I cuaght this three pound smallie the other day. It was about 3 lbs. It got be thinking about what people consider a large fish. Because the size bass get varies from northern states to southern states. I figure peoples idea of a nice fish varies as well. Here in Nebraska we would consider a 5 lb largemouth to be a very big fish, and a smallmouth i would consider 3 lbs to be very nice as well. So what do you guys consider to be a big fish?  based on area? I am really interested to see how much it varies.

 

Thanks

 

Tyson

A trophy is in the eye of the beholder. Depends on your area, and the individual waters you fish. I fish neighborhood ponds and consider 5# fish to be great for the ponds I fish.

I take pictures of every 3#+ fish I land.

In my local lake 5+ is pretty big

Yea , of course I believe the water you fish and you're location in the world does have to be considered.... I say that you're 3 pound smallmouth is a good fish... In Florida we would catch loads of 8 pd. fish LMB .... It was sorta like yea it's ok.... But we were hunting 10 to 16 pd. fish... And yes we were spoiled. But where you fish and the availability of fish types and growth rates has to be considered!

Happy fishing.....

Here are my personal ranges for me... 

 

2-3lbs nice 

3-4lb Nice chunks

4-5lb Nice piggies

5lb-6lbs Nice pigs

6-7lbs Pigs

7-8lbs Holy Moly!! Hawg Category

 

8+ I have seen and touched only once, and it wasn't my catch. 

Here are my personal ranges for me...

2-3lbs nice

3-4lb Nice chunks

4-5lb Nice piggies

5lb-6lbs Nice pigs

6-7lbs Pigs

7-8lbs Holy Moly!! Hawg Category

8+ I have seen and touched only once, and it wasn't my catch.

Nice stuff, right here. I couldnt agree more.

Talk about laying up a softball!  A nice fish is the one YOU just landed, isn't it?

Talk about laying up a softball!  A nice fish is the one YOU just landed, isn't it?

 

I'll take this as my answer too.

I've gotten in the habit of no matter what size fish I hook I start saying "oooooo this is a nice one, yup its a nice one" even if its a dink haha

Whether I'm in Florida or Canada, a 'Nice Fish' to me is a 3-lb largemouth bass (~17.5").

I hasten to add, I catch more Un-nice fish than Nice fish 

Roger

My standards based on the lakes I fish, area of the country (WNY) I am in, etc....

 

Small keepers: less than 2lbs

 

Decent: 2-3 lbs

 

Above average 3-4lbs

 

Big: 4-6lbs

 

Trophy's: 6-8lbs

 

Fish of a lifetime: 8+ lbs

I prefer to judge a fish by its length.. I think anything in the over 18"+ range is a big fish

You could fit yer fist easily in their mouths.. thats big

I prefer to judge a fish by its length.. I think anything in the over 18"+ range is a big fish

You could fit yer fist easily in their mouths.. thats big

 

I wish more anglers judged fish by their length rather than their weight.

Length is a far more intuitive metric than weight  (funny how we mock fat people, but put obese bass on a pedestal).

An 8-lb bass might have a 1-lb shiner in its stomach, but if it regurgitates that baitfish during the battle

you're going to land a 7-lb bass. However, with or without the 1-lb baitfish, the length of the bass

will remain unchanged (7-lber = ~23").

 

Roger

I'm going with - It all depends what's available on the water one's fishing.

 

On Lake Erie - a 4lb smallie could be considered a dink.

On Lake Baccarac in Mexico - a 6lb largemouth is definitely a dink.

 

However, both of those fish are trophies on ALL of my home waters . . . .

 

A-Jay

It's all relative. In January a 1-1/2# is a nice fish.

It depends on location and what you personally think of a big fish as. In VA a 5# bass is a big fish with anything bigger getting into the awesome fish category with 8# plus being HAWG category a couple weeks back when i was in NY I caught one that was larger than 7# and knew that that was a down right awesome fish. It just depends where you are at

 

       tight lines 

 

             Andrew 

I'm going with - It all depends what's available on the water one's fishing.

On Lake Erie - a 4lb smallie could be considered a dink.

On Lake Baccarac in Mexico - a 6lb largemouth is definitely a dink.

However, both of those fish are trophies on ALL of my home waters . . . .

A-Jay

Well said. Lake Erie smallies start at 5lb to 6lbs for a nice bass. Six pounds and up are considered special. Seven pounds to eight pounds are true trophies. Eight to nine lbs is state record fish and the fish of a life time. I have personally caught 35-45 smallies over 6 lbs but only one over seven. Tough nut to crack if you are a trophy hunter.

I consider a nice fish to be any fish I am able to catch.  I have gone summers where I can catch 1-2/day to 25-30/day smallies in my local creek.  The tributary to Lake Erie is amazing, and there are a ton of smallies in the creek.  I would like to catch a nice big smallie like Dwight always flaunts around (jk, but you are a pro at catching some disgusting pigs on LE, and I look up to that).  I enjoy the time on the water, that one monster hit, that jump, that one that takes the drag to be considered a nice fish.  I used to be about how heavy it was, but then realized the biggest they can get in the creek are about 4#, but the ones I love the most, are the ones that fight like a pig, and end up being a solid, beautiful 2# fish.

I agree with 23 inches or more is a nice LMB.

A 3 pound largemouth or smallmouth are both nice fish around here. 4 pound smallie or 5 pound largemouth I consider big fish. A smallmouth over 5 or a largemouth over 7 are both rare creatures. Smallmouth over 6 or largemouth over 8 are probably once in a lifetime unless you have access to some great private water. 

Around here anything over 5 is considered a hawg. 

 For the areas I fish in Maine and Vermont:

 

1 pound : dinker

 

2 pounds : keeper

 

3 pounds: decent

 

4 pounds: good one

 

5 pounds: nice fish

 

6 pounds: hawg

 

7 pounds: lunker

 

8 pounds: trophy

 

9 pounds: Once in a lifetime

 

10 pounds: You must be dreaming or a liar

 

 Biggest fish I have caught is a 9 lb 1 oz

 

In reality anything over 5 lbs is big

^ I'm with him.

I wish more anglers felt like you.

Length is a far more intuitive metric than weight  (funny how we mock fat people, but put obese bass on a pedestal).

An 8-lb bass might have a 1-lb shiner in its stomach, but if it regurgitates that baitfish during the battle you're going to land a 7-lb bass.

However, with or without the 1-lb baitfish, the length of the bass will remain unchanged (7-lber = ~23").

 

Roger

Exactly.. 

I'm grateful for every fish I catch, dink to hawg...