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Largemouth in the Q

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Date/Time: 04/28/2024 04:41PM

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Largemouth in the Q

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Author	Message Text
Ausable	07/28/2015 02:10PM quote MCorbett: "Hello, I am headed to Quetico this weekend. I am wondering if you mind sharing what weight rod you are using in this picture? I have a 5lb rod, and I am worried it is too light for the action? Thoughts? M." Many people would recommend 8-10 pound line. See, for instance, recents threads in the Fishing Forum. Having said that, however, a friend of mine loves fishing for smallmouth with light tackle and 6 pound line. I use 8-pound with a medium power rod (6-12 pound).
MCorbett	07/28/2015 01:21PM Hello, I am headed to Quetico this weekend. I am wondering if you mind sharing what weight rod you are using in this picture? I have a 5lb rod, and I am worried it is too light for the action? Thoughts? M.
DancesWithTrees	06/23/2015 09:10AM quote carmike: "Is this thread for real? I can certainly understand confusing a smallmouth and a largemouth, but confusing a fish that weighs (generously) three pounds with one that weighs nine or ten pounds seems odd to me. Could the guy holding the fish honestly not tell the difference between 3 lbs and 10 lbs? That's a big difference, no matter what species of fish it is. If he went to the grocery store and bought three pounds of apples but was charged for ten, would he not catch the difference?? Sorry for the skepticism, but something seems fishy. :) " Can't blame you for the skepticism. I'd be too. All I can say is, way back then, we weighed out (with one of those very small scales) an 8+ pound bass. The one in the picture is maybe not the exact one, but one of the larger ones we caught. As incredulous as you are, I am equally incredulous that it could weigh only 3 pounds. I am quite sure it was more than that. Considering the provincial record smallie is around 10 pounds, it's obviously unlikely the one we caught was 8-9 pounds, so I was puzzled later as well. Not sure what else to say. Its embarrassing to have to keep rehashing this, but one thing I can assure you is, this was not an intentional exaggeration on my part.
QueticoMike	06/19/2015 06:57AM I once caught a fish so big that the picture itself weighed 10 pounds :)
carmike	06/19/2015 12:27AM Is this thread for real? I can certainly understand confusing a smallmouth and a largemouth, but confusing a fish that weighs (generously) three pounds with one that weighs nine or ten pounds seems odd to me. Could the guy holding the fish honestly not tell the difference between 3 lbs and 10 lbs? That's a big difference, no matter what species of fish it is. If he went to the grocery store and bought three pounds of apples but was charged for ten, would he not catch the difference?? Sorry for the skepticism, but something seems fishy. :)
Dbldppr1250	06/18/2015 04:20PM You do really dance with trees to some wild music!
DancesWithTrees	05/27/2015 10:57AM quote BlackSwanAdventures: "I am just happy you didn't keep and eat a 9 pound bass. Over 2-3 pounds, take photos and release these perfect spawning, not very good to eat fish. Thanks." Well, for the record, I just assumed they were largemouth because they were so damn big. Also it appears the scale we had must have been awfully friendly, because it was pointed out there was almost no way we caught 8-9 pound smallies. All I can say is, they were bass, and they were really big. We generally don't keep and eat bass much anyway.
BlackSwanAdventures	05/27/2015 07:06AM I am just happy you didn't keep and eat a 9 pound bass. Over 2-3 pounds, take photos and release these perfect spawning, not very good to eat fish. Thanks.
jeroldharter	02/02/2013 11:51PM That ruler is 0.5 inch scale. Probably 11 inches, 1.5 pounds. Just kidding, but based on that ruler you appear to be 40 inches tall.
Springer2	02/02/2013 08:34PM Well, smallmouth, not largemouth, but big and ugly. Trying to get a measurement before the blackflies ate me alive. Suzanette.
GeoFisher	01/30/2013 08:42PM quote GeoFisher: " This smallie was close to 5.....something like 4.7. And this Largemouth was 5.2 " Both of these fish came from the same lake, within a few hundred 100 yards or so of each other on different trips, with different folks....imagine that.
