20 Inch Smallmouth

[Al Agnew]

Great fish. I think the 20 inch mark on river smallmouth is a great goal, because it IS attainable, but it doesn't come easy and it doesn't happen often.

[dirty ole james]

very nice fish!! How much did she weigh??

My friend caught a 22 in smallie out of the james river earlier this year, weighed 6.4 lbs. just wondered, I believe the state record is like 7.2.

Anyway nice fish

[G-ROD]

Thanks guys.

I have caught many good largemouth but I was more excited with this fish than all the largemouth combined....

I don't know what it weighed, but I do know it measured dead nuts 20 maybe a 1/32" over. I caught it on the "off" side of the river as I have the last 4 nice ones, they measured between 18 1/16 -18 1/2". All good fish but I needed that 20 incher..

I truly think I had one close to 20" on three different outings but none IN the boat. Two of them I got to see, one I never laid eyes on. One I fought and had him up to the boat, I reached for the camera to hand it to my buddy but while doing so, the fish just swam off. It was like he just opened his mouth and left! I was dumbfounded.

I hate to say where I caught it. Hope you understand...There were jet boats and club houses around which kinda surprised me. This was a 3 day float covering roughly 25 miles. The first 2 days were nice and peaceful, the last day was just the opposite. No fish over 17 1/2" until I caught this one, and I got him at 7:30 am on the last morning.

You are correct Al, it doesn't come easy and it sure ain't often. I would like to sit down and add up the river miles I have floated just this year. It makes it even harder when I go on one float with my 15 year old son, the next with my long time best friend and fishing partner, the next alone, the next with a friend who does not know what stealth means, the next with a friend who has never done this before and is clueless on the trolling motor! I stay in the back to run the little outboard when needed. Always enjoyable overall though.

[Al Agnew]

very nice fish!! How much did she weigh??

My friend caught a 22 in smallie out of the james river earlier this year, weighed 6.4 lbs. just wondered, I believe the state record is like 7.2.

Anyway nice fish

I'm guessing, from looking at the picture and from having weighed quite a few big smallmouth in the past, that fish probably weighed right in the neighborhood of 4 pounds, maybe a few ounces more. Your friend is a lucky man. There probably aren't more than a handful of Ozark river smallies over 6 pounds caught in a decade. The chances of a river fish actually beating the state record are probably nil.

I think I've said it before here...weight is unimportant to me. Weight depends upon how healthy the fish is, what time of year it is, or even if it's been eating better than usual lately. The same 20 incher that, full of eggs, weighs 4.5 pounds in March might only weigh 3.5 in July. Is it a "better" catch in March? It's the same fish. To me, all 20 inchers are the same "value". I've caught two river smallies that reached or slightly beat the 22 inch mark in my lifetime, neither of which would have weighed more than 5 pounds. But I consider them just as memorable as I would consider your buddy's 6.4 pounder had I caught it. A fish of that length is truly a catch of a lifetime, no matter what the weight.

[Bird Watcher]

That's a beautiful fish.

Congratulations.

[et84]

Nice fish!!!!

[Danimal]

Great fish!!

[Dan052]

Very nice brownie......I would love to land one that size.....I've reached the 15 inch mark a time or two, but I have trouble catching nice smallies out of the rivers. Guess i just have dung luck

[G-ROD]

Thanks again guys and I forgot to mention the fish was released of course....

[ozark trout fisher]

Finally!!!!!!!!!! Been going at it pretty hard for the last 3-4 years covering many miles on the Eleven Point, Gasconade, Big Piney, Meramec, Big and Osage rivers.

Congrats on the huge smallie, fish of a lifetime.

Can't say so much about the hat.