Hey Josh, I think that photo is totally cool.  It almost looks like something you would see in an old fishing mag.

My personal best is a 5.5 caught in Presque bay.( Bay in lake Erie) I caught her on a Luckcraft flashminnow in american shad. I was just using a stop and go retrieve when she hit. It was early spring, and cloudy. I love catching big smallies! (Great new smilies!)

lol this sounds dum to all the things u guys are useing but i caught a 5 pound smally useing a top water minno at 5.00pm on table rock lake MO in 2002

Hmm, maybe it's time to plan a trip to Lake Erie

To be honest....that was the first time I had ever fished the eastside of Michigan. Yes, I feel that everyone should make a trip...just once....to Lake Erie. Just like I think we all should fish the lakes in Mexico.... I am now looking to beat my 3.28lb Large mouth....lol   My biggest smally before Lake Erie was caught in Muskegon Lake and was 4.32lbs

I have twice caught smallies weighing 6lb 14 ozs, the first on the Columbia River at Vantage, WA.  Split-shotting 4-inch watermelon zoom lizard in 10 feet of water.  Second was on a Lucky Craft 100 pointer in gold over a grass bed in 10 feet of water on Banks Lake in Washington, fishing at night.  Good solid fish.  Have heard of many 7lb+ fish out of the Columbia River from Grand Coulee to Portland.

My biggest SMB was caught on Beaver Lake, Arkansas off an island in the middle of the lake that had a roadbed running right by it. It weighed 4 lbs. and I caught it on a Yum ribworm.

Caught mine 7lbs 1oz on a mimic minnow swimming it through a little curren off the break walls on where else but Lake Erie.

I really don't do my home lake,Kentucky, any justice.4 lbs.13 oz. I was fishing a 1/2 oz. jig,black blue flake skirt and a flippin' blue paca chunk.I caught her in August about 12 ft. deep.

5lbs 13oz. drop shoted robo worm.

"Hmm, maybe it's time to plan a trip to Lake Erie'

Madhouse27  plan that trip. Its a SM heaven

Fish Erie a lot, many 4-6 pounders out there.

most of my SM have come from out in the main lake. on tubes

But my biggest would be 7lb 3 oz in Presque bay(Erie)

Caught it Memorial Day weekend in 2002.

Was fishing in 2 foot of water using a Zoom finesse worm, watermelon,

working it split shot style 1/8oz s/s

My dad and I had caught about 50+ SM in 2-5 foot water (they were still on beds)

Many in the 4-5pound range when that monster hit.

Spinning rod, 8lb test line and a finesse worm, fun fun fun

19.5 incher in a canal system lined with rocks. In August, very hot and cloudy out. Sent a cast out right along the shore with a skitter pop in frog pattern. Couldn't believe the fight this thing put up. It crushed the popper about five feet in front of me. It actually broke the front hook off the lure. Don't ask me how that happened.

WOW....THIS THREAD CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE YARD.....LOL

I SAW A GUY FROM THE STREN SERIES, WHO CAUGHT THE BIG BASS OF THE DAY....IT WAS OVER 7LBS ON LAKE ERIE.

6.5 on Texoma DD22 28ft H2O 8lb P-Line Floroclear 1/13/07. 6 on Murray (ok) Kinami popper 10lb Big Game 20? ft H20 7/1/06. 26 incher Murray (ok) c-rig baby b-hog stren braid w/ 12lb vanish leader 4ft H2O 8/'04...Im guessin this fish was pushin 7. You can find pics of the first two on some of my other posts.

I flipped over a few rocks in the stream I was fishing (the same stream in my signature) and I found a particuarly large crawdad.  I hooked it in the tail and put a cigar shaped bobber about 1 and 1/2 ft above the craw.  I cast this combo into a fast moving section of the stream.  It hit the fast water and dumped into a small plunge pool.  It went under and I caught this guy.