AndySG	01/29/2013 12:17PM quote DancesWithTrees: "Oh I wasn't offended by anyone's responses. IN fact, given how far off it appears I was (even if they were more than 3-4 pounds, still a ways off from 9), I am impressed with the patience you all showed with me. Thanks. quote jeroldharter: "don't worry about it. I only use scales that measure at least 9 lbs. Has improved my results greatly." Haha, clearly that was the scale I must have been using! " First off, a Hearty Welcome to the site DancesWithTrees. And, please do not feel embarassed. We here are dedicated to learning from one another, and offering advice to those who need it. Its what we do and I think I speak for the community when I say "Welcome to the BWCA.com Family!" Andy
Springer2	01/28/2013 08:05PM GeoFisher's largemouth takes the cake. Here are some from a pond in the vicinity of Brent Lake (we made the kid release his bass).
jb in the wild	01/28/2013 06:56PM quote PINETREE: "quote jb in the wild: " Both of these fish are pretty good size around 20" for the Small Mouth and 24" on the Lrg Mouth. They were 6.5 # and 8.5. #. I would guess the weight on yours around 3 to 3.5 #s. Nice fish ether way. BTW those fish were mounted about 25 years ago, so don't yell at me about catch and release. I photo and release now. JB" Which state or states did you catch those nice fish?" Lrg Mouth was in Connecticut and the Smallie was here near Elk River in the Mighty Miss.
GeoFisher	01/28/2013 04:46PM quote chipaddler: "quote GeoFisher: " This smallie was close to 5.....something like 4.7. And this Largemouth was 5.2 " That smallie is a freakin' pig... Look how fat. Hah" Even though it was only around 5.......if I could have gotten that one out of the park.......it would have gone on the wall :) :) Looked GREAT. Later, Geo
PINETREE	01/28/2013 02:52PM quote jb in the wild: " Both of these fish are pretty good size around 20" for the Small Mouth and 24" on the Lrg Mouth. They were 6.5 # and 8.5. #. I would guess the weight on yours around 3 to 3.5 #s. Nice fish ether way. BTW those fish were mounted about 25 years ago, so don't yell at me about catch and release. I photo and release now. JB" Which state or states did you catch those nice fish?
jb in the wild	01/28/2013 12:12PM Both of these fish are pretty good size around 20" for the Small Mouth and 24" on the Lrg Mouth. They were 6.5 # and 8.5. #. I would guess the weight on yours around 3 to 3.5 #s. Nice fish ether way. BTW those fish were mounted about 25 years ago, so don't yell at me about catch and release. I photo and release now. JB
chipaddler	01/28/2013 09:32AM quote GeoFisher: " This smallie was close to 5.....something like 4.7. And this Largemouth was 5.2 " That smallie is a freakin' pig... Look how fat. Hah
GeoFisher	01/27/2013 11:01PM This smallie was close to 5.....something like 4.7. And this Largemouth was 5.2
walllee	01/27/2013 08:11PM
DancesWithTrees	01/27/2013 04:16PM Oh I wasn't offended by anyone's responses. IN fact, given how far off it appears I was (even if they were more than 3-4 pounds, still a ways off from 9), I am impressed with the patience you all showed with me. Thanks. quote jeroldharter: "don't worry about it. I only use scales that measure at least 9 lbs. Has improved my results greatly." Haha, clearly that was the scale I must have been using!
Springer2	01/27/2013 11:09AM We specifically target largemouth bass in Quetico. They are a beautiful, wild fish, and spectacular on top-water plugs and flyrod lures, but don't run too big up there. Our biggest probably run 2.5-3 lbs.
jeroldharter	01/27/2013 09:08AM don't worry about it. I only use scales that measure at least 9 lbs. Has improved my results greatly.
Wallidave	01/26/2013 12:29PM Sorry...I was hoping my reply didn't sound like I was insulting your intelligence. I just don't trust handheld scales...I've used them in the past only to scratch my head and think to myself that can't be right. Only use tape measures nowadays, they don't lie and I don't really care how much a fish weighs anyway.
TomT	01/26/2013 11:16AM Yeah DWT, don't sweat it. I also don't trust hand held scales and just measure the length. Smallmouth can really vary in weight in the Q. The older ones around 19-21 inches can get a football shape to them and they are very powerful fighters with usually multiple jumps. These are absolutely my favorite fish to catch and with barbless hooks it's quite a challenge to land them. Largemouth are fun to catch too but aren't near as powerful as a smallie pound for pound.
timatkn	01/26/2013 12:41AM I don't think it is a function of not being able to use/read a scale, it is a function of trusting a hand held scale. They are poor at best--not accurate. That's why records are determined by official calibrated scales. Many a fisherperson has brought in a "record" only to be fooled. I have no doubt your scale said 9-10 pounds but unless your friend is 20 feet tall, the scale was wrong. They are definitely smallies--it isn't a bad picture. No ruckus at all. I still like your story and a good discussion. Largemouth are typically green in color and have a lateral line or stripe down the middle. Smallmouth are brown and have bars. If you close the jaw (your pic the jaw is open so can't use this) the eye of a largemouth will be obviously behind the jaw. T
DancesWithTrees	01/25/2013 08:23PM Eh? Well apparently I'm a doofus and can't use a scale. Now that I've thoroughly embarrassed myself... I'll just close with... I may be very wrong about those fish (apparently they aren't even largemouth? Even the bigger one? You are telling me there are smallies that long?)... but I sat there and looked at a scale myself, that went above 9 pounds. Or I thought it did. I did say I wasn't exactly a master fisherman! Sorry to have caused a ruckus. Still seems hard for me to believe, even looking at that 10 year old badly scanned picture, that those are smallies, and only 3-4 pounds. But I'll take your word for it, as I am sure most of you are much more experienced than I am.
