WHERE WILL BE THE NEXT WORLD RECORD SMALLMOUTH BASS 2024

Gregory25 reply :

Guys,

I'm wondering where you think the next World record Smallmouth bass will be? There have been some big Smallmouth caught in the past few years, and if I had three lakes to pick from it would be Pickwick, Dale Hollow and Lake Erie.

I would really like to hear your thoughts on this. ;D

roadwarrior reply :

Here's what I think:

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/smallmouth_record.html

;D ;D ;D

Dan: reply :

I've read some convincing articles that made a strong argument for the Eastern part of Erie.

Gregory25 reply :

You know I totally forgot about the Tennessee River. Your right there have been some toads caught there in the past few years. Right now is prime time to be fishing on the drops of the river catching those Big Smallies.

Gregory25 reply :

Dan,

I have not read any articles about the Eastern part of Lake Erie. What information have read about it?

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
I've read some convincing articles that made a strong argument for the Eastern part of Erie.

Gotta produce some 10's before there is any chance

at a World Record. The waters of the Great Lakes

region are the #1 smallmouth fisheries, no doubt,

but they will never produce a World Record. Tremendous

numbers and VERY nice size, but no 10's, which is still

a long ways from 11-15.

8-)

Gregory25 reply :

Four years, I've been wondering where I can catch one over 10, but need to have a spot to pick up one. But still haven't found one yet LOL

Dan: reply :

Quote

Quote
I've read some convincing articles that made a strong argument for the Eastern part of Erie.

Gotta produce some 10's before there is any chance

at a World Record. The waters of the Great Lakes

region are the #1 smallmouth fisheries, no doubt,

but they will never produce a World Record. Tremendous

numbers and VERY nice size, but no 10's, which is still

a long ways from 11-15.

8-)

I don't think you can ever say never, especially about something that is so uncertain.

Erie has had significant changes in the last decade or so, I think it would be presumptuous to assume we understand the whole reality and consequences of those changes right now. Who knows what the gobies and zebra mussels might lead to down the line.

Gregory25 reply :

The Gobies have had a negative effect on the lakes down south (especially on the Walleye population). Most lakes have to stock the lakes with Walleye because they are sterile due to the Gobie population. :'(

Dan: reply :

meanwhile, they've become the main forage for the smallmouth.

If they are hurting the population of the walleyes, then that is one less predator for the smallmouth to compete with...these are the unpredictable things I am talking about. I just don't think we know the full extent of the changes yet.

Gregory25 reply :

Very true! Gobies are a deep water fish. Not like the shad, who spend most their life above the Thermocline. Gobies get way down below the Thermocline, and spend most of their life in deep water, except to spawn. In deep clear water lakes it has caused a negative effect because it has pushed a lot of the bigger fish in deeper water. Away from our jigs and many other baits we were custom to using and catching bigger fish because the shad use to be the no.1 source of food. That is why our TROLLERS are catching bigger Smallmouth then are bass boaters because they can get down in the 70ft plus with down riggers.

Lake Erie is not that deep, so you guys might not have to worry about it. :'(

Md reply :

Quote
meanwhile, they've become the main forage for the smallmouth.
If they are hurting the population of the walleyes, then that is one less predator for the smallmouth to compete with...these are the unpredictable things I am talking about. I just don't think we know the full extent of the changes yet.

X2...And don't forget about the other Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The round gobie is the wildcard in this whole deal. The average overall size of fish is getting noticably bigger each year since the introduction of gobies. Time will tell!

J Francho reply :

The fish may be getting larger, that seems to be a fact, but no one knows anything about how they affected recruitment. What happens when the big fish are gone, due to attrition? In related news, brown trout are getting HUGE on gobies, and goby pattern baits work well for bass and browns. They seem to linger in the shallows longer, now that there is goby buffet waiting for them in late spring. So it isn't just the bass that are affected by their presence.

Jake. reply :

The Southeast.

Lund Explorer reply :

Quote

Quote
meanwhile, they've become the main forage for the smallmouth.
If they are hurting the population of the walleyes, then that is one less predator for the smallmouth to compete with...these are the unpredictable things I am talking about. I just don't think we know the full extent of the changes yet.

X2...And don't forget about the other Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The round gobie is the wildcard in this whole deal. The average overall size of fish is getting noticably bigger each year since the introduction of gobies. Time will tell!

