On 10/10/2020 at 9:42 PM, Cdn Angler said:

There are few waterbodies up North with an abundance of 6 lb smallmouth. Even 5 lbs is big. They can gorge and get bloated more than LMB IMO. 

 

My biggest SMB is still only about 4.8 lbs, but I've caught 30+ over 4 lbs. And I've caught probably 2500 up here in Canada over the last 3 years. I don't fish the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence, where gobies/zebra mussels have created giants. Some lakes have giants, others just don't. 

Refreshing to hear that not everyone who catches a 4+ smallie calls it a fiver. Would you talk to my brother? We argue about once a year about all the fivers he's landed. Claims he's caught many, of course he's never actually weighed one. I tell him he's probably never got one over 5. He fishes on Ohio's inland waters. He gets quite mad!
Like you I've caught countless 4+ myself but none over 5. When I boated my PB I'd swore it was a 6lb. Scales showed only 5 lbs even. Yea this lake Erie football is only a 5lber. Still looking...they ain't easy.

 

 

1 hour ago, Dave Hull said:

Refreshing to hear that not everyone who catches a 4+ smallie calls it a fiver. Would you talk to my brother? We argue about once a year about all the fivers he's landed. Claims he's caught many, of course he's never actually weighed one. I tell him he's probably never got one over 5. He fishes on Ohio's inland waters. He gets quite mad!
Like you I've caught countless 4+ myself but none over 5. When I boated my PB I'd swore it was a 6lb. Scales showed only 5 lbs even. Yea this lake Erie football is only a 5lber. Still looking...they ain't easy.

 

 

I got a few buddies like your brother, everything over 2 is 5 haha

Any smallmouth bass over 5 pounds is trophy at least that is what many Master Angler Programs say. Most would agree that any smallmouth bass over 6 pounds is a trophy similar to how most agree a largemouth bass 10 pounds or bigger is a trophy bass. With that said I much rather catch a new species of fish for my photo albums than another 10 pound bass.

50 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

With that said I much rather catch a new species of fish for my photo albums than another 10 pound bass.

 

That would put you in a club of one.

 

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

Any smallmouth bass over 5 pounds is trophy at least that is what many Master Angler Programs say

This is what my work criteria uses every year for our angling contest. Most entries aren’t by weight, they are by length since it’s generally easier to measure a large fish than weigh it. I’ve won several times with a 20+ inch smallmouth.

https://www.in-fisherman.com/content/master-angler/375360

 

4 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

That would put you in a club of one.

I am more of a multi species fisherman than a bass fisherman. Have caught bass over 10 pounds, from land, in public waters without a guide. They don't fight much compared to a saltwater gamefish but the +8 pounders can be challenging fish to catch if you fish from land in public waters. With that said I find it boring to just fish for one species of fish just like others do not like multi species fishing. I much rather catch a new species for my Fishing Lifelist than another 10 pound bass.

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

This is what my work criteria uses every year for our angling contest. Most entries aren’t by weight, they are by length since it’s generally easier to measure a large fish than weigh it. I’ve won several times with a 20+ inch smallmouth.

https://www.in-fisherman.com/content/master-angler/375360

 

Nice smalllmouth bass you have caught. 

When it looks like a football you’ve successfully caught the big un 

I have landed 5.5 pound smallmouth, rainbow trout over 10 pounds, brown trout over 8 pounds, king salmon over 60 pounds, silver salmon over 18 pounds, Blue Marlin over 750 pounds, 285 pound yellowfin tuna, 60 lbs. roosterfish, and Wahoo over 60 pounds'.  All were great fish, and true trophy size for their respected species, but nothing comes even remotely close to the feeling of accomplishment I got when I landed a large mouth bass over ten pounds.  Landing a small mouth over 6 pounds for me will be an equal accomplishment.  I would have to bump that up to 7 pounds if I had AJ as a guide.