Biggest smallmouth I have ever caught weighed seven pounds, I've caught numerous five pounders. It's a fun fish to fight, if you ever want to get in to them, to the point where you are sick of catching them, then the waters of western New York on Lake Erie should be your destination. Late April through mid to late June is the best time to be here.
I've caught three or four six pounders, but seven pounders are elusive. I did get one on the Flat Rock River a few years back, and at the time it was close to the state record. But a couple years later (late October) my brother inlaw and I were fishing Sugar Creek with some floating Rapalas, and one other stick bait. He was about two hundred feet from me fishing a channel that I'd caught a couple four pounders in the past. I was fishing deeper water that the channel Larry was fishing feed into. I told Larry that I'd simply catch the fish that he drove down my way! Larry comes just as I had a serious hook up. I at first thought I had a snag as I was fishing near a tree fall, but then I got the shake and the throb. Larry said I probably had another carp (another story)! I was using a Lew's Speed Stick that was rated at 3/8th's oz. to 3/4oz., and I'd caught a lot of big small mouth with that rod. Then the fish made a move, and I saw his tail. He was a good one! I told Larry that if he got into that channel, he was lost. I was using an orange and gold stick bait that was about three inches long. He made it to the channel and shook off. I told Larry that I'd just lost what felt like a six and a half pound small mouth! We moved down stream a couple hundred yards to fish some holes Larry didn't know about, and caught a couple a piece. I had switched over to a quarter ounce crayfish pattern, and was dragging it off the bottom. On the way back I stopped at the fallen tree again, and on the first cast I nailed him again! He was even bigger than I thought, and also stronger! I got him to within an arm's length in clear water, and from the gill plate back he was a solid twenty inches, and maybe twenty two inches (state record for sure). He then made one more push for the channel and was gone!
Later on I got into fly fishing much more, but about the biggest small mouth I've caught is in the three pound class. Have caught some nice large mouth bass on wooly buggers (21" being the biggest). But have hooked two or three that were much bigger (seven and eight weight rods). Problem I found is that the wooly bugger works better with a four to six pound tippet, and really need a ten or twelve pound tippet. Working on that! Will be trying out a salt water shock tippet in the spring.
This time next year I hope to be telling all of you about peacock bass. Just starting to learn the art of ten weight casting, and dealing with big bugs. It's almost like starting all over. This will evolve into stripers and big toothy critters (tiger musky for one) I didn't run a single rat this fall, as I just couldn't get the time to get it done! Rats and large mouth bass are fun, but the recipe for a rat is a constant evolving process. Have learned to flip them with a flipping stick, and most guys I meet can't believe I can flip them (easy). By the way this is the first year ever that I never got skunked fishing! Couple times it was only a couple small ones, but always caught something!
gary
