What is the largest recorded bag of SMB 2024

pezvela reply :

Guys

I been wondering if anyone has an idea what the largest bag of 5 fish thats been weighed in under tournament conditions?

I heard its 30lbs but have a feeling it could be more.

roadwarrior reply :

Welcome aboard!

30 lbs is a possibility in the Great Lakes region, but 6 lb fish are

rare and to boat five in a tournament would be a very special day.

Larger smallmouth are found in the Mid South, but generally, not

the numbers. I would guess the realistic maximum five bass limit

would be something less than 35 lbs.

8-)

thetr20one reply :

Best I have ever witnessed personally on Erie was 33 pounds 9 ounces. If I remember right his lunker was an even 7 lbs. Welcome to the sight!!!

pezvela reply :

Quote
Best I have ever witnessed personally on Erie was 33 pounds 9 ounces. If I remember right his lunker was an even 7 lbs. Welcome to the sight!!!

Thanx for warm welcome!

I witnessed a 30lb bag the other day in a tournament and it honestly blew my mind! The fish were caught in a river inlet, prespawn, 55deg F, at South Africa's premier smallmouth bass impoundment.

I was wondering if we were getting anywhere close to the international standard of fish. Maybe if we smuggle some crawfish in we can boost the size of our fish giving us 50lb bags! Now that would be stunning.

Take care

huskybass reply :

I have seen reports of a 29.92 lb 5 smallmouth tournament limit from Lake Simcoe in Canada. That is the largest limit that I have seen documentation of.

Is there an documentation on the Erie limit? Was it in a tournament?

brgbassmaster reply :

i witnessed a 30lb 7 fish bag from kevin vida an flw pro. we only caught 5fish that day for 11lbs but that was the end of october in michigan so i was stoked. it was one of his local tournaments he puts on every yr.

Tin reply :

In a tourney on Champlain about a month ago the day before one mine it a guy had 5 smallies for 27 change. That is the heaviest I have heard of.

Tin reply :

Quote
I have seen reports of a 29.92 lb 5 smallmouth tournament limit from Lake Simcoe in Canada. That is the largest limit that I have seen documentation of.
Is there an documentation on the Erie limit? Was it in a tournament?

Simcoe is where the BASS Divisionals are next year and they are saying it will take 28-30 a day. And 20 pounds a day won't do much for you. Just have to wait and see.

roadwarrior reply :

Man, I wouldn't believe that until it happens. Consistant 25 lb days would be magical.

8-)

Vermont Bassing reply :

Quote
In a tourney on Champlain about a month ago the day before one mine it a guy had 5 smallies for 27 change. That is the heaviest I have heard of.

Tin, if you are talking about the annual Lake Champlain International Bass OPEN that took place on August 31 out of Mallet's Bay on Champlain, the winning weight was 24.72-lbs. This was all largemouth, and the lunker LMB 6.54-lbs. The second place team weighed in all smallies 21.77-lbs, with a lunker smallie of 4.50 pounds.

Also, this tournament is a SIX fish bag, not five. Serach Google for "LCI Bass Open" to see the full results. I can't post a hyper-link here yet.

Tin reply :

Quote

Quote
In a tourney on Champlain about a month ago the day before one mine it a guy had 5 smallies for 27 change. That is the heaviest I have heard of.

Tin, if you are talking about the annual Lake Champlain International Bass OPEN that took place on August 31 out of Mallet's Bay on Champlain, the winning weight was 24.72-lbs. This was all largemouth, and the lunker LMB 6.54-lbs. The second place team weighed in all smallies 21.77-lbs, with a lunker smallie of 4.50 pounds.

Also, this tournament is a SIX fish bag, not five. Serach Google for "LCI Bass Open" to see the full results. I can't post a hyper-link here yet.

No I was on there in the last week of July.

johnbr19792003 reply :

There was a tourney on champlain with a 6 bass limit of smallies last year at 27 + . My personal best was a 8 bass limit 35+ 2 person team.. During practice at a lake here in vermont I have pulled -30-40 bass in a day 4 plus pounds with 5 or so in the 5+ range. Its sounds crazy but if your a tourney fisherman in vt you know the body of water im talking about and you no its no lie..