The round gobie is the <insert the word latest> wildcard in this whole deal.

Until Canada and the Great Lakes States can figure out how to stop invasives from coming here in bilge water, nothing is certain for too long.

Gregory25 reply :

There might not be a solution to the Gobies. Recently, they've talked about stocking some stripers in the southern lakes to fight off the Goby population. If they do that, then there is a risk of hurting the rest of the fish. Goby population increases at an exponential rate, so it does not look good. Only time will tell, if the fish will adapt to their new environment.

Gregory25 reply :

Excellent for the Great Lakes, does that include Lake Michigan. I believe waters are much deeper than Erie.

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
From everything I have read, the smallmouth population
will continue to grow due to to the zebra mussels

(clearing the water) and surplus baitfish (gobies).

The introduction of the gobies also makes fishing easier

because the smallmouth bass stay closer to shore and

are always associated with structure.

The downside is for walley and perch, gobies eat

their eggs.

The article that I recall from In-Fisherman suggested

that (hypothetically) if the smallmouth populations

continued to expand at the current (expotential) rate,

the Great Lakes would be all smallmouth and there

would be no space available for water!

8-)

Gregory25 reply :

Can you post that article? I would really like to read that.

Md reply :

Quote
There might not be a solution to the Gobies. Recently, they've talked about stocking some stripers in the southern lakes to fight off the Goby population. If they do that, then there is a risk of hurting the rest of the fish. Goby population increases at an exponential rate, so it does not look good. Only time will tell, if the fish will adapt to their new environment.

Which southern lakes are you talking about? I've always been under the assumption that Gobies were brought overseas in the ballast water of cargo ships and transferred into the Great Lakes and it's tributaries. I have never heard of anything about their spread south.

Gregory25 reply :

Dale Hollow is full of Gobies, TWRA stocked them back in the late 70's because of a harsh winter that had major shad kill. They were more worried about what the fish were going to eat. Not knowing the full effect it would have on the future of the lake.

Center Hill has the same problem with the Gobies because walleye are not reproducing. I will find as much info about it as possible and post it. My friend that has been fishing Center Hill for 50 years told me about their problem recently.

Dan: reply :

I had never heard of gobies in the southeast.

Gregory25 reply :

Guys,

I stand corrected, it was the introduction of Alwives into Dale Hollow in the late 70's not Gobies. It is the Alwives that are making the Waleye sterile too. There have been instances though were people have thrown Gobies into the lakes, but we do not have the population like the Great Lakes. Alwives stay in deep water most of their life.

Sorry for the mistake!

Lund Explorer reply :

This topic seems to have broken off into a couple of different directions. However, they might be more interrelated in the long run.

I don't really think that the introduction of alewives into Dale Hollow or anywhere else in your river systems down there is really going to help in the long run. Just like every invasive that has come into the Great Lakes has shown, they will disrupt what once was a balanced fishery. Alewives don't sterilize your local walleye population. What they do is compete for the food source that the walleye fry need to grow to their fingerling stage. A lack of suitable feed simply starves out the majority of them out.

Invasives that have been introduced into the Great Lakes have thrown the ecological balance out of whack up here as well. And the list is a lot longer than what you folks down there have to put up with.

Zebra mussels have indeed caused the waters to clear up, but in the long run this will bring on an increase in weed growth. We have already started to see this in the Lake Michigan shoreline's connecting waters. White Lake for instance used to support a fantastic smallmouth fishery. They have been experiencing a huge weed problem the last few years. While it has driven off the smallies, the largemouth have moved in. The only thing the area residents have done is spend extra money spraying these weedbeds to kill them off.

The introduction of gobies have started to force out the alewives in the Lake Huron basin. With the loss of one invasive, the salmon population is suffering. On the other side of the coin, walleye and perch populations seem to be rebounding. They would probably be doing a good deal better if it wasn't for another unwelcome addition, the spiny water flea.

Just another example of an invasive that disrupts the natural food chain, the spiny water flea has been a detriment to other native zooplankton that young of the year fish feed on.

All of this leads to my thoughts on the original topic at hand. Given a purely natural environment in which to grow, I'd have to say that the best chance for a new world record smallmouth would come from it's southern range. If for no other reason than an extended growing season. But this constant juggling of their habitat by the addition of non-natural species may change that.

My only hope is that we can figure out how to stop these invasions. The next one knocking on the door up here is the asian grass carp. I'll leave that subject up to some of our Illinois members to discuss.

