Show your first Smallie of 2023!

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 4/8/2023 at 9:37 PM, Jeff Zurawski said:

I've gotten a few floats in and have been catching some fish since my pitiful March 13 post on this thread.  Dug out the camera for this nice 19"er caught drifting a fluke near bottom on a light jig head through a current seam on an inside bend in the River.  @Jessco87 had his scale along and weighed it a 3.5lbs.  

 

A 19" River Smallie is an absolute PIG!

Using Katie's scale for measuring fish would add 5 lbs just for being a river fish!

[Woody B]

First smallie of 2023.  I don't usually fish lakes with them.   I went to a new to me lake today.  (Monticello reservoir, SC)  I caught 3 SM including the 18 incher pictures, and 7 LM.  

 

[PaulVE64]

Water temps in my local river have been in the low 40s but this week the sun finally came out and its tshirt weather. 

Since runoff in March the river has been very high and very dirty so I decided to try some creek fishing assuming the water will be warmer and clear.

Knowing the water would maybe 1 to 2 feet deep I was targetting small fish and was carrying a light spinning rod.

Instead of creek chubb I caught 2.5# smallie on a 1/16oz hair bug. He was very slow and hardly fought but it was very satisfying to know the bass have started staging already.

 

[260Bass365]

First one was a nice one. 4.25# and just over 20". 

[softwateronly]

Took me awhile to get some time on the water, and was finally able to get my first smallie of the year.

 

scott

[TOXIC]

Dang it, I was hoping I wouldn’t catch one until we got to St Clair at the end of next month.  That would more than likely be a brown beast.  True to the forum, we were out on the Rappahonock River Saturday and while targeting green bass, a brown one hit my crankbait.  So here you go.  Technically my first smallmouth of the year.??

[Spillwayjay]

Hello all! I am a new member, and this is my first post, just joined to start participating in the discussions after lurking and reading a lot for the last couple years.

 

I want to start by stating how much I appreciate the time and effort so many of you have given to sharing their bass fishing knowledge and experience on this forum. I have become a much better fisherman by implementing some of the techniques I learned here. 

 

I'm counting the first smallmouth of the year as the one my son caught over the weekend. We stopped for a quick few casts on the way to our cabin, and he pulled in an 18 incher of his 4th or 5th cast. It was by far his biggest smallmouth yet (his previous PB was 12"). The lure he was using was a 3.5" Easy Shiner in the Shad color, on a 1/8oz ultra snagless slider head. He was amazed to have caught such a big fish on his own, and I was 100X happier he got the first one of the year between us than I would have been if I had caught it.

.   

I went back the next day and caught a bunch more on the same setup, my first was 12", but got this one towards the end of a 15 fish morning, a solid 20". There were a couple 17" in there as well. 

Gotta love our WNY Lake Erie tribs in the springtime! Thanks for having this forum as a great resource! I'll keep reading and posting.

[A-Jay]

After drooling over so many great brown bass in this thread,

I am finally able to contribute.

My first Brown bass of 2023 went in the frabil this morning.

5.44 lbs solid start.

 

A-Jay

[bowhunter63]

Heck ya Congrats 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

After drooling over so many great brown bass in this thread,

I am finally able to contribute.

My first Brown bass of 2023 went in the frabil this morning.

5.44 lbs solid start.

 

A-Jay

First one 5.44? I’d be tempted to retire and fish like the the rest of the year ? 

 

 

[galyonj]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

After drooling over so many great brown bass in this thread,

I am finally able to contribute.

My first Brown bass of 2023 went in the frabil this morning.

5.44 lbs solid start.

 

A-Jay

 

Lord have mercy. 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

First one 5.44? I’d be tempted to retire and fish like the the rest of the year ? 

 

 

Do you really think you'd be able to stop chasing the dragon after that?

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, galyonj said:

 

Lord have mercy. 

Do you really think you'd be able to stop chasing the dragon after that?

No……

[galyonj]

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

No……

I KNEW IT

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 4/21/2023 at 4:54 PM, A-Jay said:

After drooling over so many great brown bass in this thread,

I am finally able to contribute.

My first Brown bass of 2023 went in the frabil this morning.

5.44 lbs solid start.

 

A-Jay

Your fish are so much thicker than what I am able to catch down here. What was your water temp and how many weeks away are you from the spawn? The temps on the Tennessee yesterday were 64 deg. and all I can catch are dinks. Looks like you are targeting deep water structure. Sure would like more details if you get the time.

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Your fish are so much thicker than what I am able to catch down here. What was your water temp and how many weeks away are you from the spawn? The temps on the Tennessee yesterday were 64 deg. and all I can catch are dinks. Looks like you are targeting deep water structure. Sure would like more details if you get the time.

