How far south do Small mouth range from?

[beautifulbelle]

I live in North FL and I would like to know how far north I need to travel to catch a Small mouth. I want to catch one badly and dont want to to have to go far.. are they in north GA or maybe SC??

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I know they are here in Maryland and Virginia but i never heard of any in NC ,SC or ga,.I think Tenn, Ark  and Virginia are the Furthest south You can get

[George Welcome]

Most of the IGFA's world line-class records come from the Deep South, notably Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Kentucky.

[Eddie Munster]

Just looking at Blue Ridge Lake, Georgia this am on Google Earth. They have Smallies, Spotted Bass, Walleye and probably LMB. North Georgia.

[aarogb]

     I live in central North Carolina and the only place that we might have smallmouth is in the extreme NW part of the state near the blueridge mountains.  I know for sure that they have smallmouth in Tennesesee.

[5bass]

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

[DeepStructure]

There was a 9 caught in Lake Jocassee, SC in the early part of this decade so they are there, but for actual probability of catching a nice one, you're best off trying a TVA impoundment in northern Alabama or East/Middle Tennessee.

[DeepStructure]

Most of the IGFA's world line-class records come from the Deep South, notably Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Kentucky.

That world-record area for smallmouths is not what I would call the Deep South... it's the Upper/Mid-South.

[SPAZ]

They have smallies in Texas. I think the lake is called Texoma.

[justinrose40]

If your'e going to make a trip North for Smallies, I would look into traveling to Dale Hollow in TN. I've caught Smallmouth in middle TN out of Douglas, Norris, and Cherokee, but if you're going to have to travel anyway, why not go to the lake that holds the current World Record Smallmouth. I live about 2 hours from Dale Hollow and about 15 min. from Laurel Lake which is another great Smallmouth fishery in SouthEastern Kentucky. I have seen a lot of 5-6 lbrs caught out of both lakes in the last few years. My dad caught a 6.2 last week out of Laurel and a friend of mine caugtht a 7.3 2 weeks ago out of the same lake. Smallmouth fishing is very good right now but with water temps getting close to 60 I'd say they'll be nesting anytime and you can expext to see those weights start to fall quickly.

I'm sure that you can find some smallmouth fishing closer to home, but these two lakes are the best I know of in the TN-Ky area. Good luck in wherever you decide to go and when you hook one hold on tight.

[CatBassin]

I pretty much know nothing about smallmouth but from my understanding we have them here in Lake Norman. This is from hear say but I've heard it from quite a few and read it a couple places.

[roadwarrior]

The Suwannee River has a cousin of the smallmouth unique to the

river:

http://myfwc.com/WILDLIFEHABITATS/Freshwaterfish_SuwanneeBass.htm

Otherwise, a few lakes in Texas have smallmouth populations.

Your best bet in the Mid South is the Tennessee River below Wilson

Dam, technically Pickwick Reservoir.

However, the Great Lakes and other lakes in that region are FAR

SUPERIOR for both numbers and average size. If I were chosing

a specific destination, Lake Erie, St. Clair or Lake Champlain would top

the list.

8-)

[dacrawdaddy]

Save your gas. The closest good population of smallmouth to north Florida is the Broad River in SC. Check out the SC River Fishing website. Plenty of info.

[Findirman]

I would go to Pickwick Lake in northern Alabama.  Great smallmouth fishing right now.  Go to Florence, Ala. and put in at McFarland Park.  You will be a couple of miles below Wilson Dam.  Go toward the dam and start drifting downstream at the last bridge you come to.

[Barry Estes]

Wilson Lake in North Alabama has some great ones as well. I just got back from there and we caught them up to 3 lbs. You can stay at Joe Wheeler State Park pretty cheap as well.

I will be glad to tell you all about it.

[stik_in_Texas]

They have smallies in Texas. I think the lake is called Texoma.

Texoma is my home lake and we have some very good smallies in this lake........the lake record is a little over 7lbs. Texoma is about 60 miles north of Dallas on the Tx-Ok border...........great "little" pond (80,000 acres) come see us sometime.

[bassman31783]

They have smallies in Texas. I think the lake is called Texoma.

Texoma is my home lake and we have some very good smallies in this lake........the lake record is a little over 7lbs. Texoma is about 60 miles north of Dallas on the Tx-Ok border...........great "little" pond (80,000 acres) come see us sometime.

Yeah i had no idea there were smallies in that lake until last year while my dad and i were striper fishing.  Caught a nice 2 1/2 pounder. Hit a pencil popper.