Md reply :

To stay on topic, I'm not sure what Gobies will do to the ecosystems of the water that they infiltrate, but they may effect the next world record. It may be years off, but it sure is a variable.

Tin reply :

I don't see how a world record smallie could come out of the Great Lakes, they seem to almost stop growing at around 7-8 pounds. I have no doubt the next world record smallie will come from Cali, Fish Chris has caught some giant ones and I have heard of numerous 9+'s on beds from several different people. The way Cali stocks or used to stock trout has made their fisheries almost second to none, being that a small trout is nothing but a protein bar for a bass and their weather allows them to grow year round.

Gregory25 reply :

Guys,

speaking of World Record Smallmouth. I was over on DaleHollowfishing.com, and they have been talking about how the lake is the best some have seen it in 3 decades. They believe it is time to catch the World Record now. Also next year they will be holding 6 tournaments, and a point system to crown the King of the lake.

If you want to check it out go to DaleHollofishing.com and it is under their forum.

Lund Explorer reply :

Tin brings up an interesting point.

What happens if some dude from California catches the next record smallie? Being outside of its native range, can we dump on him like everyone did to the Japanese guy?

Just Kidding!

J Francho reply :

Are the Germans dumping on the guy that caught the 40+ brown trout in Michigan? Probably, LOL.

SWMIBASSER reply :

The biggest smallies aren't being caught in Erie anymore. St Clair either.

JWallin reply :

Who says a lake will hold the next record? My uncle found a hole in a small creek about 20 miles from where it even gets close to the lake. It was a deep hold average depth of the creek elsewhere is about 3 feet. He landed one 6 1/2 pounder and about 5 others in the 5 pound range. A guy caught a trophy here last month a little over 8 pounds from a creek similar here in KY.

Tin reply :

Quote
Who says a lake will hold the next record? My uncle found a hole in a small creek about 20 miles from where it even gets close to the lake. It was a deep hold average depth of the creek elsewhere is about 3 feet. He landed one 6 1/2 pounder and about 5 others in the 5 pound range. A guy caught a trophy here last month a little over 8 pounds from a creek similar here in KY.

Slim and none because there is a big difference in an 8 pound smallie and an 11 pound smallie. Most of those creeks do not have the food source to support such a fish without the fish exanding a lot of energy to fight current (so it would be loosing weight),

SWMIBASSER reply :

Quote
The biggest smallies aren't being caught in Erie anymore. St Clair either.

Yet still in the Great Lakes. ;D

JWallin reply :

The creeks where I am at have a lot of deep hole area and are less that 1 feet goinf into them and after. Most lakes here have more current than they do. The minnows and craws in them is heavy. Definately producing some nice bass. Very overlooked around here. When you take the time and walk the creeks to find them they always produce better than any day for smallies on any lake here in KY for size. I know of a lot of guys who fish tournements in this area that would agree with me and have seen 7, 8's and 9's being a common.

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
I know of a lot of guys who fish tournements in this area that would agree with me and have seen 7, 8's and 9's being a common.

"Possible" would be a better description. 7, 8s

and 9s aren't "common" anywhere in the world.

8-)

JWallin reply :

"Possible" would be a better description. 7, 8s

and 9s aren't "common" anywhere in the world.

Yes I agree. The work on Lake Cumberland has affected the fishing in this area a lot. Cedar Creek is over rated and way over fished and poached but only has largemouth. The reports from Wood creek lake, Dale Hollow, laurel river lake don't touch what the creek fishing is producing. The trophys being caught around here all have been from seem to be mainly from creeks. Miles before they even hit a lake. There are a lot of bigg smallies caught her that never nake the news due to a lot of people here not having internet or caring about bragging rights. i saw a 8.2 pounder that got mounted the other day and he didn't even send it in to get it reported to the fish and wildlife. To him it was another nice catch.

awcGA reply :

The original question was "WHERE WILL BE THE NEXT WORLD RECORD SMALLMOUTH BASS".

Answer" If I catch it I will let everybody know where.

fourbizz reply :

Quote
I don't see how a world record smallie could come out of the Great Lakes, they seem to almost stop growing at around 7-8 pounds. I have no doubt the next world record smallie will come from Cali, Fish Chris has caught some giant ones and I have heard of numerous 9+'s on beds from several different people. The way Cali stocks or used to stock trout has made their fisheries almost second to none, being that a small trout is nothing but a protein bar for a bass and their weather allows them to grow year round.