Not very big by lake standard s but good sized by stream standards.

I caught my biggest smallie at Cochiti lake in NM. Caught it on a green pumkin tube with a 1/4 oz jighead on a point in about 12 ft of water. It weighted about 4lbs

Best was 4 lbs........19 1/2 inches @ Pueblo reservoir in Colorado. Fish was caught in early April off the dam using a 3 1/2 inch Crooked Creek Tube in Green Pumpkin/Black/Copper flake and a 1/8 oz jighead(hook exposed). Bait was HAMMERED on the  fall.........

7.1 lbs, Beltzville Lake, PA, Early May 1993. At that time you couldn't fish for bass during the spawn in PA. And if the warden caught you even using bass baits, they could fine you. I was fishing from the shore (about 100 yards from the launch) using a 1.5 Charlie Brewer Slider Crappie/Pan Fish Grub in pumpkinseed on a 1/8 oz jig head. I hooked into the big gal and it was quite a fight on 6 lb test, and she made lots of jumps. Three boats came over to see the action as I fought her. After I got her in, one of the guys on a boat was kind enough to weigh her for me on a small digital scale.

3 1/2 lbs on a crankbait fishing for stripers in the Pickwick Lake tailwater.

My PB smallie at the Mio Pond (which is a backwater impoundment of the AuSable river) it bit on a 4 " storm swimshad in the shad color. It's a soft bodied swimbait. Just reeling slow right on the bottom on opening day just over 5lbs 19 inches.

4lbs. Caught it on a 3" manns stingray grub, advacado color, on an 1/8th oz. jighead. St. Joe river, of course.

My largest was 5lbs 7 ozs caught on a 1/8 ounce jighead with a electric blue kalins 3.5 inch curly tail grub. I was fishing spawning beds in the spring along backwater gravel piles off the main river on the Columbia river in Oregon just below the John Day Dam.

mine was a 2lb. smallie in the portage river. i had a 5in watermelon w/ red flake senko rigged weightless. i saw a big log in the water and i casted by it and when i got up to it i hoped the bait over the log and as soon as i pulled up to hop it the smallie hit it. it was in august in the middle of the day.

Largest I can remember= 21.25"  4 1/2" Slug-go

Last year= 19.25" Chart spinnerbait

Most numbers of 18"+ fish= Yamamoto Kreature bait 297 green pumkin

This year I plan on breaking the 20" mark in the Upper Potomac! The last 2 years I have been denied but I did catch a 6-7lb LM last year so I cannot complain! The LM I caught was the biggest bass to come from the UP that anyone I spoke to has seen ever.

Allen

I have caught three 3+ lb. smallies.  The first was around 1990 in the New River fishing under the bridge in Prince WV.  Caught it on a Storm (I think) minnow.  Can't remember much about the fish, but I do remember it gave me all I could handle on a small Johnson spincast combo.  Only fish I ever caught on that lure as I lost it that same day to a much bigger fish.  I was using a snap swivel, fish took bait and straightened swivel.

I caught the other two last year.  The first in early April on a 1/4 oz. Strike King Rocket Shad.  Fishing off a house sized rock in the river next to my place of employment.  Had spent about an hour walking the river bank without a bite.  Threw across a patch of swift water and eased it through the current.  Big pig of a smallie hit it like a ton of bricks.  Didn't think I was ever going to get it in.

Second pig came on Memorial Day.  I was floating the river with my wife and friends.  Threw a 3" pumpkinseed grub on a 1/8 oz. jighead under an overhanging tree.  She hit almost immediately.  Thought I was hung up, gave another tug and she came out of the water.  Not a long fight, but an exciting one nonetheless.

The biggest smallie that I have boated was a 4.5lb on Lake Champlain.  I lost one that was at least six pounds while experimenting with drop shotting for the first time with 6 lb vanish, a 7'mh rod and the wrong drag setting...not a good choice still think about that fish every time I go out on the water.