Big smallie

[SPOONFEEDER]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/1104081224a.jpg
CAUGHT THIS FISHING FOR EYE'S ON NORTHEAST LARGE BODY OF WATER. 27 INCHES. NEVER GOT A GIRTH. THOUGHT I HAD A BIG PIKE ON. TOOK ABOUT 15 MIN. TO LAND. SHE DIDN'T WANT TO COME OFF BOTTOM. I'M NOT A BASS FISHERMAN BUT IF ANYONE WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT IT I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THE DETAILS. JUST FIRE ME A PM. I RELEASED IT SO SHE'S STILL OUT THERE WAITING TO BE CAUGHT AGAIN!!! I WAS TOLD IT COULD HAVE BEEN A STATE RECORD?:yikes:

[rbaddis]

Your photo didn't work.

[SPOONFEEDER]

I was afraid of that. First time i tried to post a pic. If u look at my photos which i only have 2 you can see it there i hope. Thanks for letting me know though.

[Jimbos]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/1104081224a.jpg

Yup, that's a pig for sure.:)

[SPOONFEEDER]

Thanks for bringing the pic to the thread Jimbos.

[RyGuy525]

yea you may have had yourself a state record.....

[William H Bonney]

Whoa!! Dude!!:SHOCKED:

I'll admit,, before the pic got posted I thought I was gonna see a 5 or 6 lber..... :lol: That thing is a FRICKIN' PIG!!!!!

[Todd Steele]

WOW....Did you get that in the spring? Northern Michigan?
Very Nice.....:coolgleam

[Jimbos]

This one is on my wall and was a 6+lb. pig and my biggest to date. I'm posting this not to show it again or highjack anything, but to show just how nice a fish you caught there in comparison. That is one humongous beast, you should be proud of that one.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/526/medium/Smallmouth2.jpg

[duxdog]

Boy I woulda like to have had him to do a mold of. Nice fish.

[BAMBAM18]

Great fish that's a pig!!!

[fishenrg]

Nice pig there! Beautiful fish.

[SPOONFEEDER]

I sent u a pm Todd S. I'm happy 2 do the same for anyone else as i think i would be great if someone caught that fish again and got it weighed. Looked up the state record and it was 1906 in cheyboygan county on long lake. caught by W.F. Shoemaker 9.25lbs and 27.25 inches. Guess i'll never know:dizzy:.

[GOTONE]

what a pig

[OLDTIMERFISHING]

WOW !!!! :yikes:

[richard]

nice smallie!!!

[nosleeptillbrooklyn]

Thats a huge smallie, next time make sure you tuck your arms into your sides, and the fish is touching your chest :dizzy:, so you make everyone happy.

[CAPT HEAVY]

Spoonfeeder is one of the best fisherman I know. When I saw that fish I was stunned. Glad you got the pic posted. You should see some of his other pics:evilsmile Great fish Eric!!

[SPOONFEEDER]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/1104081224.jpg (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=84666)
These were taken witha phone camera. not the best quality bu at least its a lil father away.;)

[Jimbos]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/1104081224.jpg

[SPOONFEEDER]

Thanks Jimbos.

[Jimbos]

Thanks Jimbos.


You still have your arms out too far, the fish is cocked at the wrong angle, you have the incorrect knuckle showing, the water behind you is a little too blue throwing off the fish colors, and could you wear a different color hat next time?.......lol....;);)

[CAPT HEAVY]

You need to crop the head off the ugly bearded monster holding the fish, then you would have something!:D

[Jnamo]

After seeing the newer pic, I would put that fish in the 6 ~ 7.5lb range. I don't think it has the length to go over 8lb. But it is VERY fat.

I would say the newer pic proves the size of the fish even more...That is a HOG!:tdo12:

When looking at fish pictures, I never look if the fish is shoved out to the camera or not, I look at the space in between the person's hands holding the fish. That gives you some idea on how long the fish is. Then you can judge the weight from there...That fish is definitely over 20" and has a lot of meat!!! (Unless of course the angler is a midget, then it is about a 14" fish that is still a fat hog...!!!

Tight Lines!

[RJSwirlz]

That picture definitely got me thinking about the spring. Congrats on a true trophy smallie. Just a bit of advice, if you catch a monster fish that may be a record, don't post it on here until you have it writing that it is one. Otherwise, your monster smallie will be downgraded by the critics until the cows come home. It doesn't really matter how much I think it weighs, all that matters is that you boated a world class smallmouth. Congrats again.

[Matty_joe86]

that smallie would eat a 6 pound smallie. I can tell you that is at least 8 1/2 pounds, prolly 9+.

[ManxFishing]

After seeing the newer pic, I would put that fish in the 6 ~ 7.5lb range. I don't think it has the length to go over 8lb. But it is VERY fat.

