How did you get into small mouth fishing?

[fishingkidPA]

Sorry if this thread has been posted before. But how did you guys get hooked on small mouth fishing? i enjoy it alot more than largemouth fishing mainly cause im fishing big streams, and smallies fight like no other!

my first ever experience catching one was last year on the first day of trout. I was tossing a little white roostertail and wham something bent my rod in half, i though i had a 20" + trout on my ultra light. i had never caught a smallies before so i show my dad and he told me, now i try and get out fishing for them as often as possible. whats your story?

(1st pic is my first smallie ever

the rest are just a few of the many ive caught out of there, i only wish this stream was as close as my bass ponds

(also pics of my favorite stream, hooked some nice ones under that big boulder)

[MNGeorge]

I read a book by Dan Gapen..."River Fishing, a Happy World".  Went fishing on the upper Mississippi here in Minnesota, caught a bunch of river Smallies and the rest is history...30 years later, I'm still fishing the upper Mississippi here in Minnestota and still catching river Smallies, my favorite fish also.

[Bluebasser86]

My first experience with them was in Canada on Eagle Lake. I couldn't believe how hard the fought and how aggressive they could be. When we got back I looked to see what lakes around me had smallmouth and found we have a few pretty good lakes for them within a couple hours. Now I catch them pretty regularly and still have a blast every time I get one!  ;D

[BassMike88]

My dad would take me to the rivers in Northern Ohio during the Summer for smallmouths. I think the biggest I ever caught was 16 inches or so, but as a kid, it was definitely a thrill.

[Senkoman12]

my home lake has both largemouth and smallmouth. i just catch smallmouth more though. i think its because the lake is more siuted for them.

[Crestliner2008]

I was raised on the banks of the CT. River here in MA. Did a lot of fishing growing up there. 

[stratosjoe]

Been avid river smallie fisherman when young. now body won't allow wading so in early 2000 went to Dale Hollow with a guide  who showed me how to float-n fly fish. Next day without guide caught a 7# 2oz on a homemade jighead with a Yamamoto twin tailed grub I have been a serious smallmouth junkie since Dale Hollow, Center Hill, St Clair, Erie LUVEN ALL

[TimJ]

I was born in Windsor...surrounded by Lake StClair, Detroit River and Lake Erie...guess it comes naturally.

Tim J

[MaineBassMan]

My Dad and my grandfather are avid bass fishermen and we live in smallie country.

[bear7625]

I grew up in northern wisconsin where walleye and SM were the prominent fish in most of the lakes. LM's are making a big comeback because of the catch & release part of the season. I fish both, but smalies are still #1.

[Gavin]

I grew up camping, canoeing, & fishing in the Missouri Ozarks...The only hard part is picking were you want to fish for smallies...Too many creeks & rivers, too little time to fish.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I went to Rainy lake one year.  Southern fishing hasnt been the same since.  MO fishing sucks compared to alot of the northern lakes.

[joshholmes]

Reading an old book by jerry mckinnis where he told me how to fish a jig'n'pig for smallies and how he explained the huge fight they gave. went out the next day only 10 years old casting a storm swimbait and hooked a 20" smallie. ive been hooked ever since. ( by the way its nice to see another kid here, im 13)

[grimlin]

I moved to Michigan.

Hooked my first smallmouth roughly 7 years ago...been addicted ever since.

[NateFollmer]

Started fishing.... heck before I even started grade school, and I had the Juniata river within walking distance of my house. No largemouth in there, so its all smallies for me. Actually, with the exception of 1 private property that I have permission to fish, the closest largemouth water is a 30 minute drive. Actually, I just started largemouth fishing only 3 or 4 years ago, nothin but smallies before that!

[BassThumb]

I started fishing smallies because the Mississippi River flows through my home town, and I lived within biking distance of a nice stretch that is full of smallies, walleye, pike, crappie, channel cats, and carp. I started wading around the Beaver Islands at age 12, using crawler harnesses and looking to hook whatever wanted to bite. The rest is history.

