The MDC smallmouth study

[Al Agnew]

I've been mulling it over a while, and I guess MDC's numbers regarding harvest and C&R adoption really don't surprise me. To me it seems easy to hang out at a MSA meeting or an online forum where maybe 70-80% practice C&R of smallmouth and then be surprised when MDC's results contradict that ethic. Maybe their data is skewed, or maybe it's a sort of angling echo chamber- if the only people you interact with practice C&R, you're gonna have an inflated estimate of how prevalent it is.

I practice C&R on smallmouth and I'd love to see more quality fish in Ozark streams. But IMO it isn't MDC's job to cultivate a C&R ethic among smallmouth anglers- that's the purview of organizations like MSA. And if most folks don't want C&R regs and those regs aren't going to contribute much to the numbers of quality smallmouth...I think it's fair to ask what the purpose of changing the regs would be.

If anglers really want more quality smallmouth regs, they're going to have to win over the hearts and minds of the meat fishing crowd. Or maybe they'll have to make a scientific case- that growth rates in Ozark streams are on par with those of trophy smallmouth streams elsewhere. A quick and dirty Google Scholar search suggests Age 4 smallmouth in the New River in WV and VA average 11-13 inches, and age 4 fish in the Red Cedar River of Wisconsin ran just under 13 inches. Two year old fish were already 10 inches long in the Devils River (TX), and 4 year old fish on the Maquoketa river in Iowa averaged 12.8 inches.

I don't know the answer, but it seems like maybe Ozark smallmouth really do grow more slowly than fish elsewhere. If that's really the case, then perhaps we as anglers need to pull our heads from the clouds and accept that biological reality instead of seeking scapegoats in otters and state biologists. Maybe more C&R, or tighter regs, or habitat improvement would help- but maybe no matter what we do, trophy smallmouth in the Ozarks will always be a rarity.

Good points, but consider this...I don't think it's the rate of growth that is the most important factor, it's whether or not the fish are capable of getting to trophy size before they die of old age. So what if it takes them an extra year or two to get to 20 inches, as long as they are still capable of reaching 20 inches in significant numbers?

I used to think that Ozark smallmouth WERE incapable of growing to the kind of sizes that river smallmouth in other parts of the country reach. And I still think that, with VERY rare exceptions, 21-22 inches and 5 pounds or so is the top end size Ozark smallies are capable of reaching. But I think that the potential of many more of them reaching 20 inches is there. I've seen too many smallish and obscure stream stretches that have more 18-20 inchers than you'd ever think they would have...and too many of them that went downhill fast when a few anglers discovered those big smallies.

[Gavin]

Sample size is key. They did not tag many and some folks caught lots of tags. They should adjust for that, not sure if they did our if the sample was big enough to draw any conclusion. Most of the samples where on below average bass fisheries. Did not catch any tags because I go other places.

[fishinwrench]

I'm not of the thinking that lots of Smallies over 17" is particularly a good thing. An 18-20" river small mouth SHOULD be a special catch, instead of something to be disappointed about when you don't catch one.

And I'm not 100% sure that I wouldn't rather see a 20 incher on a stringer than a 15.

Odds are that a 20 inchers days are numbered anyway.

[drew03cmc]

I'm not of the thinking that lots of Smallies over 17" is particularly a good thing. An 18-20" river small mouth SHOULD be a special catch, instead of something to be disappointed about when you don't catch one.

And I'm not 100% sure that I wouldn't rather see a 20 incher on a stringer than a 15.

Odds are that a 20 inchers days are numbered anyway.

I kind of agree. A 20" Smallie is definitely in her last year or so in Missouri.

[Mitch f]

I kind of agree. A 20" Smallie is definitely in her last year or so in Missouri.

That's an interesting thought. I wonder how long they would live and die of natural causes? I believe they would live more than a year. Maybe 5 or more.

[Al Agnew]

I'm not of the thinking that lots of Smallies over 17" is particularly a good thing. An 18-20" river small mouth SHOULD be a special catch, instead of something to be disappointed about when you don't catch one.

And I'm not 100% sure that I wouldn't rather see a 20 incher on a stringer than a 15.

Odds are that a 20 inchers days are numbered anyway.

Virtually all the 20+ inch smallmouth I've caught over the years have been strong, healthy fish. I'd bet that most of them have at least another couple years in them.

But I do think you have somewhat of a point with your first paragraph. I do like having a 20 incher being a special catch. I like the wide range of sizes in Ozark smallmouth. However, given what I said in my last post, that 21-22 inches is top end size for Ozark smallmouth with rare exceptions, the more that survive to reach 20 inches, the more likely that some will make it that extra couple of inches. I'd like it if I had 2-3 times the chances I have now of catching a 20, and thus a little more chance of catching a 22. That would mean, in my case, that I might catch 2-5 20+ inchers per year, or perhaps one for every 6-12 days of fishing. Mainly though, I want the Ozark streams to simply reach whatever potential they have for producing such fish. I want to know that there are some big fish in them that I have a chance of catching.

[fishinwrench]

I've only caught one over 20" in my life so I really shouldn't even say this.....but does a 20 incher fight any better than a 16-17" ?

I know with largemouth once they get to 4lbs they pretty much never jump, they just come to the surface and shake their head. Seems about the same for smallmouth over 17".

A 15-16 inch Smallie is a hotrod and full of tricks. Plenty challenging on the gear I use. 18 inchers (of which I've caught quite a few) have that extra weight but they really don't seem to have the energy and fight that those slightly younger fish have.

[Mitch f]

I've only caught one over 20" in my life so I really shouldn't even say this.....but does a 20 incher fight any better than a 16-17" ?

A 15-16 inch Smallie is a hotrod and full of tricks.

Agree with 15-16 inch Smallmouth but I'm NEVER in it for the fight. I want them in the boat as soon as possible, I water ski them across the water often. If they are big, I take a picture or two then release them lively.

[Al Agnew]

It varies a lot with individual fish and what time of year they are caught. I've had 20 inchers that were really hot fish, and some that were easier to boat than the average 18 incher. But like Mitch, I"m not in it for the fight. I pursue them for the challenge of getting them to take the lure, most of the time being able to SEE them take the lure. I've had 20+ inchers clear the water by 3 feet on their first jump (the last one that did that also threw the lure on that jump). I've had them tow my canoe around for what seemed like ten minutes. I've had them nearly jerk the rod out of my hands on the strike. The one I hooked the other day spent the first few seconds of the fight simply shaking its head trying to get rid of the lure, but when it decided to go somewhere there was nothing I could do to keep it away from that root wad. 15-16 inchers have energy to burn, but big fish seem to know how to use their energy better.

[rFisherk]

I've caught a lot of smallmouths over 20 inches and a lot of largemouth over 8 pounds, including quite a few on a fly rod. Really big largemouth have one strong, but short, run in them, then it is mostly dead weight. Most of them are also very hard to revive, even after a short fight.

But big smallmouth have amazing endurance and many tricks. I don't think I've ever caught a big smallmouth that didn't seem healthy enough to live long after capture and release.

It is true that big smallmouth don't jump much, but I think that is because they are mostly denizens of the deep and seek the sanctity of familiar water. It is hard to get them up near the surface until they are winded, whereas you can force a 16 incher to the surface pretty quickly. Then, just when you think you have a big smallmouth beat, they see the boat or something and pull again as strongly as when first caught. That's the trick that has lost me more big smallmouth than any other.

I've also noticed over the decades that all fish hooked on the surface tend to jump a lot more than those hooked on the bottom, as if they were trying to rid themselves of the thing were they captured it.