To briefly answer here without overloading this thread,

Local water temps are 41-43 degrees but remember these lakes are only a week or so removed from being completely frozen over.  Add a healthy Goby population and I'm not sure we can compare the river fish there with what's going on here. Apples & Oranges IMO.  Not sure when 'the 'spawn' here is this year as I don't fish it.  Finally, I am 'targeting' super early pre-spawn fish that come shallow (relative term) to capitalize on the yellow perch spawn.  In a couple of weeks, when the perch are done & move deeper, so do these bass.  As for 'more details', there a good bit in my reports/videos and Brown Bass Tools. 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/

A-Jay

[Blue Raider Bob]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

To briefly answer here without overloading this thread,

Local water temps are 41-43 degrees but remember these lakes are only a week or so removed from being completely frozen over.  Add a healthy Goby population and I'm not sure we can compare the river fish there with what's going on here. Apples & Oranges IMO.  Not sure when 'the 'spawn' here is this year as I don't fish it.  Finally, I am 'targeting' super early pre-spawn fish that come shallow (relative term) to capitalize on the yellow perch spawn.  In a couple of weeks, when the perch are done & move deeper, so do these bass.  As for 'more details', there a good bit in my reports/videos and Brown Bass Tools. 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/

A-Jay

Thanks! I watched video!

I do not target spawning bass either, I was just looking for the locations prior to shallow movement. That is very interesting that your fish will feed on YP spawn and then mover deeper.

[Blue Raider Bob]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

To briefly answer here without overloading this thread,

Local water temps are 41-43 degrees but remember these lakes are only a week or so removed from being completely frozen over.  Add a healthy Goby population and I'm not sure we can compare the river fish there with what's going on here. Apples & Oranges IMO.  Not sure when 'the 'spawn' here is this year as I don't fish it.  Finally, I am 'targeting' super early pre-spawn fish that come shallow (relative term) to capitalize on the yellow perch spawn.  In a couple of weeks, when the perch are done & move deeper, so do these bass.  As for 'more details', there a good bit in my reports/videos and Brown Bass Tools. 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/211811-brown-bass-tools-~-questions-answers/

A-Jay

This is what a 20" River Smallie looks like down here. Yours look like they been hanging out at the buffet all day, while mine have been on the treadmill! This smallie weighed 3 lb 6oz. What would a 20" weigh at Menderchunk?

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

This is what a 20" River Smallie looks like down here. Yours look like they been hanging out at the buffet all day, while mine have been on the treadmill! This smallie weighed 3 lb 6oz. What would a 20" weigh at Menderchunk?

20” smallie up north is usually pushing 5 lbs or better, even the river ones 

[A-Jay]

31 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

This is what a 20" River Smallie looks like down here. Yours look like they been hanging out at the buffet all day, while mine have been on the treadmill! This smallie weighed 3 lb 6oz. What would a 20" weigh at Menderchunk?

Nice fish ~

I rarely measure length anymore, so I can't say for sure.

If I'm ever lucky enough to get another plus sized smb, I'll measure the length as well as weigh it,

so you'll have a reference.  Probably safe to say that a 20 inch smallie here might be 5 plus; especially pre-spawners. 

So @TnRiver46 is probably spot on. 

@Dwight Hottle might tell you that the Lake Erie fish could even be a little stouter than that. 

A-Jay

 

[Drew03cmc]

First fish was a dink, second was better. Back to back casts on a Oneten +1 Jr on an Ozark river.

[Bassbum1016]

Not my first of 2023 but my first event fish of 2023. Good enough for the W.

 

[Standard]

Finally got the kayak in some water this weekend.  Wasn't expecting much with the weather - cold, windy, and scattered showers.  Glad we toughed it out, though.

First one wasn't too crazy, but it did hit a topwater

 

Second one.. well, I thought I hit a snag because my lure just stopped.  5.45lbs and just over 20"

 

Third one was another chonker, although I didn't weigh it.  

 

Ended up with another 4 or 5 fish after that.  Was a d**n good day to get out.

 

[roadwarrior]

25 minutes ago, Bassbum1016 said:

Not my first of 2023 but my first event fish of 2023. Good enough for the W.

 

 

WOW!  

[galyonj]

1 hour ago, Bassbum1016 said:

Not my first of 2023 but my first event fish of 2023. Good enough for the W.

 

 

Man…smallmouth are just the prettiest fish.

[Junk Fisherman]

Only been out for smallies once so far this year!  That needs to quickly change.