Giant Idaho Smallmouth

[rps]

Think on this: All of the haters have never, and will never, catch a SM that big. When they show us something in that same class, maybe then we should listen.

[snagged in outlet 3]

7 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

Had a lot of discussion about that photo and that fish on Facebook.  Plenty of people don't believe it was 23 plus inches.  Since Jeff was wanting to get it back in the water as quickly as possible, he measured and weighed it quickly and held it while a couple quick photos were snapped, and then released it.  It is unfortunate that he didn't get a photo of it on a bump board or against a ruler, because it gives people a lot of opportunity to question how big it really was.  

As for the weight...if it was indeed 23 5/8 inches, it COULD have weighed that much.  Jeff caught one on the Meramec a few years ago during a tournament that was weighed on accurate scales at 6 pounds plus (I don't remember the actual weight), and nobody measured it.  My own personal opinion is that Jeff isn't lying...I've only met him once or twice but I'm good friends with one of the guys he fishes with a lot.

Since the fish was caught WHEN it was, there was no way to get it to a certified scale to be weighed accurately.  It could have been a state record, or could have just missed.

I don’t care what they say, it’s a hog.  And that guy has caught plenty.    What did he catch it on?   I think the river was running high then.  

[FishnDave]

On 5/19/2022 at 4:32 PM, fishinwrench said:

Is that the 23 5/8"  7 pounder ?   

A 24" LM is gonna be pushing 7#   but not sure how they compare length-to- weight.   I assumed that LM averaged heavier.  

I've never actually weighed a Smallie.

I caught a 24" LM many years ago, in October, in central Iowa.  Had it weighed and mounted, since it was 1/2" longer that the Iowa State Record of 10 lbs 14 oz (caught May 1984).  Figured I'd never catch one bigger than that.  Mine only weighed 7 lbs 8 oz on a certified scale.  A DNR fisheries guy there claims to have sampled a 24" Largemouth Bass from a lake in Iowa that was spawned out...that weighed 9.4 pounds.  I caught quite a few 20"+ Largemouth there...those 20" Largemouth Bass almost always weighed right at 5 lbs.

Caught a 20" Smallmouth out of a river in northern Illinois.  Didn't weight it.  Assumed it would be the same as a Largemouth.  But seems like weights I see given for 20" Smallmouth are usually significantly less than 5 lbs.

On the other hand....the Iowa State Record Smallmouth Bass is a 22.75", 7 lbs 12 oz, caught September 1990 from a huge natural lake.  For comparison.

[Al Agnew]

On 5/27/2022 at 5:14 AM, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I don’t care what they say, it’s a hog.  And that guy has caught plenty.    What did he catch it on?   I think the river was running high then.  

I believe it was caught on a crankbait.

[Al Agnew]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:44 PM, rps said:

Think on this: All of the haters have never, and will never, catch a SM that big. When they show us something in that same class, maybe then we should listen.

While that's true that very few, if any, other people will ever catch an Ozark river smallmouth that big, I don't think you have to catch one that big yourself before you can question the claim that somebody else did, unless the photos truly show it to be that big.  Like I said, I believe Jeff.  But it's an extraordinary claim, and extraordinary claims will always demand proof.

Doesn't really matter, as nobody is claiming it as an actual record.  It's just an amazing fish that was caught and quickly released.

[rps]

2 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

While that's true that very few, if any, other people will ever catch an Ozark river smallmouth that big, I don't think you have to catch one that big yourself before you can question the claim that somebody else did, unless the photos truly show it to be that big.  Like I said, I believe Jeff.  But it's an extraordinary claim, and extraordinary claims will always demand proof.

Doesn't really matter, as nobody is claiming it as an actual record.  It's just an amazing fish that was caught and quickly released.

I agree.