5fish reply :

I believe the North American record is 29.92 by Bob Formosa and Jason Saliba during the Crackle Cup (now Bass Proshop Simcoe Open) on lake Simcoe.

I think it was 3 years ago. Last year they weighed 29.+ as well. There was also one on Erie over 28.50 2 years ago.

As for the BASS northern divisional next year (I'll be fishing it), a 3 day average of 20 should win but there will be some big daily bags. Its a big lake that can really blow up and that will be the determining factor, the weather.

roadwarrior reply :

Welcome aboard!

8-)

5fish reply :

Thanks Roadwarrior

It's nice to have a forum dedicated to smallies. I fish Simcoe almost every day and always looking for new techniques and baits.

thetr20one reply :

Before Ohio closed seasons began limits of 30+ pounds were not impossible. I have not seen many over 25 lately. I posted somewhere in this smallie forum a limit weighing 29.71 for five fish. The pics are there and the biggest fish was 6-4 and the others were well over 5 1/2+. That was a great day and have not had a limit of 5 over 25# since. Local Erie tourney guys can really put a hurtin on smallies. Most series now are going with three fish limits to eliminate dead fish floating around million dollar yachts. Good years produce huge numbers here for smallies. cruise this link and you can see how smallie limits have went down over the years. http://www.thex-series.com/tournamentresults/2003-X-Series/PresqueIsle=6-29-03-ALL.php

These are all three fish limits at Presque Isle. The best I can remember out of this series was 18# even for three. I can't find it on the site. It may have been 01 or earlier. I hate to think that I have actually been at this for that long. My how time flies!

Here is 29.71# http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1209829260/0

urp reply :

Don't know the name of the lake but it was the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Cornwall. Recent tourny. 5 SM 30.35. 5 SM at 27 lbs weren't in the money. Big fish SM 7.15.

bass wrangler569 reply :

I've talked to a few locals who fish Erie regularly and they all said if you don't have at least 25lbs in the spring you might as well dump your bag. They said the winning weight in spring tournies is usually over 30lbs

sofakingbigbass reply :

i haven't recorded a bag of 20+ smallies let alone 30 - thats nuts - makes me want to drive up to Champlain now and get after them

roadwarrior reply :

Remarkable!

;D ;D ;D

BassCanada reply :

It's not the biggest, but there was a tournament out in Western Canada (British Columbia) a few years back where the winning weight was 27 lbs 6 oz.

They grow 'em big out there, and the locals are too busy fishing for salmon and steelhead to notice.

TrippyJai reply :

Quote

Quote
I have seen reports of a 29.92 lb 5 smallmouth tournament limit from Lake Simcoe in Canada. That is the largest limit that I have seen documentation of.
Is there an documentation on the Erie limit? Was it in a tournament?

Simcoe is where the BASS Divisionals are next year and they are saying it will take 28-30 a day. And 20 pounds a day won't do much for you. Just have to wait and see.

Lake Simcoe is definitely one of the hot spots in Southern Ontario. I get a chance to fish it all the time because it's quite close by to the urban/suburban area, about 45 minutes away. I usually fish the lower end of the lake on the Holland River for largemouth bass and they can grow up to 7-8 pounds in there.

When I get the opportunity to go out for some smallmouths, 4-5lbs is not uncommon at all. They come in numbers at that weight, but rarely do they pass 6lbs, although many 6's have been pulled out. The favourite technique is drop shotting. When I get a chance to fish it, we use a bait called the Strike-Zone Slammer. It's a killer drop shot bait.

I believe it'll take atleast 26+ to win it and 24 to have a shot at winning.

tholmes reply :

Quote
Don't know the name of the lake but it was the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Cornwall. Recent tourny. 5 SM 30.35. 5 SM at 27 lbs weren't in the money. Big fish SM 7.15.

This thread http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1254166945 has some info on that tourney.

30.35 for a five-fish limit is just SICK. I wanna go there real bad!

