Your first "big" smallmouth?

[basska]

On 8/31/2017 at 10:44 AM, Mitch f said:

I don't have a pic of my biggest of 21" believe it or not. But I do have a pic of the biggest Smallmouth I've seen in a Missouri stream...and I took the pic.

Old topic - but WOW.

This fish had to run within a pound of the state record. Got to be close to 2 feet, 7 lbs. The fish we all aspire to.

[Al Agnew]

Kinda fun to see this old post resurrected.  What strikes me is that of all these stories, everybody remembers almost everything about catching that one fish.  There are fish that are like that; you remember the exact spot, the strike, what lure you were using, the weather that day.  In 60 plus years of fishing for stream bass, I've amassed a lot of memorable fish, fish that I remember almost everything about them.  I've actually sat down with my topographic maps that cover all of my home river, Big River, and traced my way down the stream pinpointing the exact spots where I caught most of the 19 inch plus smallies I've caught over all those years.  And whenever I get on the river now, I get a special feeling of anticipation as I approach every one of those spots.  And maybe not surprisingly, there are plenty of spots where I've caught more than one big one.  In my original post, that 4 pounder I caught on the three day float in that slight narrowing of the channel between two long pools...over the years I've caught 6 memorable fish on that exact spot.  The most memorable, though, was a 17 incher with a deformed back that, if it had been straight, would have added an inch to its length.  Why was it so memorable?  Because I caught the same fish from the same spot the next summer, and it had gained an inch.  And the third summer, I looked for it the three or four times I floated that stretch, but didn't see it again...until I paddled upstream from the access below one day during deer season.  It was an exceptionally warm couple of weeks in November, and that day the fish were out and hitting topwaters like it was August.  And at the head of the pool just below the lower of the two pools where that narrow spot separated them, I caught that same fish the third time...and it had gained another inch.

[basska]

13 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

Kinda fun to see this old post resurrected.  What strikes me is that of all these stories, everybody remembers almost everything about catching that one fish.  There are fish that are like that; you remember the exact spot, the strike, what lure you were using, the weather that day.  In 60 plus years of fishing for stream bass, I've amassed a lot of memorable fish, fish that I remember almost everything about them.  I've actually sat down with my topographic maps that cover all of my home river, Big River, and traced my way down the stream pinpointing the exact spots where I caught most of the 19 inch plus smallies I've caught over all those years.  And whenever I get on the river now, I get a special feeling of anticipation as I approach every one of those spots.  And maybe not surprisingly, there are plenty of spots where I've caught more than one big one.  In my original post, that 4 pounder I caught on the three day float in that slight narrowing of the channel between two long pools...over the years I've caught 6 memorable fish on that exact spot.  The most memorable, though, was a 17 incher with a deformed back that, if it had been straight, would have added an inch to its length.  Why was it so memorable?  Because I caught the same fish from the same spot the next summer, and it had gained an inch.  And the third summer, I looked for it the three or four times I floated that stretch, but didn't see it again...until I paddled upstream from the access below one day during deer season.  It was an exceptionally warm couple of weeks in November, and that day the fish were out and hitting topwaters like it was August.  And at the head of the pool just below the lower of the two pools where that narrow spot separated them, I caught that same fish the third time...and it had gained another inch.

My biggest Smallmouth ever (out of 6) is 14 inches. This year my goal would be catching 100 fish and an 18 incher in 6-8 Smallmouth trips. Sometimes I feel a little imposter guilt knowing so much about Smallmouth but not having any real experience with them. It just took one Ozark float trip for me to KNOW I had found my favorite sport fish. 

I am an obsessive type, have always been, but usually my obsessions don't last. I get really into something, learn a bunch about it in a month's time, and then it just flares out. My obsession with fishing has held strong for about 1 year now, and I think that can be attributed to the never-ending rabbit holes of the sport. You never know what will come next, and every fishing trip is a learning experience, no matter your skill level. There's no limit to what you can learn when fishing.

As for the fish, though insignificant, I might as well share the story. Lower Jack's Fork August 2024. First Smallmouth Float of my life. Everyone was doing fair but me. Near Two Rivers, I caught my first respectable Smallmouth (over 12 inches). It was that moment I realized that Smallies fighting harder than Largemouth was NOT a myth. It did feel light, and I knew it wasn't a huge fish, but the way it ran.... It was just different. Faster, more endurance... and the beauty....

