Over two years ago I made a post in the Smallmouth section mentioning my mild obsession with catching a 7 pound smallmouth and asked those to post a picture of thier 7 pound+ smallmouth (below is a link to that thread)

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/84036-quest-for-the-7-pound-smallmouth/?hl=quest

Since that post, I read and digested what I could concerning catching big Great Lake smallmouth. I talked with Scott Hovanec about his experience on the water several times and BRONZEBACK67 gave me a lot of good advice. The one guy who really provided me a lot of information was Dwight Hottle. I read and reread his posts and even talked with Dwight a few times on the phone (what a nice guy) to really understand his system. I even ran into Dwight and AJay on the water this past Monday and talked with them a little more (AJay is a really nice guy as well. I have yet to meet a jerk from this place, which is what I think makes this a great forum. Only nice guys are here). So after digesting all this information, adapting Dwights system to fit my style and boat, and having an incredible amount of luck on my side, the dream finally happened. Yesterday around 10:30am, I caught that 7 pound Smallmouth that I have dreamed about catching for the last seven years. It was 21.75 inches long with a 16 inch girth and it weighed 7 pounds even (talk about JUST achieving your dream). Fortunately, my friend and his father were also out fishing not far from me and I called them over to witness the measurements and take my picture. After the photo, the fish swam off strong and ready to make someone else's dream come true (that is assuming there are other idiots out there like me that dream of catching a fish). It was just a great experience to finally achieve that goal. Now on to that 50" Muskie!

Here's a direct post for ya.

Thanks, Scott!!!

Oh my.  That is just gorgeous.  That too is one of my dreams!  Next year I plan on fishing your waters, and hopefully make it come true as well!  Big Congrats to you for your persistence!  I'm still trying to break 6lbs.....or for that matter a bigger 5lber!  Congrats again!

 

Jeff

Beast!  Congrats man, that's a great fish for sure!

Congratulations ~ !

 

That's one Gorgeous Smallmouth and one heck of an achievement right there.

 

A-Jay

Man....what an awesome Smallmouth.  Huge congrats to you.

This is why we fish. Congrats, applause to you, and any other string of compliments you can string together are due to you. Now, it's time for me to get one over 4! I have a way to go to work up to 7.

Congratulations!

one hell of a smallie! I still havent gotten one bigger than zero, kinda hard to find in georgia

That is a sweet PB for sure. Congrats Steve. Just goes to show a little boat can catch some nice big fish.

Congratulations on that 7pounder! I am always impressed by the appearance of a large bass. Would love to catch one of those and share it. Good luck on your quest for the 50' muskie and report back when you get one...    :^)

What a tremendous fish. I wish catching one that big was even a real possibility around here but sadly that fish is larger than our state record. Congrats to you on achieving your goal!

Awesome smallie...congrats!

Beautiful, beautiful fish. Not to mention BIG! Congrats.

What a HAWG!  Glad you achieved your goal, and I bet the fish don't think Dwight, Ajay, and Bronzeback aren't so nice...

Congratulations!!! It's always a great feeling to catch a fish that you've long been after.

Thanks guys for the kind comments.  I also want to thank Scott, AJay, BRONZEBACK67, and Dwight for really helping me in learning an effective way to fish for these big fish.  My big five for that day was a 4 lb. 7 oz., 4 lb. 12 oz., 5 lb. 0 oz., 5 lb. 5 oz., and the 7 lb. 0 oz.  Not the biggest bag ever caught on Erie, but a good day for me.  I now just need to convince my wife that it is very important for my health to get back up there and go after that 8 pounder (which might be easier to catch than getting my wife to buy that argument)..

Now that is a Smallie!  Congrats.

WOW!

 

 

 

Ahhhh that thing is huuggggggeeeeeee (pardon the fucillo reference) that's awesome you set a goal and with your own dedication and the help of fellow anglers you were able to achieve it and got that fish!!