Is Lake Erie generally considered to be the best smallmouth fishery in the world?

[A-Jay]

@Kirtley Howe

Fair point ~ 

In my world,  best ALWAYS means, actual real world opportunity to catch trophy class fish.

6 lbs and above.

YMMV

A-Jay

 

[roadwarrior]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 

In my world,  best ALWAYS means, actual real world opportunity to catch trophy class fish.

6 lbs and above.

 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

@Kirtley Howe

Fair point ~ 

In my world,  best ALWAYS means, actual real world opportunity to catch trophy class fish.

6 lbs and above.

YMMV

A-Jay

 

Ya, Sometimes the idea of hunting for 3-4 big bites a day appeals to me but other times 20 3lbs is a really fun day

[Ohioguy25]

2 hours ago, Kirtley Howe said:

Define best.....Chance to catch the most smallies per hour? Largest average size fish? Chance for really large fish? Best chance for world record? Lake fishable and productive year round? Good quality and quantity? Lake/river with best access? Productive lake/river with least traffic? Best from shore? Best from Kayak? Best from boat? "Best" all depends on what you want to experience. Suffice it to say, there are many great smallmouth fishing lakes/rivers right now. Some say we are living in the golden age for smallmouth fishing, and I don't disagree with that statement.

I think the metric generally used is greatest concentration of trophy fish (5 lb +)

[Reel]

Best is having the choice between catching a lot of 3 pounders ( no numbers here ) in one spot or going to another spot and catching a 6 pounder  or more than one ... on the same day and not seeing anybody around.  

[Ohioguy25]

1 hour ago, Reel said:

Best is having the choice between catching a lot of 3 pounders ( no numbers here ) in one spot or going to another spot and catching a 6 pounder  or more than one ... on the same day and not seeing anybody around.  

What fisheries would you say fit this description?

[Gnarwhal]

3 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

What fisheries would you say fit this description?

Dworshak.

[gim]

This is the criteria that BASS uses to rank top lakes/rivers.

 

Bassmaster contacts the fisheries departments in every state to get feedback on the current state of their bass lakes. We survey the B.A.S.S. Nation presidents and conservation directors in every state to get their feedback on the best fisheries they’ve experienced in the past 12 months. Then, we dig into tournament results and fish-catch surveys from every lake mentioned, as well as some we come across independently, to create a master list. Numbers are crunched and a blue-ribbon panel of industry insiders vote on the rankings.

[Reel]

3 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

What fisheries would you say fit this description?

St-Lawrence river

[TnRiver46]

54 minutes ago, gimruis said:

This is the criteria that BASS uses to rank top lakes/rivers.

 

Bassmaster contacts the fisheries departments in every state to get feedback on the current state of their bass lakes. We survey the B.A.S.S. Nation presidents and conservation directors in every state to get their feedback on the best fisheries they’ve experienced in the past 12 months. Then, we dig into tournament results and fish-catch surveys from every lake mentioned, as well as some we come across independently, to create a master list. Numbers are crunched and a blue-ribbon panel of industry insiders vote on the rankings.

^thats why I mentioned dale hollow and tournament results, can’t really measure up in that category with a 1 fish limit 

[michiganoutdoorsman]

I remember when my dad was all up in arms about gobies making their way into the great lakes, as well as even the inland lakes. I was in elementary school and he was so concerned about them. He (like a lot of people) thought that they would invade fish beds and fish populations would take a hit. He also hated on the zebra mussels. Fast forward to now, and he thinks they're the best thing that could've happened to our Michigan waters. The quality of fish in our state has exploded ? It has made it fun to chase these monsters. Having said that, I'd think LSC has got to be up there with the best of them. Seems like a lot of fisheries have taken off the last few years, though. Never been out of state so I can't speak to that.

[lou304]

On 7/9/2023 at 8:50 PM, AlabamaSpothunter said:

  Cayuga had more 5+ SMs than I could imagine, but I doubt it has the biggest SM in the world like Erie, Dworshak, or the Southern impoundments.

NY state record smallmouth was just caught in Cayuga this spring.

[Darth-Baiter]

On 7/10/2023 at 10:31 AM, Reel said:

I fish one of them regularly ( at least every week) and I want to tell you it's goooood !!!

trying to read between the lines and I am coming up empty.  

 

hahahha...

 

I am roadtriping soon.  maybe next year and I am gonna literally dip a toe into some of these distant lakes.  

[TnRiver46]

Looks like Lake Ontario might have a say so…..

[Ohioguy25]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Looks like Lake Ontario might have a say so…..

And St Lawrence

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, Ohioguy25 said:

And St Lawrence

Especially right where one goes into the other…..

[Swamp Girl]

If I could fish any smallmouth bass lake, it would be this one:

 

 

[Alex from GA]

Looks like it in the west.  Do you know the lake?

[Glenn]

Here are the best bass lakes:

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/best-bass-fishing-lakes.html

 

[Scott F]

There are other fisheries that could also be considered but due to limited access and size are difficult to fish like Rainy Lake and Lake Huron in Canada

[Swamp Girl]

2 hours ago, Alex from GA said:

Looks like it in the west.  Do you know the lake?

 

I do not, but I also assume it's a western lake.

[pdxfisher]

7 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I do not, but I also assume it's a western lake.

On his Instagram there was an Idaho area code (208)  in the background of one of his pics. That bag of fish was unbelievable. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Dworkshak resverior 

[Columbia Craw]

You beat me to it Dwight.  Keep your eyes on Idaho boys and girls.   Erie is bigger than many European countries.

[WRB]

B.A.S.S. Elite tournament this week settles this issue with the winning Smallmouth Bass weight 105+lbs, with 2nd to 4th all over 100lbs.

Tom