The MDC smallmouth study

[Mitch f]

[quote name="rFisherk" post="404797" timestamp="143559254

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. .

Almost every big smallmouth I've caught in the river comes to the top pretty quick, I think every fish is different.

[Gavin]

Just love it when a big smallmouth bites my thumb when I release it.

[Seth]

I haven't caught as many big smallies as most of you here, but I think the 18-20.5" fish that I have caught when the water as over 75 degrees are some of the hardest fighting fish I have ever caught. None of them have cleared the surface either. They just keep bulldogging towards the bottom. I do think a 2-3# largemputh fights harder than a 4+ though. The bigger ones just seem yo slosh on the top a lot like somebody else mentioned.

[Mitch f]

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.

Question for you Ron, since you guided at Dale Hollow.

Why do you think the smallmouth are smaller now than they were 30 years ago? I know Billy Westmorland used to put 8 and 9 pounders in the live well.

[Guest]

Good thing most folks are killing beers on the Elk River instead of smallmouth.

Most anglers hate the drunk crowd, but if that keeps fishing pressure down then so be it.

So that 18" smallmouth I caught out of the Elk last weekend was 12" long 5 years ago. Crazy

I caught a 24" largemouth from the Kings river in 2005. It slurped down a buzzbait from behind like jaws, but it surged a half dozen times as I tried to fight it towards the canoe. I had to stick the entire rod in the water, push the button & thumb the spool to keep it from breaking off. That joker actually ran under the canoe & jumped on the other side of the canoe. I thought I was going to pass out when that happened. Somehow, I managed to land it after several minutes. So they have more endurance than you might think, but most of them tire out easily. River largemouth fight infinitely harder than reservoir largemouth.

[rFisherk]

Question for you Ron, since you guided at Dale Hollow.

Why do you think the smallmouth are smaller now than they were 30 years ago? I know Billy Westmorland used to put 8 and 9 pounders in the live well.

I didn't guide on Dale Hollow. I guided on KY Lake, but I fished Dale two or three times a year. Fished with Billy once just before he died and with Fred McLintock a bunch of times, plus some of the other guides there. I don't think the smallmouth are any smaller than years ago. My biggest smallmouth ever was 7-14 from Dale, but I caught one 6-12 from KY lake. Biggest from a river was 6-3 from the Current River. Had one on a couple of years ago that was bigger, but lost it under a big bolder. This, I believe, is the biggest I've caught during the past couple of years. Had my son hold it for a picture.