I would say the newer pic proves the size of the fish even more...That is a HOG!:tdo12:

When looking at fish pictures, I never look if the fish is shoved out to the camera or not, I look at the space in between the person's hands holding the fish. That gives you some idea on how long the fish is. Then you can judge the weight from there...That fish is definitely over 20" and has a lot of meat!!! (Unless of course the angler is a midget, then it is about a 14" fish that is still a fat hog...!!!

Tight Lines!

If you read the first post
The fish scaled at 27"
I'd guess close to 9 if not over

[RDS-1025]

Who gives a crap how you hold your arms. You caught a smallmouth most may never match and released it. That in my book says more than all the pictures in the world.

[SPOONFEEDER]

Hey guys thanks for all your comments. like i said i only posted the pic for enjoyment. i wish i would have had a scale that day, but perhaps if i would have that fish might be on the wall instead of in the lake for the next fisherman to catch. can't wait til spring!!

[Jnamo]

If you read the first post
The fish scaled at 27"
I'd guess close to 9 if not over

that smallie would eat a 6 pound smallie

I guess I will have to consult with others before giving my OPINION. Sorry if I offended anyone. I guess I have a lot to learn….

Thanks for the correction and Tight Lines to all!

[big_phish]

WOW !!!! :yikes:


:yeahthat:

[Whit1]

That's a great smallie and the photos are fine.

This is one of my infrequent forays into this forum. Posts ragging on or quoting such ragging have been deleted in this thread. MS encourages members to post photos and quite frankly when a guy sees his offering ripped or read posts that nip at how a fish or game animal is posed they all too often say to themselves that they'l never post a photo.

I'm a fan of large smallmouth bass.............hell, large fish period, but I have a special spot in my heart for smallmouth bass which I believe, pound for pound, are one of the fightingest fish that swims in fresh water. I'm not sure if "fightingest" is a word, but there ya see it. :lol:

Note to Jimbos: Didn't ya wish you were still a mod when ya saw that ragging post? :yikes: :lol:

Back to the topic at hand gentlemen which is an MS member catching a fine trophy.

[Jimbos]

That's a great smallie and the photos are fine.

This is one of my infrequent forays into this forum. Posts ragging on or quoting such ragging have been deleted in this thread. MS encourages members to post photos and quite frankly when a guy sees his offering ripped or read posts that nip at how a fish or game animal is posed they all too often say to themselves that they'l never post a photo.

I'm a fan of large smallmouth bass.............hell, large fish period, but I have a special spot in my heart for smallmouth bass which I believe, pound for pound, are one of the fightingest fish that swims in fresh water. I'm not sure if "fightingest" is a word, but there ya see it. :lol:

Note to Jimbos: Didn't ya wish you were still a mod when ya saw that ragging post? :yikes: :lol:

Back to the topic at hand gentlemen which is an MS member catching a fine trophy.


Whit,,,,yup,,,,it honked me right off. I would of had deleted it in a heartbeat. I couldn't let that one go without saying something....Questioning arm length now, I've seen it all.???-----lol:dizzy:

That's a beautiful fish for sure, it made mine look like nothing. I just have a thing for big smallies.

[deepwoods]

I have caught some big smallies over the years but nothing like that. Congrat's on that pig!!!!

[Whit1]

That's a beautiful fish for sure, it made mine look like nothing. I just have a thing for big smallies.

The three largest smallmouth bass that I've ever seen caught and weighed (de-liar scale) were taken from Portage Lake in Manistee County by a good buddy of mine back in the late '80s. Bob took those fish in mid-May on three consecutive casts using a Mepps Giant Killer. Their weight went from a bit over 7lbs. to 6.5lbs. to about 5lbs. They were all returned to swim again of course.

The smallie that is the topic of this thread was considerably larger than the largest of the fish I describe above.

[Jimbos]

The three largest smallmouth bass that I've ever seen caught and weighed (de-liar scale) were taken from Portage Lake in Manistee County by a good buddy of mine back in the late '80s. Bob took those fish in mid-May on three consecutive casts using a Mepps Giant Killer. Their weight went from a bit over 7lbs. to 6.5lbs. to about 5lbs. They were all returned to swim again of course.

The smallie that is the topic of this thread was considerably larger than the largest of the fish I describe above.

That sure does look like a 8.5 fish to me.

[MildBill]

That is a nice fish indeed! I can see from the thread that there have been some doubters, but I have a picture of myself holding a 5 lb smallmouth under some of the same conditions and I can attest that your fish certainly looks much larger. Congratulations again on a fine fish! Knowing how they fight, the battle itself will probably be much more important to you over the years and this photo will bring back great memories. (Heck, it's doing that for me and I did not even see you catch it!!!)

[fishenrg]

The three largest smallmouth bass that I've ever seen caught and weighed (de-liar scale) were taken from Portage Lake in Manistee County by a good buddy of mine back in the late '80s. Bob took those fish in mid-May on three consecutive casts using a Mepps Giant Killer. Their weight went from a bit over 7lbs. to 6.5lbs. to about 5lbs. They were all returned to swim again of course.