She lives here. An hour and a half from me.

I would tell a story of a big smallmouth, certainly not 12, but bigger than anyone on this board has caught. But you would all call BS ;D

She was big, and she broke my heart. Still hurts to this day, lol.

But it is not the trout that grow them big in that lake. :-X

roadwarrior reply :

Repeat: Gotta have at least a couple of 10s before

you are in contention. Kali is not in the hunt. The Mid South

region is the only contender. That's a lot of water and

the exact river/ reservoir is up in the air, but Dale Hollow

is still most likely. The Cumberland River and the Tennessee

are the other candidates.

No Kalifornia, no Great Lakes.

fourbizz reply :

I've seen more 10lb smallmouth than you have :-X ;D

Dan: reply :

Quote

No Kalifornia, no Great Lakes.

I just don't think you can say that with certainty.

fourbizz reply :

He's the smallmouth and chicken expert.

Just ask him ;D

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
I've seen more 10lb smallmouth than you have :-X ;D

The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2004 my fishing

partner, Speedy Madewell, caught a 10 lb smallmouth

on the Tennessee River below Pickwick Dam. I had

the privilege of netting, weighing and holding that fish.

I told Speedy if he was ever going to keep a fish,

this was the one. He replied, "Let her go". I went

to the front of the boat and handed her off to Speedy.

He gave the monster a smooch and released her.

As a sidenote, our guest, Buddy Cotton, helped with

the weighing. The fish was wild and our initial reading

was just over 13 lbs. It took awhile to calm the fish

and get the reading down to 10.

This is as close as I have come:

http://forums.basspro.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=026926

8-)

Tin reply :

Quote
Repeat: Gotta have at least a couple of 10s before
you are in contention. Kali is not in the hunt. The Mid South

region is the only contender. That's a lot of water and

the exact river/ reservoir is up in the air, but Dale Hollow

is still most likely. The Cumberland River and the Tennessee

are the other candidates.

No Kalifornia, no Great Lakes.

:

Can't make that argument. How many bass over 20 pounds were caught from Japan prior to the new world record?

roadwarrior reply :

Japan has produced a lot of big bass:

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/fishing_articles/Freshwater_Fishing_Articles/Bass_Small_Largemouth_/New_World_Record_Largemouth_Black_Bass__722.html

Also:

Congrats to the angler on a fine catch.

Lake Biwa shocked the bass world a couple

years ago by producing a bass that was well

over 18 pounds (The Japan record was caught

at Lake Ikehara, and weighted over 19 pounds.).

A 25 lb. bass was caught in a fisherman's net

earlier this year, so many thought it would be

just a matter of time before a record size fish

was taken from Japan's largest (over 70 miles

long) natural lake.

Tin reply :

Ok, so once again no bass over 20 pounds have been taken from Japan prior to the new record. Put it threw out a fish almost 3 pounds heavier than its previous record. Cali's smallie record is 9.83, So it is clearly possible that it can throw out a fish 2.5 pounds bigger than it previously has. I highly doubt that the 9.83 is the biggest smallie swimming in Cali.

fourbizz reply :

Fight the good fight Tin.

10+ smallies are here, and there is no telling me otherwise.

roadwarrior reply :

Be alert for this guy, too!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot

There's a better chance of catching

him than a World Record Smallmouth

in California.

8-)

Glenn reply :

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out California, nor would I rule out Washington state for that matter. Current record is 9 lbs, and the Columbia river has been kicking out more and more trophy smallies in recent years (6+ lbs). Rumor has it they electroshocked a 12+ smallie last summer.

fourbizz reply :

I wasnt joking when I said that I have seen more than you have RW.

They are here.

Since you idolize Fish Chris soo much, I wish he would come on here and confirm it. I know he has seen them over 10.

roadwarrior reply :

fourbizz,

Since you're not kidding, you don't need anyone

to back up your word. I thought we were just

playing. I have seen some of your fish, I don't

doubt you now at all. I hope you spend some time

this spring focused on the smalljaw. YOU are

the guy that just might catch the California State

Record, and who knows, maybe the next World Record!

8-)

fourbizz reply :

I just hope that I get the desire to bass fish back. But if I do, I will be on that lake hard this spring and summer.

midnighthrasher reply :

what about lake st-francois??? That lake has been producing huge bags lately... I believe the largest tournament bag ever in a tournament 30 lb.

