You want a GIGANTIC smallmouth?

[BuKuBass]

This one was caught by a friend a few years ago in the John Day. Length=24.5; girth=16.5. Using two different formulas to extrapolate the weight, it was either 8-1 or 8-5. But we'll never know for sure, 'cuz he ate it!!! without weighing it first. BTW, the current Oregon record is 7-14.

I'll e-mail the photos to anyone who can figure out how to post them here.

As for fight, I've C&Red sizable smallies and steelhead from the same hole withing minutes of each other and IMO, in most instances, if you could tether two equal weight examples of each together, that bass could tow that trout to any place she wanted.

[Striper Club]

!!!!! :smash: :smash: :smash: That is a bigun'!

[bassfishingnw]

I'm unable to view pitcure!!
:shocked: :shocked: :shocked: :shocked:

[Spinhead]

Yeah, me, too, the page that comes up sez, 'no activity for 30 min., sign in again.....', but, as far as steelhead vs. smallies, it's a tie for me. When either of those fish realizes they're hooked, they just go BERSERK! More fun to hook than salmon or lg. mouth.

[Mtn. Basser]

That is a certified PIG (cant see the pic, but the numbers are impressive). My buddy boated a 6-2 last fall, and that is the fish of a lifetime in Idaho. Your buddy caught the fish of a 1,000 lifetimes!!!

[BassMan]

I realy want to see this fish but I keep getting this message....


The File You Are Looking For Is Inaccessible.
Please sign in and try again or check with the owner of the file.

Help!!

[Dave Smith]

A 24.5 inch smallmouth in the John Day is an impossiblity. I am sorry to be so blundt and I would love to be proved wrong- I would eat crow for a long time. I have made lot's of smallmouth molds and have heard a zillion stories. I have had the pleasure of knowing and fishing with two guys that were resposible for three of the last four state record smallmouths. I have to speak out when I hear of anyone claiming to have the "state record" without a weight or even a good picture- it takes away from the guys who have really done it. As a side note- I have caught a 24.5 inch largemouth in California- it weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces. Dave

[Rimshot]

He took the time and had the presence of mind to take a length and girth measurement AND take a photo but didn't weigh it? Then just sat down and ate it?! Hmmm, sounds a little fishy to me. I think your friend was pulling your leg :smirk: :jester:. Lets see the pic :cheers:

[BuKuBass]

Be careful Dave...I understand that a good merlot goes well with crow. :grin:
I posed the probability of such a fish to Steve Fleming and this is his response:

Howdy,
I know of two fish that were 24 X 19, but know of no longer ones.
YOUR BASSIN' BUDDYS,
Steve & Linda Fleming
Mah-Hah Outfitters
Fossil, Or. 97830

Now it seems to me that if two SM attained the length of 24 inches and were CAUGHT, it's reasonable to assume that there are others in the JD which have grown another half an inch longer.
I also expect a reply from Terry Schrader, the warm water specialist at the Bend ODFW office regarding a larger one captured during a stream survey of the John Day.
RE. your fish: The accepted formula to determine a LM's weight when the girth is unknown is to cube the length and divide the sum by 1600. That fish should have weighed approximately 9.2 pounds. Maybe she had two pounds of eggs in her?
Rimshot...The photo is of the replica mount. As I've stated previuously, I'll email the photo to anyone that knows how to post it here.
As for having a scale, I don't carry one with me, so probably, others don't also. From many of the places that I fish on the JD, it's an hour's drive or more, to the nearest scale. Indeed, from some places, it could be days...counting the float out.
I think that we all agree that the John Day is one of the premier smallmouth streams in the entire country and just the possibility of hooking an eight pound smallie tightens my bag.

[CrossFishingBob]

I got these photos from BuKuBass for his post.

http://home.comcast.net/~cline503/2238283450.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~cline503/2238283452_460.jpg

I agree this is a really big smallie!

[Dave Smith]

Bukubass- I feel like the bearer of bad news, here- and I would not say anything except for the fact that some hard working people have actually caught record sized smallmouth and all these urban legends take away from those accomplishments. Everyone you talk to has got a "six-pound" smallmouth on the John Day- few, if any have actually weighed one. That's the nature of fishing! The guides are by far the worst- ofcourse!! can you blame someone for trying to make a living? My friend just talked to a guide on the John Day last weekend who told him that he caught 60 fish, between 1 and 3 pounds that day. Why didn't any of the fish of less than one pound- which make up the HUGE majority of smallmouth in that fishery bite? It's just fairly harmless exaggeration- but it crosses the line when we start talking about 24 X 19 smallmouth- fish that would far surpass any smallmouth taken in the west- and none were weighed. Also, that photo is of a fish "replica"- you just tell the taxidermist what size the fish was and he orders a "blank" from a huge list of sizes.
Here is the sad part: Your friend caught what is, by ANY standard, a GREAT smallmouth!!! But because of all the exaggerations that have taken place over the years, it wouldn't impress anyone if he were to weigh it and tell us it's weight. Well, I would be impressed and so would alot of people I know.

[BuKuBass]

Dave, I've known Steve for many years and he's never slung any BS my way.
As for 60 1-3 pounds; I agree. That's why I always preface my reports with "cot X number 12 inches and longer; I don't count dinks"...
I hope that we meet on a river sometime; I'd like to swap stories with you. :cheers:

BuKu

[Dave Smith]

Thanks, Buku- I hope so, too. :bowdown: Have a great weekend. Dave

[Wreckless]

First of all, Dave....Buku...WAY TO KEEP IT CIVIL!! :applause: There are a LOT of people out there that should read this exchange.

Second, I agree with Dave that the "harmless exageration" REALLY hurts the guys who are REALLY catching EPIC fish. I DETEST the fact that fishermen in general are considered liars.....We all aren't.

Having said that, Buku does not seem to be one of those "exageraters" (is that a word?). His posts are clear and honest. We both responded to another ifisher the other day about John Day tactics and he was straight forward..AND he's right...he "doesn't count dinks".

Third, I'm not from Missouri, but "show me". The "urban legend" of the 5# - 10# Bass (16 - 19"), the 30# Chinook (about 21#) and my favorite the 12" Bluegill (9 1/2 "), discredit the people who have REALLY done it.

Dennis

P.S. I'd like to fish with BOTH of you...when I'm on the river, people around me do GREAT!! :shrug: I LOVE to watch people catch fish :eek:

Happy 4th!! :dance: