I think it depends on each fish. I have caught some largemouth that fought insanely hard. Other times you just reel them like they are dead weight. I do think though that when its comes down to it pound for pound smallmouth fight harder. I like to target largemouth because they are bigger. Some of the truly large largemouth do fight very very hard.  Now all we need to do find is huge 8 pound plus smallmouth. I am sure they would fight pretty well. Could you imagine seeing that thing going airborne next to the boat ?

 

 

Maybe Fish Chris will chime in. He caught a monster eight lb + smallie in California. And Chris has had a lot of big largemouth to make a comparison.

Maybe Fish Chris will chime in. He caught a monster eight lb + smallie in California. And Chris has had a lot of big largemouth to make a comparison.

 

I would love to see a picture of that 8lber !!!! 

I think it looks something like this...

 

 What a beast. On top of that, the coloring is AWESOME on that fish.

That is without a doubt a big bass. It has got some serious girth to it. I have seen this picture a few times. It is a "mean mouth" not a smallmouth. A couple weeks ago an acquaintance of mine caught a giant smallmouth in Maine. I will see if I can find it.

A huge smallmouth caught in November in Maine.

 

7 pounds 13 ounces.

 

Maine state record is 8 pounds 0 ounces

 

 

SWEET!!! I have never fished for smallmouth. I hear they are really tough and scrappy, so that baby right there must of have been fun!!

That smallie is ridiculous.

Ok, Dwight, I guess I see your point. Maybe 40% then? On another note, I think a 5lb smallie fights harder than a Texas 10 pounder, and definitely longer. They don't give up!

Ok, Dwight, I guess I see your point. Maybe 40% then? On another note, I think a 5lb smallie fights harder than a Texas 10 pounder, and definitely longer. They don't give up!

 

We are on the same page . I just got bothered by the 2 to1 ratio at the higher levels.

I gottcha. 

I'd say 6+ is where you start getting into the "rare" fish north of the Mason-Dixon line. There are some guys that target them and there are some big fish to be had, but you gotta put in the work and effort.

 

Sometimes it happens with luck but more often it will happen by knowing your water, seasonal patterns and baitfish locations.

AnytHing bigger than the 1#r I caught.

I'd say 6+ is where you start getting into the "rare" fish north of the Mason-Dixon line. There are some guys that target them and there are some big fish to be had, but you gotta put in the work and effort.

Sometimes it happens with luck but more often it will happen by knowing your water, seasonal patterns and baitfish locations.

Totally agree, once you hit the six pound mark they even get the bug-eye ability

When I lived in New Jersey the bass fishing there was very good (northern-strain bass are suicidal).

On the down side though, the bass were very small.

I'll cite 3 Jersey facts that should give you an idea just how small:   

 

> When I lived there, 9" was a legal bass

> For many years, the New Jersey state record largemouth bass was 8 lb & small change 

> During a statewide survey, the 'Eastern Chain Pickerel' was voted No.1 game fish

 

In Jersey, I considered 3 pounds (17.5") as the first-plateau, about 1 bass in 30  :-(

I considered a 6 lb bigmouth as a New England trophy (often rumored, but rarely seen)

 

Roger