My epic Smallmouth disappeared today

kawishiwi · 06-14-2015, 09:27 PM

So there I was, a Winni newb, on my third day fishing in my new boat, trying to learn where my most favorite fish, Smallmouth, live and bite. So I of course start with fishing the rocks. Impossible really to miss on Winni. Went offshore to avoid spawners as much as possible. Jerkbaits were being assaulted by rock bass, sunfish, and mini smallies, so I switch to a Winni standard wacky rigged stick worm and found a few between 1 to 2 lbs in amongst the wee bass. Happy to be catching anything at this point I continued boulder hopping. Then a bite, really more of a sense of weight, and I set the hook and it didnt move, at first. The fish turned and flashed twice and I am thinking OMG, my third day on Winni, fishing offshore boulders, I've hooked up with a lifetime Winni class Smallie. Very heavy, powerful, but not quite a classic Smallmouth battle. A few more flashes, then, a black line appeared? Its a freakin Largemouth. Possibly hundreds of yards from the nearest weed, in the middle of "Smallmouth country"? While a strong fish, she was obviously spawned out and probably feeding for the first time post spawn. At just over 19" she was a nice Largemouth but she could have been an epic Winni Smallmouth. So...if there are any bass fishers on this site i'd like to know if this is common? Should I be trying big spinner baits out on the boulder fields? Or was this an unlikely event?

06-14-2015, 09:27 PM	#1
kawishiwi Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 518 Thanks: 225 Thanked 167 Times in 108 Posts	My epic Smallmouth disappeared today So there I was, a Winni newb, on my third day fishing in my new boat, trying to learn where my most favorite fish, Smallmouth, live and bite. So I of course start with fishing the rocks. Impossible really to miss on Winni. Went offshore to avoid spawners as much as possible. Jerkbaits were being assaulted by rock bass, sunfish, and mini smallies, so I switch to a Winni standard wacky rigged stick worm and found a few between 1 to 2 lbs in amongst the wee bass. Happy to be catching anything at this point I continued boulder hopping. Then a bite, really more of a sense of weight, and I set the hook and it didnt move, at first. The fish turned and flashed twice and I am thinking OMG, my third day on Winni, fishing offshore boulders, I've hooked up with a lifetime Winni class Smallie. Very heavy, powerful, but not quite a classic Smallmouth battle. A few more flashes, then, a black line appeared? Its a freakin Largemouth. Possibly hundreds of yards from the nearest weed, in the middle of "Smallmouth country"? While a strong fish, she was obviously spawned out and probably feeding for the first time post spawn. At just over 19" she was a nice Largemouth but she could have been an epic Winni Smallmouth. So...if there are any bass fishers on this site i'd like to know if this is common? Should I be trying big spinner baits out on the boulder fields? Or was this an unlikely event?