[flechero]

Lots of smallies in central Texas....  as far south as Austin.

[Hopper]

Amistad has Smallies too. Many Texas lakes have them, Ive caught them at Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls also.  

[cato]

I know they are here in Maryland and Virginia but i never heard of any in NC ,SC or ga,.I think Tenn, Ark and Virginia are the Furthest south You can get

We have smallies here in NC. I am in western NC and the water is deeper and colder. I dont think there are any in eastern NC though. Lake Lure, Lake Norman, Lake James, Linville River to name a few.

[RoLo]

the Great Lakes and other lakes in that region are FAR SUPERIOR for both numbers and average size. If I were chosing a specific destination, Lake Erie, St. Clair or Lake Champlain would top the list.

8-)

What a difference a day makes.

Kent, I can still picture Al Lindner talking about the fantastic smallmouth fishing in Pickwick Lake, a man who lives in the far north.

It was during the 80s and Al was virtually dribbling with excitement. You're a man who lives in the south, and the Tennessee River

practically runs through your backyard, yet you're sending us up north.

That speaks volumes to me, and the same sea-change is reflected by recent statistics.

In Pickwick Lake, the ratio of largemouth bass to smallmouth bass has 'doubled' in two short years (2003 to 2005)!

Roger

[SkeetyCCTX]

Hi, I lived all the way down near Corpus Christi TX.  Though we have great Largemouth fishing at lakes such as Choke Canyon and Falcon near by, I have always been very interested in smallmouth fishing!

Last year, I couldnt stand it any more and began searching for the closest lake to south texas where smallies could be caught!  For those of yall that didnt know, yes, there is smallmouth in some TX lakes!

About 3 hrs NW of Corpus Christi, I found two lakes that have smallmout populations.  The first is Medina Lake which is about 30 minutes west of San Antonio, TX; and the other is Canyon Lake which is about 30 minutes N of San Antonio, TX.  All of this area is what is call the "Texas Hill Country!"  The hill country has several highland type reservoirs characterized by clear water and lots of rocks.  The water is much cooler and deeper than the lakes just a few hrs south, and can sustain smallies.

Medina is a nice lake, but is is far behind Canyon Lake for smallies.  Canyon actually has a very catchable population of smallies, with many fish over 3 lbs.  My first time fishing it I was able to catch 3 smallies, all about 2 lbs, without having a clue about the lake!

As you move further north, you can find several lakes in TX that have decent smallmouth populations.  The lakes range from Amistad in west texas to Texoma with is more NE.  Top TX smallie lakes include:  Texoma, Belton, Stillhouse, Whitney,  and Merideth just to name a few!

Recently, I took a trip up to Belton, which is inbetween Waco and Austin (the Capital).  This was a beautiful highland style reservoir with clear deep water and lots of rocks.  This lake is quickly building a name as maybe Tx' top smallie lake, arguably.  It was my first time there but I caught a limmit of smallies in less than 5 hrs!  I landed a large fish of 3.5 lbs!

So, though many of you did not know, TX does have a smallie population in scattered lakes throughout the state.  They are also present in several rivers throughout the state, such as the Guadalupe and Brazos.  Many of the lakes that have them boast records over 6 lbs!  The state record comes from Texoma, I think, and is about 8 lbs!

Good Luck!

[Jake.]

Lake Lure, Lake Norman, Lake James, Linville River to name a few.

Lake Norman only has Spots and Largemouths. All of the other lakes you listed have smallmouths though.

[cato]

Lake Lure, Lake Norman, Lake James, Linville River to name a few.

Lake Norman only has Spots and Largemouths. All of the other lakes you listed have smallmouths though.

I have never fished Norman but I was going of of this site that talks about the species found in Lake Norman when I was thinking about planning a trip there. I'm not sure how they obtained this info.

http://www.denvernc.com/fishspecies.htm

[Jake.]

Lake Lure, Lake Norman, Lake James, Linville River to name a few.

Lake Norman only has Spots and Largemouths. All of the other lakes you listed have smallmouths though.

I have never fished Norman but I was going of of this site that talks about the species found in Lake Norman when I was thinking about planning a trip there. I'm not sure how they obtained this info.

http://www.denvernc.com/fishspecies.htm

I think they are referring to the Smallmouths in Lake James when they say "The Principle Fish of Lake Norman and the Catawba Chain". (Lake James is part of the Catawba Chain of lakes).