Tin reply :

Quote
what about lake st-francois??? That lake has been producing huge bags lately... I believe the largest tournament bag ever in a tournament 30 lb.

I saw that a few weeks ago and it was amazing. But the record is about the same as Cali's so why not. It probably took 30 years for that fish to get that big though.

Dan: reply :

You just never know. There are too many fisheries with big fish and a lot of water.

tnbassfisher reply :

The current record is in a lake in Tn if I'm not mistaking.

Can anyone back that up?

roadwarrior reply :

http://worldrecordsmallmouth.com/

;D ;D ;D

urp reply :

You people irk me. I'm still looking for my 1st 5. Can't quite break it.

tnbassfisher reply :

Quote
http://worldrecordsmallmouth.com/
I knew about that one. But I have a first cousin that was a ranger at one of the state parks, they drug a pond and pulled out one bigger, and released it.

;D ;D ;D

MaineBassMan reply :

I don't think you can really predict where it will come from. I think there are possible new world record small mouths in many states there is just not a lot of them in a given water, and all it is going to take is one lucky angler!

I would love to see it come from Maine so that the fishing world would go what the BLEEP, that wasn't suppose to happen! ;D

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
I don't think you can really predict where it will come from. I think there are possible new world record small mouths in many states there is just not a lot of them in a given water, and all it is going to take is one lucky angler!
I would love to see it come from Maine so that the fishing world would go what the BLEEP, that wasn't suppose to happen! ;D

Show me some 10's and the state or region

makes the list of possibilities. Maine isn't in

the hunt. Right now it's Tennessee, Kentucky,

Alabama, the Carolinas and I'll concede to

Fourbizz, California.

8-)

MaineBassMan reply :

I understand your reasoning, but it only takes one.

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
I understand your reasoning, but it only takes one.

That's so true...And I hope you find her!

Good luck!

MaineBassMan reply :

If I do you'll see an article about a 28 year old man suddenly dies from a heart attack.

I really don't think it will come from Maine either but it would be cool.

midnighthrasher reply :

I'll put my vote for lake st-louis, lake des deux montagnes or lake st-francois off the st-lawrence river.... thats where i fish and i'm thinking possitive.

SPAZ reply :

Has anyone even caught a double digit smallie lately? I've heard of 7lbers being caught in the great lakes and 8lb+ in California but finding a smallie in double digits is very difficult.

Hornytoad 10 reply :

dale hollow currently holds the record, but Kentucky lake has a large population of trophy sized smalljaws.

Eternal Angler reply :

I think it will be Erie

SWMIBASSER reply :

Quote
I think it will be Erie

Nah. Ignore everything you see, here and read and assume it will be in TN or KY, since hey, the record came from there :

And how many years ago was that?

YOU are partially right. It will come from the great lakes, or surrounding waters.

Possibly Erie, St Clair, or other less known spots on the Great Lakes.

In fact it's down right comical and can speak volumes about some to read some of the nonsense posted.

Not only will it not come from any Great Lakes or surrounding waters, but the Great Lakes aren't even in the running. : ;D

roadwarrior reply :

"Show me some 10's and the state or region

makes the list of possibilities. Right now it's

Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, the Carolinas

and I'll concede to Fourbizz, California."

My fishing partner caught a 10 lb smallmouth

on November 21, 1994. I netted and weighed

the fish. Do you know anyone that has ever

seen a double digit smallie in the Great Lakes

region?

bassnleo reply :

Nope, never heard of a double digit up this way.

I fish the Great Lakes region and it's my absolute favorite. That being said, the region is awesome for numbers and trophy sized smallmouth BUT, the cold water/winter period and vast expanse of water up here will most likely prevent a fish from growing to double digit size.

It will come from below the Mason-Dixon line or Cali.

Dwight Hottle reply :

I agree that Tenn, KY, Al and CA have the best shot. The great lakes have such tremendous fisheries that double digit smallies surely exist. Randy VanDam's 9lb-8oz Ohio record supports that the 10 pound barrier could be exceeded. Only time will tell.

roadwarrior reply :

"I fish the Great Lakes region and it's my absolute

favorite. That being said, the region is awesome for

numbers and trophy sized smallmouth..."

The ONLY region to consider for the smallmouth

trip of a lifetime. And on top of that, it keeps getting

better!

