Lake Erie VS Tennessee...Next WR Smallie 2024
Tuckman reply :
I completely agree that Tennessee has been at the forefront of the smallie record hunt for the last 50 years, but we are just starting to see the potential of Lake Erie. Not very many years ago Erie was so polluted that is was just about considered a lost cause in the sportfishing industry, but due to a tremendous clampdown on environmental regulations and a vast cleanup effort Erie has rebounded into a worldclass fishery.
If you consider the average growth rates of the smallmouth bass, a normal 5lb smallie may be 15 years old. With the help of the fairly recent gobie infestation the smallies in Erie can easily reach 5+lbs in under 10 years....It is Nothing to launch out of Buffalo and catch 50 fish draggin tubes, with 20 of them in the 4-6lb class. We have seen the lunker smallie potential of Tennesee. The next 10 years is when Erie will be defined.
My vote goes for Lake Erie if for no other reason than because the fisherman are better up in this neck of the woods.
;) 8-)
I Love BassResource reply :
I vote the TR river. Erie is an incredible fishery, but the TR river consistently produces HUGE smallmouth.
thetr20one reply :
I vote Erie. I really don't think Tennessee is producing anywhere near the numbers of 7lb+ smallies that Erie is. Erie fish are just slower growing due to the ice over period. Givin time I think Erie will produce 10lb+ fish in the next 4-5 years. We have already seen a 9-5 from Randy Van Dam. Also consider Erie is MULTIPLE MILLIONS of acres and there are still hot spots and unmolested fish to be found.
BlueDaksi reply :
QuoteI vote Erie. I really don't think Tennessee is producing anywhere near the numbers of 7lb+ smallies that Erie is. Erie fish are just slower growing due to the ice over period. Givin time I think Erie will produce 10lb+ fish in the next 4-5 years. We have already seen a 9-5 from Randy Van Dam. Also consider Erie is MULTIPLE MILLIONS of acres and there are still hot spots and unmolested fish to be found.
When was that? I have the current NY state record at 8 lbs 4 oz. (from NY DEC...) for a smallie - or, was that from PA?
J Francho reply :
Paul, the OH state record is from Erie, a 9-8 caught by Randy VanDam on June 16, 1993.
Tuckman reply :
Mark Zona's Cameraman caught an 8.2 out of Dunkirk Harbor(NY) last year on the WGFS, though...and that was after catching multiple 6-7lbrs on the same day as well
wisturkeyhunter reply :
I doubt theres any place in the south that can compete with not only Erie, but Michigan and Superior for numbers of good sized fish. I'm sure theres a world record swimming in any of the 3 lakes I mentioned problem is thats a lot of water to cover. I'd bet on the next world record smallie coming south of the mason dixon though or california. It could come from inland waters in the north to you just never know.
BlueDaksi reply :
QuotePaul, the OH state record is from Erie, a 9-8 caught by Randy VanDam on June 16, 1993.
Then is sounds to me like the NY record is ripe for the pickin'... If you do it in a kayak, you win $5000...
Tuckman reply :
QuoteQuotePaul, the OH state record is from Erie, a 9-8 caught by Randy VanDam on June 16, 1993.Then is sounds to me like the NY record is ripe for the pickin'... If you do it in a kayak, you win $5000...
If you go out in Erie in a Kayak you deserve more than $5000
wisturkeyhunter reply :
People fish Superior with kayaks and Erie is a baby compared to Superior. Not to mention people fish oceans with kayaks
J Francho reply :
QuoteQuoteQuotePaul, the OH state record is from Erie, a 9-8 caught by Randy VanDam on June 16, 1993.Then is sounds to me like the NY record is ripe for the pickin'... If you do it in a kayak, you win $5000...
If you go out in Erie in a Kayak you deserve more than $5000
I've been 2 miles out in Ontario in 3' rollers. You need the right kind of kayak.
reo reply :
Could be either one but our Lake Erie winters make it tough. The seven plus fish are already very old fish. I would als say that if it does not happen on erie in the next 5 yrs or so it is not going to as the full effect of the gobie on the bass size will have been realized.
J Francho reply :
I wonder what the fishery will be like after this batch of smallies are gone. I've read that recruitment has been low, due to gobies raiding nests.QuoteCould be either one but our Lake Erie winters make it tough. The seven plus fish are already very old fish. I would als say that if it does not happen on erie in the next 5 yrs or so it is not going to as the full effect of the gobie on the bass size will have been realized.
rickyterry reply :
I think everyone knows where my vote is going. Just go to bassmasters.com and look up top 25 smallmouth. 8 of the top 10 came from the south, with 14 of 25 coming from Tennessee. Dale Hollow alone has had 8 smallmouth 9.5+ pounds. Trust me when I say there are alot of meat wranglers down here, and it sure hasn't hurt a thing. Smallmouth fishing is stronger down here as it ever has been.
thetr20one reply :
QuoteI think everyone knows where my vote is going. Just go to bassmasters.com and look up top 25 smallmouth. 8 of the top 10 came from the south, with 14 of 25 coming from Tennessee. Dale Hollow alone has had 8 smallmouth 9.5+ pounds. [color=#ffff00]Trust me when I say there are alot of meat wranglers down here, and it sure hasn't hurt a thing. Smallmouth fishing is stronger down here as it ever has been.
