my hand.

On 3/2/2023 at 5:51 AM, drakesndrum said:

Banner day yesterday.  Best five went 93.75", probably 21lbs.  Weighed two, 5-9 and a 4-5.  Phone went swimming before anything was saved ...puke.

I wanted to hit both the "like" button and the "sad" button. 

Congrats on an epic day!

Feels bad you lost the pics. 

[Swamp Girl]

@Jeff Zurawski, those are huge smallmouth and even more impressive because they're river fish, meaning they fight 25% harder. I also admire you for fishing when they're no leaves on the trees, which means you don't fear the frost. 

[Jeff Zurawski]

Thanks OC. 

 

I ain't as hardcore as I was in the past during my big lake, walleye chasing days.  I wait for warm fronts to go out early and late in the year.  You see I'm not even wearing an overcoat. ?

 

Btw, can you tell me why it is that my response to 'drakesndrum' is blended in with my previous post?  I didn't intend to do that and can't find a way to edit or separate the two posts.