[comescrashing]

My buddy took me wading creeks for them and now I'm hooked but I'm moving back to fl so now more smallies for me

[Triton21]

I was born and raised on what Field & Stream listed in 1957 "The Best Smallmouth Stream in the USA", Rockcastle Creek, Martin County, Kentucky. I started fishing @ 18 months old. Caught my first Smallie when 2 years old. Coal mining in the area ruined this creek in the '70s and '80s.

Kelley

[CoBass]

I was getting bored pond fishing for large mouth last summer and heard that river smallies were really hard fighters, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I bought a couple of bags of tubes and some jig heads and took a 100 mile trip to a river with a good reputation for smallies. Within 20 minutes of getting there I was landing good numbers of 3-4 lb fish. Call it beginners luck but I make that 100 mile trip on a regular basis and have yet to duplicate the success I had that day. I still catch fish there but it's usually decent numbers of smaller fish with 1 or 2 nicer ones thrown in. I was spoiled on my first trip and I've been chasing it ever since. Tight Lines...CoBass

[webertime]

I grew up on the shore of Lake Champlain... The first time (I was about 13) I saw one of thier feeding frenzy wolf packs going after my Wally Diver. Bronze flashes and red eyes. I was hooked.

[boystcroix]

i live near the Susquehanna river, there are both largemouth and smallies in my area but the smallies are usually more agressive and fun to catch

[jignfule]

I fished for LM when the opportunity arises and SM when that opportunity arises. I started fishing for smallies when I started fishing the Snake River where the smallies hang out.

[bassin73]

Hi fishin kid Pa. My name is Joseph, and I live out west in Oregon. I, or we out here have one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the U.S. We have the Columbia River, (world class), and the John Day river. My personal best smallie is 2 @ 4 lbs. One in Lost Creek Reservoir, in southern Or., and the other in Applegate Reservoir, also in S. Or. They fight the best out of all the species of Bass. So

don't ever stop fishing for them. You might want to try a crawfish crankbait, med. diver, in a red

or brown color, w/rattle in it. They just can't lay off of it. That giant rock will hold the biggest smallie

in that area. Thats where I would try it. Cast up stream, and crank it under that rock. You better hold on though, a large SM, will jerk your rod out of your hand. By the way, I like SM so much, that is my

display name. later, smallmouth55123

[fishingkidPA]

Hi fishin kid Pa. My name is Joseph, and I live out west in Oregon. I, or we out here have one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the U.S. We have the Columbia River, (world class), and the John Day river. My personal best smallie is 2 @ 4 lbs. One in Lost Creek Reservoir, in southern Or., and the other in Applegate Reservoir, also in S. Or. They fight the best out of all the species of Bass. So

don't ever stop fishing for them. You might want to try a crawfish crankbait, med. diver, in a red

or brown color, w/rattle in it. They just can't lay off of it. That giant rock will hold the biggest smallie

in that area. Thats where I would try it. Cast up stream, and crank it under that rock. You better hold on though, a large SM, will jerk your rod out of your hand. By the way, I like SM so much, that is my

display name. later, smallmouth55123

your very smart! actually that big rock is were i caught my biggest out of the creek, about 1.5/2 lber. there are a couple huge boulders on the stream i love to fish, its very scenic and the fishin aint bad either!

[joshholmes]

you know if your a trophy chaser you might want to try fishing lakes more if you have any. smallies grow faster and get bigger in lakes. i live in NY and i typically only catch 2lb bass in creeks but easily catch 4-5 pounders in my lake. plus i got lake george which provides some of the best smallie fishing in the country. lately over the past couple years little 2-3 inch storm crappie swimbaits have been working for me. if that doest work then a suspending jerkbait always works. plus the extra weight of suspending baits helps when fishing in faster or deeper creeks.