I have personally witnessed unsavory people fishing off breakwalls at Erie catch 6+ pounders throw em in a bucket or basket and think nothing of it. Besides that we still catch small smallmouth so they are still reproducing well. Randy Van Dam caught that Ohio record in the western basin somwhere around the islands I believe.
ww2farmer reply :
I am an Erie guy, but I am going to go with Tennessee. For shear numbers of 3-6lb fish Erie is unbeatable, but I can't consider Erie "world record" water untill I see AT LEAST a 10lber come from her depths. It is a big jump from the 9-8 to the 11+ the world record is, one that given our growing season might be too much to overcome.
Tuckman.........if you were joking, pay no attention to this. But your statement of "My vote goes for Lake Erie if for no other reason than because the fisherman are better up in this neck of the woods." is total garbage. I was born, raised, and lived in WNY almost my entire life, so I am biased on my "feelings" for the area, but fishing Erie is not that big of a challange, the weather throws you a curveball way more than the fish do. It's not that difficult to find a rock pile in Erie and drag a tube over it and catch SM. On the other hand those guys on the Tennessee River system have SM fishing that is MUCH tougher than what it is on Erie, have many more challanges other than rough water, and have alot more pressure on fewer fish in less water. It's easy to claim your a good fisherman when the fishing is easy.
bassmaster3000 reply :
I vote Tennessee!!!
Tuckman reply :
yes ww2farmer I was joking, thats why the smilies were winking at you.
BTW, I live on Seneca lake so if you want to talk about tough smallmouth fishing, I have plenty of exp. with that.
ww2farmer reply :
Quoteyes ww2farmer I was joking, thats why the smilies were winking at you.BTW, I live on Seneca lake so if you want to talk about tough smallmouth fishing, I have plenty of exp. with that.
All is good then, I am not to savy on what all the winks/smilies, and such mean.
Seneca........ouch...sorry to hear that LOL.
When you make it tout my way, give a shout, I can be found on Conesus, Silver and Honeoye.
Tuckman reply :
Conesus is great, I cant believe the largemouth bags that get yanked there. I should fish def fish it more but dont get over there much with cayuga and keuka so close...I went to Honeoye for the first time this past summer for a York Bass Club tourny and caught about 50 fish with my best 5 fish limit weighing 6.2lbs...I think I was in the top ten to, hahaha...It sure is a fun lake if you like to feel the old tap tap though, hahaha
ww2farmer reply :
If that was the York Tournament in July on Honeoye, you fished against me and my partner. We won it with 15+ lb's. Honeoye has big fish in it, but they don't come easy. I might be lucky to see another 15lb bag from there in the next 5 years. Funny........on Conesus you won't even get in the $$ with 15, often you need 20 to win, year round. We had an 18lb bag in August at the York Tx, only good for 3rd, and an 18lb bag of SM in the ST BM open in Oct.........again only good for 3rd. I'll keep the info on Silver to myself.........thats my home lake and I fish 3 or more times per week, I love that people hate that lake and think it's tough........I do just fine there, took me a few years to get in tune with her, but putting in the time has paid off very well the last 2-3 years.
Tuckman reply :
I've never fished silver before. It a tiny lake isnt it? The york tourny I fished in honoye was in august, there was like 47 boats on that tiny lake, and was won with 12 something, only 2 teams broke even broke 10 lbs that day, but I'm sure it has big fish in it. I just couldnt believe how many small fish we caught out deep on jigs.
Ky_Lake_Dude reply :
Tennessee no doubt
mako reply :
For shear numbers Erie is hard to beat, but the long winters are an issue. My vote is for TN.
roadwarrior reply :
Quotebut I can't consider Erie "world record" water until I see AT LEAST a 10lber come from her depths.
That's it. Lake Erie and a number of other lakes in the region
are FAR SUPERIOR fisheries. For numbers and the potential
for trophy smallmouth, there is no comparison. However, the next
World Record is another story:
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/smallmouth_record.html
8-)
jayo123456 reply :
I never knew Erie is known as possibly the best SMB fishery in NA.
Erie is all I fish. Considered the slowest day this year, we caught 5 SMB a piece, and averaging out at 3.5-4lbs per fish. Best day had over 100 SMB's in the boat, averaging probably just under 4lbs. And it's not even fall yet, when they get huge and bite at everything. And we're relatively new to bass fishing, don't even know how to use the sonar properly. Can only imagine how much better the lake can produce, with 4-5years of experience under my belt. I hear of 7's 8's and 9's being caught here, but never seen any myself. Biggest is 6+ i've seen. Dunno about breaking the size record, but with the infestation of gobies, who knows in 5-10 years.
but no mention of lake Simcoe in this thread? To the locals around this area, Simcoe and Erie put up SMB numbers equally, but supposedly, as of recent, Simcoe edges out Erie in size avgs.
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