Another thing - that trip, for some reason, the Smallies we all caught were darker than what I normally observe in Ozark Streams. Whether that is due to genetics or habitat, I will not speculate. 

Needless to say, I don't have my story yet, but I'll be darn if I don't post an 18 by the end of this summer. I love these fish and our region. Makes me feel like a truly obsessed child.

[GotaFish]

This is an awesome thread.  At the moment, I can't remember my first smallmouth, but I do know they are my favorite fish to catch and the Niangua is my favorite river to catch them on.  On a float from Lead Mine to Berry Bluff last year I caught a 19 incher that was a beautiful fish. I caught her or she caught me on a purple chatter bait.  I say that because this fish did not stop fighting.  Also, the look in her eyes said once you get this hook out of my mouth I am going to kick your axx.  I can't wait to get back there this year. 

[tjm]

Not sure that I've ever caught a "big" smallmouth, having read about SMB from 6#-12#, and with the reclassification of the Neosho into a species of it's own, it may well be that I have never ever caught any smallmouth at all.

I do recall one non-largemouth, because it was always there when  I made the attempt, time after time  under the same rock, apparently the same markings, same time of day for several years, the fish grew from ~17"+ to >20",  per my quick and crude measuring. (measured marks on the fly rod butt) many times each year, probably caught what I believe was the same bass over a hundred times, and I was there the day another  angler put it on a stringer.   Typically I don't count the fish beyond "a few" or "several"  and may go months without measuring a fish, but it was fun watching that fish grow. 

 

[WestCentralFisher]

I've caught a lot of good sized smallmouth, but none you'd probably call a trophy. Nonetheless, a few of them stick out. 

I think my favorite was on the Eleven Point River maybe 15 years ago. We had been floating from Greer Springs over the last few days in a leaky jon boat, definitively not the right tool for a tricky section of river. We'd managed ok until Hall's Bay somehow. We didn't flip, but I got launched off the front of the boat at relatively high speed. I wasn't seriously hurt or anything, but definitely pretty beat up. I was also sad because the takeout was shortly ahead, ending one of the better fishing/floating trips of my young life to that point. 

After we got reassembled, I stepped out to take a few half-hearted casts with a little Panther Martin spinner that had done pretty well for the trout the last few days. I felt a strike, and it was immediately obvious this wasn't an 11 inch rainbow.

After a long, hard fight on the light trout gear, I finally netted a smallmouth that was probably 17 inches and a couple pounds, but in that moment felt like it was the biggest fish in the whole river. Somewhere at my folks house there is a picture of me holding it, visibly beaten to hell from my affray with the boulders of Halls Bay a few minutes earlier. Every time I see it I feel a powerful urge to start heading towards Highway 19.

[Lloyd]

On 4/4/2025 at 10:52 AM, basska said:

My obsession with fishing has held strong for about 1 year now, and I think that can be attributed to the never-ending rabbit holes of the sport. You never know what will come next, and every fishing trip is a learning experience, no matter your skill level. There's no limit to what you can learn when fishing.

Well said. I've been fishing for almost 40 years and I've learned a lot, but it's obvious that there's still SO MUCH MORE to learn. Most of the time when I try something new I end up very glad I did, because I uncover some new wrinkle that changes the way I think about fishing, almost like an unlock in a video game. To me the experimentation you can do while fishing is one of the most satisfying aspects of the sport. 

[Foghorn]

Little brother Dave and I one day before bass season opened in the rivers went down to the old Dolomite hole on Big River to wade fish. Caught a 19-20" smallmouth on a floating Rapala. He wasn't old enough to have a license and couldn't figure out why I released a nice fish. Have kept very few smallmouth since then and think of them as I do a nice brown trout.  

[tjm]

I turn almost all fish loose, just because I'm too lazy to carry a stringer or to butcher the fish at the end of the day.  

[creek wader]

 My grandson is wanting to do some stream smallie fishing. It’s been years since I’ve done any smallie float trips. Not sure which river or sections to go. I really want to avoid the crowds and have some solitude. Where we can mainly fish. I’ve seen they’ve had a lot of flooding lately. 
Does any have any recommendations for us. I thought about one of the SMA streams. We’re open to any stream . We just want to catch smallies. 
It’s about a 6 to 8 hour drive to any good streams, from my house. So, I’d do two short one day trips. Spend a few nights in a motel of VRBO. Preferably, do a different section each day. We’d need an outfitter for rental and shuttle. 
Open to any suggestions.