No big SMB? Where did they go?

[AaronJasper]

Have you landed many larger 15" plus ones like that? I am only curious because when I guides for them on the Housatonic a lot I found that nymphing produced great numbers, but the sizes were small.

I did notice that the smallmouth do get much harder to catch as the pressure from anglers increased. Is there a lot of pressure on the fish where you are going? That might be the reason why the larger fish are tougher to catch.

[sholgate]

Aaron. Many? No, just one over 15". Probably 25 or more 6"-11", and maybe 6 between 11"-14". I talked to Tony at TCO for a while yesterday. He told me that on the Schuylkill a 12" small mouth is bigger than norm. Even on weekday mornings, the Skook gets pressure, although I seem to do better than most bait guys.

On the Lehigh, I suspect there are many over 15". I just either can't get to them by wading and/or I am not skilled enough to fool them. They (SMB) have been both a challenge and interesting hunt. Like trout, I can hook a fish within 8 minutes of my computer, but the larger ones are tough and they elude me.

[littlej81]

I've been fishing Chartiers Creek in Pittsburgh with soft hackle wooly buggers (size 6 and 8 3xl). The stream is good for a handful of 17+ inch fish each year, but most of the fish are around 10". Generally if I fish nymphs I catch or unintentionally snag carp along with the smaller bass. The buggers seem to be a favorite of the bass and catfish.

[flyweaver]

The SmB population in the Schyulkill is way down because of the invasion of flat head catfish. Also in my experiance the average size is 9 to 12"

[1fish2fish]

Try using a bigger fly. Sometimes the big fish just ignore small flies. For me a 3/0 clouser can produce quite a few 15"+ fish. But I live in Ohio where a 12" small mouth is on the small side and you could probably catch them with a just a landing net.

[DBspecial]

It could aslo have something to do with the fact that the legal length of bass to keep is 15 inches Jan. 1 thru April 15 and from Oct. 1 thru Dec. 31...4 a day per person. Then from June 18 to Sept. 30 you can take them at 12 inches at 6 a day per person. This is way to many bass for one person per day to keep but thats the PA fish commission. Then couple the liberal limits of the PAFBC with the rediculously slow growth rates previously reported and what you get is a whole bunch of little smallies with the occasional legal fish lying in an unsuspecting place avoiding the radar of the meat hunters.

[DBspecial]

Sholgate, I went to college in Reading and used to fish the "Tully" all the time. Do you fish the Tully? Those damn fish on that river are picky but if ever there was a place to refine ones dry fly fishing Tulpehocken Creek is it. Also, TCO is a great store. I think its safe to say that in the 4 years I spent at school I learned more from the guys in that shop (Tony, Chad, and Jerry) than from any of my profs. Good Luck hunting smallies.

[chadroc]

i have rarely gotten any big smallmouth in rivers, in my area (north eastern ct) i can't find any over 12" which is amazing to me since i have caught plenty of 6 to 10" fish. when i have gotten decent fish i've got them in still water around or after dark on top water bugs like deer hair mice.
here is my biggest smb at 19" from several years ago before i had a decent camera.