Tom

RoLo reply :

Hark all ye Pickwick Road Trippers

In years past, noted fishing guide, Roger Stegall won a tournament on Pickwick Lake with a five-fish stringer

weighing 27 lb, 6 oz, that's an average weight of 5½ lbs!!

When I was in my 30s, bass tournaments allowed 10-fish stringers. A local guide on Pickwick Lake won a bass tournament

with an incredible 10-bass limit weighing 52.5 lbs. This translates to an average weight of 5 lb, 4 oz for ten bass,

and his biggest smallmouth weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz. For the record, 7 lbs, 4 oz is the ceiling weight (plateau) for smallmouth bass,

wherever they grow.

Lake Simcoe, Ontario Canada

During the fall of 2006, Lake Simcoe broke its own Canadian Bass Tournament record with a five-fish smallmouth stringer

weighing 29.9 lb, just a tad shy of a 6-pound average, and mind you, Lake Simcoe is on the 44th Parallel.

Lake Erie

Until this stringer record is finally broken by Dwight Hottle, to my knowledge it still holds the crown.

It was a 5-bass stringer weighing 30.50 lbs, a staggering 6.1 lb average weight

Roger

Dwight Hottle reply :

Roger,

Thanks for the honorable mention. PA forbids any bass tournaments during the prespawn period April 18th thru June 12th on lake erie & inland waters. That's prime time for me. A 28-32 lbs bag of 5 fish would be very doable on the right day for a two man team during that period.

RoLo reply :

Quote
Roger,
Thanks for the honorable mention. PA forbids any bass tournaments during the prespawn period April 18th thru June 12th on lake erie & inland waters. That's prime time for me. A 28-32 lbs bag of 5 fish would be very doable on the right day for a two man team during that period.

Good point Dwight, I encountered that same impediment in Ohio, when I put my Silverline bassboat

on the ferry to Put-In Bay, Bass Islands. Even so, I still think you've got a legitimate shot at a record bronzeback stringer,

and nothing would please me more.

Roger

roadwarrior reply :

In January, 2005 I caught fifteen smallmouth, eight over

5 lbs, the largest just over 7 lbs. The following Saturday,

the two in my avatar were caught. Here are some pictures

of those fish:

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

;D ;D ;D

5ohhh reply :

Quote
Don't know the name of the lake but it was the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Cornwall. Recent tourny. 5 SM 30.35. 5 SM at 27 lbs weren't in the money. Big fish SM 7.15.

I was at this tournament ... the 30.35lbs is the new Canadian record for 5 fish. Charles Sim and Nigel Touhey scored it with a 7.15lb kicker.

We weighed in 23.05lbs (my PB) and finished 7th.

Rich

RoLo reply :

Quote
In January, 2005 I caught fifteen smallmouth, eight over
5 lbs, the largest just over 7 lbs. The following Saturday,

the two in my avatar were caught. Here are some pictures

of those fish:

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

;D ;D ;D

Holy Cow...what heartstopping back-to-back weekends!

Whenever we're fortunate enough to experience one of those supernatural days,

it leaves us with the feeling that it maybe it'll be like this from now on.

But then, several years down the road we realize how infrequently we actually get to live out a dream.

My boating a smallmouth stringer like that is still just a dream.

Kent, I realize that you're aware of this, but as an FYI for the Pickwick road-trippers:

The Alabama state-record smallmouth was taken from Wilson Lake (tailrace of Wheeler Dam).

When I was a kid, that same 10½ lb smallmouth was also the World-Record! (then along came Dave).

Today however, electroshocking by the state reveals that if the incumbent smallmouth state record

is ever broken, it will happen downstream (west & north) of the Wilson Dam; in Lake Pickwick or its tailrace.

Go For It!

Roger

roadwarrior reply :

I know about the error in the article, but I cannot edit

an article like we can do with a post. Roger is correct,

the AL state record was caught below Wheeler, not

Guntersville.

-Kent :-[

Smallmouth Bass49 reply :

Quote
Best I have ever witnessed personally on Erie was 33 pounds 9 ounces. If I remember right his lunker was an even 7 lbs. Welcome to the sight!!!

Some real big bass out of Erie huh? Still haven't fished it yet, might have to next spring.

13435

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