A Ohio angler caught a 10.15 lb. giant small mouth last Thursday. It’s a new Great Lakes Record.

What a fish !

10.15 oz. Record Lake Erie Smallmouth

Good Lord! What a fish! Looks like grouper it's so big!

Amazing! Can't imagine the fight in a smallie that large.

I agree Pete. I have seen a 6 lb smallie caught and landed … it was quite a fight.

Quetico Mike has caught a lot of big smallmouths in the BWCA/Quetico. I bet he could catch a 7 or 8 pounder if he fished one of the Great Lakes.

Just saw this today! Quite the fish! Can't imagine catching a Smallmouth that large.

Some heavy fish coming out of Erie lately.

Big fish on a big lake! Could there be a larger smallmouth out there? :) thanks for posting, Mike.

Nice fish.
He probably was hoping for a walleye...

My brother in law caught this monster smallie on Kawnipi Lake back sometime in the early 1980’s.

We were trolling for walleye using a live nightcrawler spinner harness (back when live bait was legal) and bottom bouncer setup. We came to a sharp drop off into 40 ft of water and abruptly turned our MN II canoe to head back to 10-25 ft deep water.

This huge smallie hit my brother in laws crawler harness and the fight was on. We thought it was a big walleye but it turned out to be a gigantic suspended smallie.

We had no tape measure or scale with us. But my brother in law is 6’2” and 240 lbs. … but the photo taken with one of those portable Kodak cameras gives the smallie some size perspective.

I have been fishing in Quetico for 43 years and this smallie is the largest I have ever seen.

Wally13: "10.15 oz. Record Lake Erie Smallmouth "

That's the size I usually catch, oh wait, you meant Pounds, Haha!

That is quite the fish. A 68 year record broken. No coincidence that forward facing sonar was used which is still relatively new tech, giving a great advantage. Still, they were able to get the bite and make the catch, kudos to the father and son team.

Arnesr … good one … can’t believe I put 10.15 oz. Not so huge … LOL

That is such a fat butterball. I caught one just one inch shorter, but half as fat in a BWCA lake.
In Minnesota, Mille lacs and the Mississippi river have fat butterball smallmouth.

Wally13: "A Ohio angler caught a 10.15 lb. giant small mouth last Thursday. It’s a new Great Lakes Record.

What a fish !


10.15 oz. Record Lake Erie Smallmouth "

A. That must have been a fantastic fight.

B. Support the belly of the fish - don't hang him by his lower lip. jeepers...

C. With the Goby having infiltrated the entire Great Lakes basin, and Smallies penchant for over-eating, they seem to LOVE these tiny treats, there are going to be giant smallies more frequently recorded. It's not uncommon to be catching 6 and 7 lb smallies in Lake Michigan...

Wally13: "I agree Pete. I have seen a 6 lb smallie caught and landed … it was quite a fight.


Quetico Mike has caught a lot of big smallmouths in the BWCA/Quetico. I bet he could catch a 7 or 8 pounder if he fished one of the Great Lakes. "

I would need a bigger canoe :)
I don't live far from the big lake, I guess if someone who had a boat and wanted to take me out there smallmouth fishing I would go. It has been many years since I fished the big pond and that was for walleye. If I fished up there all the time and learned the lake, I might be able to do well. I have been having a great December fishing the local river in Ohio. I think yesterday was the last day for the year with major cold coming today and staying for awhile.