;D ;D

bassnleo reply :

What are ya waiting for Kent? 8-)

Me, Dwight, and YOU this Spring. We may not find a double digit fish but we may hit triple digits per day 8-).

Dwight Hottle reply :

bassnleo said

What are ya waiting for Kent?

Me, Dwight, and YOU this Spring. We may not find a double digit fish but we may hit triple digits per day .

I'm in leo. Kent its time to get your bucket list moving! I'll even go back to get your snags loose if you want to use those cranks bumping bottom. ;)

roadwarrior reply :

Watch out guys, I'm REALLY going to try.

Sometime in June?

-Kent

bassnleo reply :

June would be good. I personally aim for early June. IMHO, I love May. You can fish whatever is your favorite way, spoons, blades, tubes, drop shot, cranks, jerkbaits. Fish are shallow, deep, anywhere in between.

If you do decide to make a trip, I will do everything in my power to make sure we can get together for a couple days. I missed out in 2009, too many tournaments. Not this year .

SWMIBASSER reply :

Quote
"Show me some 10's and the state or region
makes the list of possibilities. Right now it's

Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, the Carolinas

and I'll concede to Fourbizz, California."

My fishing partner caught a 10 lb smallmouth

on November 21, 1994. I netted and weighed

the fish. Do you know anyone that has ever

seen a double digit smallie in the Great Lakes

region?

Show ME some 10's or for that matter numbers of 7's from those states.

The state record in KY is barely 8-1/2lbs yet that is where a world record could come from?

In fact one of just a few "hotspots" in KY list a 6lb+ fish as being the biggest taken out of there, and in another lake they talk about numerous 4-6's

http://www.kentuckygameandfish.com/fishing/bass-fishing/ky_aa012205a/

Another Article lists TN as having some of the better trophy waters, yet there is no mention of any 10lb'ers. At all. And they (this is a Tennessee magazine) consider themselves 'one of the top' places for trophies

http://www.tennesseesportsmanmag.com/fishing/bass-fishing/TN_1209_02/index3.html

Some of the other state records in Alabama and N/C at 10lbs are 60 years old.

Same with the record in TN.

01 produced a big state record fish in S/C.

When a VanDam personally tells you he has caught them over 9lbs a couple times and several 8's I believe him. (not Kevin)

roadwarrior reply :

The "official" Kentucky record is 11 lbs 15 oz.

http://fw.ky.gov/recordfish.asp?lid=555&NavPath=C101C204

We think there have been two other 10's caught

on Pickwick, below Wilson Dam, but not widely

reported. We know several guys with 9's, but

they don't broadcast their catch. Around here,

5lbs is a great fish! Still, we occasionally catch

a monster.

The fish I hooked up with last year was big.

Speedy thought she was significantly bigger

than his. She might still be alive and I know

where she lives. I hope to post her picture here

in a few weeks.

SPEEDBEAD. reply :

Kent, Bassleo and Dwight....

I would like to make my way up there this year if you dont mind me tagging along.

I PMed with Dwight about a trip before and he seems like a really great guy.

roadwarrior reply :

That would be great by me, although I'm not

sure I can make it this year. For me, it will be

a "Dream Trip". Numbers and size!

;D ;D ;D

SWMIBASSER reply :

Quote
The "official" Kentucky record is 11 lbs 15 oz.
http://fw.ky.gov/recordfish.asp?lid=555&NavPath=C101C204

We think there have been two other 10's caught

on Pickwick, below Wilson Dam, but not widely

reported. We know several guys with 9's, but

they don't broadcast their catch. Around here,

5lbs is a great fish! Still, we occasionally catch

a monster.

The fish I hooked up with last year was big.

Speedy thought she was significantly bigger

than his. She might still be alive and I know

where she lives. I hope to post her picture here

in a few weeks.

:

And that's fine.....We all know someone who knew someone who fished with someone who had a monster on one time.

But that hardly merits the end all be all of the trophy fishery locations.

Do you have big smallies in TN and KY. Sure.

Do we have them in the great lakes. Sure.

But I don't feel the need to write an article about it.

Pitchinkid reply :

West Virginia has records for length and weight.

weight: 9.75

Length: 25.5

World record might be out of reach for me, but the state record could be in reach in May on the New river or South Branch of the Potomac.

Dwight Hottle reply :

Some big fish never get widely reported. Here is a picture from the Ohio Game Fishing site. Reported caught in April 2005 from lake erie near Conneaut Ohio. Caught by Don Ishee. His son Todd is shown holding the fish in the picture. And yes is went to the taxidermist. 9.2 lbs. No dimensions given but the picture supports the stated weight in my opinion.

roadwarrior reply :

That's a toad! Similar body characteristics to this one:

http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/outdoors/fishing/articles/smallmouth-world-record-controversy-hayes.html

Both look a lot like yours in the avatar, but yours

is MUCH prettier! I love those tiger stripes

8-)

SPAZ reply :

That thing is a monster.

Teal101 reply :

Quote
I wouldn't be so quick to rule out California, nor would I rule out Washington state for that matter. Current record is 9 lbs, and the Columbia river has been kicking out more and more trophy smallies in recent years (6+ lbs). Rumor has it they electroshocked a 12+ smallie last summer.

WA is a goofy state. Our record smallie is only 2lbs behind the record LM. The SM are actually driving the LM out and thriving in all our man made res. as well. The murky rocky lakes are prime for some good smallies. I've seen a few 6's pulled last year, and the Columbia will produce a double digit fish in the future.

MtCarmelTriton20x reply :

I am not sure where it will come from but I do know the population of smallies in east TN is growing by leaps and bounds. A couple of the moutain lakes here have started producing some big smallies(South Holston Lake & Watauga Lake). I'm not sure if one 12 pounds will be pulled from here but I know there are some quality smallies here and the entire HHolston river system is chocked full. This is really exciting for us in the east part of TN because 30 years ago the Holston was so polluted you couldn't find a smallie past the mountain lakes. I don't really care where it comes from I'm just glad our fisheries are getting clean enough and managed well enough for us to actually be thinking it's possible.

Tin reply :

Put some of those good swimbait guys from Cali in Tennesse and Kentucky and you would see a new record.

GRIZZ reply :

Dwight Hottle your fish in the avater looks bigger then that Ohio bass. I'd like to see a bigger picture of your fish. Very nice!

ProCrafter reply :

Im sticking with the homefront Columbia River.

roadwarrior reply :

Quote
Im sticking with the homefront Columbia River.

What is the the big fish there so far?

8lbs 12 oz doesn't count for much.

http://bronzeback.com/state1.htm

Tin reply :

Quote

Quote
Im sticking with the homefront Columbia River.

What is the the big fish there so far?

8lbs 12 oz doesn't count for much.

http://bronzeback.com/state1.htm

:

LOL

Re-read the site RW, your state doesn't even have a record.

Guess Tennessee is out of the hunt as well.

Glenn reply :

Well RW, 8th largest smallmouth record amounts to A LOT. And a 9 lb 4oz smallie was caught a few years ago, but it wasn't certified correctly, so the old record stands.

That said, it's been said that a 13 pounder was shocked up during a creel survey recently in the Columbia. So yes, it's entirely feasible the next world record smallie could come from the Columbia river.

Tin reply :

I have to agree with Glenn. If a waterway has put out a fish over 9 pounds there is no reason it can't throw out a fish a couple pounds more. And with Gobies in the Great Lakes you will see another 10 pound smallie out of one of them soon.

Dan: reply :

Quote
I have to agree with Glenn. If a waterway has put out a fish over 9 pounds there is no reason it can't throw out a fish a couple pounds more. And with Gobies in the Great Lakes you will see another 10 pound smallie out of one of them soon.

I agree. I believe that any healthy body of water can support a freak giant that is a few pounds heavier than the normal bigguns but remains uncaught.

btw, does the poor grammar in this thread's title bother anyone else every time that it appears?

jenga reply :

If these d**n asian carp get into the great lakes there wont be any world record smallmouth bass coming from the great lakes region. But I would guess any great lake could produce the next WR.

Jenga

flipnpitch reply :

The next world record smallie will come exactly 18 miles from my house, right here on the great Ohio River!!! I've caught 100's over 11 1/2 and quite a few over 12!! Wait, those were inches not pounds!!

Don't have a dog in this fight but I wouldn't rule out Cali, the Columbia or the Great Lakes. I would think that if it produced a 9 or 9 1/2, it could certainly get a couple of pounds heavier.

You guys from those immediate areas just make sure you are grateful for living that close to a great smallie fishery. You could be stuck here fishing the Mighty Ohio like me !! :D

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