With three great catches like that, it sounds like your buddy should have made some more of those consecutive casts. :lol:

[Whit1]

With three great catches like that, it sounds like your buddy should have made some more of those consecutive casts. :lol:

That was a great day fishing for us and I remember it well. It was one of those partly cloudy, warm spring days with temps in the 70s. The lake and wetlands were really coming alive.

Our main target was panfish, which we got plenty of, but also bass (both species) N. pike, and whatever else would hit and hit they did. You never knew what kind of fish the next cast would bring. On days like that Bob and I would often play a "lure" game. If you caught a fish on a certain lure you had to take it off and put on another one. We never found anything that failed to take a fish of some sort.

I was using a variety of Mepps spinners at one point and Bob didn't have any. This of itself was amazing because he was (he passed away in '99) one of those guys who had EVERY lure EVER made............almost. What he didn't have was a large Mepps so I handed him one of those Giant Killers. On the first cast he took that largest smallie and didn't change lures as per the game, but rather made another cast and took the second largest bass and then a third and caught the "smallest" of the three.

I, of course, protested to the commissioner about Bob's failure to follow the "rules". Seeing as how we were fishing out of Bob's boat (The Sandpiper) the commissioner (Bob) ruled in Bob's favor.........:lol:.

That was one of the best days of fishing for a variety of fish that we ever had. I'm sure that Bob is looking down from above and chuckling and agreeing. :lol:

[Jimbos]

I have got to pick up some Mepps this year. I always swear I'm going to buy some but then never get past the x-rap aisle.

I made some inline spinners last winter and have taken a few fish, mostly pike, but never really gave them a good washing.

[fishenrg]

I always enjoy your stories Whit, thanks. Made me think spring and fishing with good friends.

I have got to pick up some Mepps this year. I always swear I'm going to buy some but then never get past the x-rap aisle.

I made some inline spinners last winter and have taken a few fish, mostly pike, but never really gave them a good washing.

I'm convinced that in-line spinners can catch just about anything. Its my confidence lure...much like the x-rap for you.

I've got a lack where I only bring a couple of these in black:
http://www.yakimabait.com/catalog/html/Original-Rooster-Tail-p-16146.html
The paint is usually gone by the end of the day.

Mostly panther martins when i'm in a river or stream though. Seem to spin easier.

Ok, way off topic, sorry...just encouraging you to try those spinners!

[Whit1]

If I'm going to toss spinners for trout, inline/Panther Martins are my go-to lure. Black/gold is my most often used color. I know others will work, but that's my first, second, and third choices.

[PWOG]

I sent u a pm Todd S. I'm happy 2 do the same for anyone else as i think i would be great if someone caught that fish again and got it weighed. Looked up the state record and it was 1906 in cheyboygan county on long lake. caught by W.F. Shoemaker 9.25lbs and 27.25 inches. Guess i'll never know:dizzy:.

FYI guys!! :yikes:

My sister emailed me an article out of a U.P. newspaper two seasons ago now of a local guy that caught a smallie that would have beat the old state record according to the DNR that showed up for verification.
I say WOULD have if the guy had kept it in the water alive! Seems it dried out some before the timely DNR arrived.:smile-mad
If memory serves it too was over 27"

They are out there!! Nice fish spooner

[NEMichsportsman]

The three largest smallmouth bass that I've ever seen caught and weighed (de-liar scale) were taken from Portage Lake in Manistee County by a good buddy of mine back in the late '80s. Bob took those fish in mid-May on three consecutive casts using a Mepps Giant Killer. Their weight went from a bit over 7lbs. to 6.5lbs. to about 5lbs. They were all returned to swim again of course.

The smallie that is the topic of this thread was considerably larger than the largest of the fish I describe above.


1880's???? I don't think scales were all that accurate back then???!!!




Back on topic....Congrats on a heck of a nice fish and thanks for sharing!!!!!!

[mjayeh]

Holy Wha SPOONFEEDER, nice hawg you landed for sure ... CONGRATS !!!!!!

[SPOONFEEDER]

What the heck. Can't thank everyone enuff for all tha positive feedback and getting people excited for spring! I see some discussion on lures. This is how the fish was caught.... Trolling 50ft back with a hot-n-tot attaching a 2oz. weight then letting out line till it ticked bottom. Set the bail. 30fow. I figure about 100ft back total. We were actually perch fishing and decided to troll for walleye. the rod i caught the fish on was straight off the back of the boat, 5ft ugly stick with 6lb maxima ultra green. Only fish we caught all day! I thought i had a pike. She tried to jump once but couldn't get out of the water. at first site i actually thought it was a carp:yikes:! Thanks again and i enjoyed sharing one of my most memorable fishing stories with u all. Good Luck too all!!!

[fishinthed]

Wow! Props for releasing that great fish! :fish: Let's keep those genes in the gene pool (the fish, that is). :lol:

If I catch one I even think is that one I'll buy you a beer. Hell, a case of whatever you want.

[Andrew B.]

Spoonfeeder, that is by far the biggest smally I have ever seen. Man what a fish!