18 hours ago, Michigander said:

Yes, it's a smallmouth. The fight continued on land.

It's true that they never give up.........

I caught this big girl a year and a half ago on a green pumpkin and orange Ned Rig in about a foot of water. This river is a glorified creek in Central Illinois. It seems like nobody but myself and people I trust to tell know that big bass live here if you know how to find them and catch them. 

 

 

 

My personal best Smallmouth was 4 1/2 to 5 pound. New to The Forum I'm from Ontario Canada.

Old thread, but my largest this year (only started sm fishing this year) is 19.75" and 4-1/2 pounds.  From a small river...

1 hour ago, hpbcrillo said:

Old thread, but my largest this year (only started sm fishing this year) is 19.75" and 4-1/2 pounds.  From a small river...

That's a big smallmouth from a big river ?

13 minutes ago, Bird said:

That's a big smallmouth from a big river ?

Thank you!

I got a new entry since my last several 

 

I think she was around 6 lbs. February this year on a half night crawler 

5-14 was in November and big smallies were bunched up in Eddie's and below low head dams feeding on huge schools of minnows. The only time in my life I've seen this happen. I caught dozens between three and five over a three week period. Then it was over. Best smallmouth fishing I've ever experienced by far.

My PB smallmouth. Caught in 2020 in a river. 21.5” long.

On 2/18/2020 at 4:40 PM, Michigander said:

Yes, it's a smallmouth. The fight continued on land.

Who won the "land" part? I see you won the water part.

I have caught several river  3 pound plus smallies but have yet to get a four. I'm trying again Wednesday. I would use my biggest for my Avatar but I don't know how to create it? I know, I'm about as sorry a techie as I am a Smallie fisherman!

This one may be a four but I didn't have a scale.

Edited May 23, 20224 yr by Blue Raider Bob

I had no tape or scale so i measured against my arm and the rod. 

 

Over 22 inch and though she had shoulders she was lean. Probably between 5 and 6 pounds. 

caught this big guy the other day, the next day i caught a bigger one but he snapped me off on shore and rolled back in the drink with my tube jig.

I am fortunate to have 4 ramps on the Susquehanna within 15 minutes of my home, and several more that only take a half hour or so to reach.  This river gives up many citation smallmouth (20+) and I catch several each year.  
 

My biggest was 22 1/2”.   It weighed 6lbs 13ozs.  Weight on these fish can vary a lot depending on the time of year.  I caught one last week that just missed 21”.  I didn’t bother putting it on the scale because it had spawned out and I figured that it wasn’t much more than 4lbs.  (I wasn’t bed fishing, it was behind a rock.)

 

Fighting a 5lb smallie in current gets the heart going. 

I have caught three fish all within a few days of each other that were around 3-4lb on the Columbia that would count as my PB, the first two came on back to back casts in the little boat launch just off the main river, they call the area a lake but I wouldn't agree with that description given the current there the one time I had to go swimming to retrieve a whopper plopper. The other one was in the main river channel, and caught on a pop-r, that ranks right up there with my most exciting catches ever, 6lb leader, M/F spinning rod, and one heck of a wild ride. 

My biggest river smallie was 14". I don't have any photographic proof and I expect all of you doubt me, but it was a true 14".

 

 

Maybe 13". 

On 5/29/2022 at 7:13 PM, zelmo said:

I am fortunate to have 4 ramps on the Susquehanna within 15 minutes of my home, and several more that only take a half hour or so to reach.  This river gives up many citation smallmouth (20+) and I catch several each year.  
 

My biggest was 22 1/2”.   It weighed 6lbs 13ozs.  Weight on these fish can vary a lot depending on the time of year.  I caught one last week that just missed 21”.  I didn’t bother putting it on the scale because it had spawned out and I figured that it wasn’t much more than 4lbs.  (I wasn’t bed fishing, it was behind a rock.)

 

Fighting a 5lb smallie in current gets the heart going. 

 

That's a trophy smallie anywhere but especially big for a river.  

18 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

That's a trophy smallie anywhere but especially big for a river.  

 

As I said earlier the Susquehanna gives up many C class fish, and because of that it attracts many fishermen from all over.  I have often wondered how big they could get in that river if there wasn't so much fishing pressure.  It hasn't produced the state record but I suspect it could without the hordes.

19”. I dont carry a scale much. My goal is a 20” this year. Ive caught a ton of 16-18’s. My rivers do have some chunks.

17-inches in a small creek. I wade fish for smallmouth often, but mostly small water where a good fish is 12-15" and anything over 15 is a tank..