timatkn	01/25/2013 08:07PM Nice fish, but they are smallies and I'd guess 3-4 pounds at most. Still something to be proud of. T
kanoes	01/25/2013 07:16PM and the biggest one might have cracked 3 lbs.
TomT	01/25/2013 07:06PM Those are smallies in the picture. Nice bass but not largemouth.
Wallidave	01/25/2013 06:44PM Nice fish in the picture...but I don't think that scale was working very well if that is indeed one of the 9+ ones. They also both look like smallmouth.
PINETREE	01/25/2013 05:24PM It could be one of those butterballs and super fat.
DancesWithTrees	01/25/2013 04:24PM quote PINETREE: "A 10 pound bass would probably be 26 inch plus range. " OK, that's a good start. So this was probably 6" short of that, give or take. But... Ontario record largemouth bass that was 10.2 pounds, according to the Ontario MNR, was 22 inches long: http://www.ontariofishing.net/fishrecords.html Assuming that site is accurate. I don't know.
PINETREE	01/25/2013 04:18PM A 10 pound bass would probably be 26 inch plus range.
DancesWithTrees	01/25/2013 03:41PM OK, I looked back at some picture on a website we have for our wilderness co-op, and on one of the trips, we did have one picture of a guy (not me) with a couple big bass. I can't recall for sure if the bigger one is one of the 9+ pound guys. Here it is... the guy in the pic is 6'5". Judging by the size, hard to say, looks like about a quarter of his body length, which makes it like 19" long and change? Or so? Can't say for sure because it is close to his body, but can't tell how close. Judge away! Crap, I can't get the Add Photo to work, here is the direct link... http://www.middleofsomewhere.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/MLBass.jpg
DancesWithTrees	01/25/2013 03:31PM Also I should mention... 1. I wasn't the one who caught them. In one case, two of is were fishing, but I only got some relatively small ones. The other, I was being a guide of sorts, just paddling someone into the right spots. 2. Lures used, I don't recall exact details, but they were a smallish Rapala, and a small-medium spinner with a weedless treble.
joetrain	01/25/2013 03:15PM I have caught a handfull of largemouth in Quetico with the largest being 3 pounds or so. Mine were caught while fishing topwater baits for smallmouth. Yours are fish of a lifetime. ~JOE~
DancesWithTrees	01/25/2013 02:55PM I'm as flumoxxed as everyone else. I've done a lot of fishing, but honestly, had never otherwise caught anything spectacular, at all. Heck we don't even really fish for bass up there typically. We catch smallies by accident going for walleye sometimes. But that bay just looked like "bass here" to me, from previous experience in other places. I am by no means some master fisherman, at all. I think I just got very, very lucky. And I completely understand people being skeptical - I would be too! I will see if I can find the picture(s), scan them into the computer, and post them (this was back in the early 90's, well before digital photos were commonplace).
Miami1	01/25/2013 01:56PM I hope you can find and post a picture of the fish. Anthony
timatkn	01/25/2013 01:06PM I remember reading your original post and wondering if you knew what you were talking about :) Although largemouth are not uncommon in Quetico, big ones are uncommon. For MN/Ontario 6-8 pounds is a really big fish so what you caught was exceptional. Did you by chance measure the fish? the MN state record largemouth was 8#15 oz. and was 23.5 inches long. So I would expect that a 10# fish would be 24-25 inches. I don't really trust the hand scales---I've seen them off too many times---either too light or too heavy :) BTW even if your scale was off these are exceptional fish. Heck for all we know these fish were heavier. T
PINETREE	01/25/2013 12:48PM Well you found some very rare fish that were probably 20 years old plus. Never heard of anything close like that in size for largemouth in Minnesota or Ontario. Maybe you caught the same fish more than once?
DancesWithTrees	01/25/2013 12:31PM So, I have a fish story to tell, and wanted to see what people's experiences were with largemouth bass in Quetico. There's a spot in Jean Lake, that I've mentioned in here before, that is absolutely incredible for both largies and smallies. On two different trips, we took huge bass. But as I am researching this, I am starting to think maybe they were even bigger than I thought. One trip, we took in a largemouth that weighed in at 9 pounds. On another trip to the same spot, caught 2 (ate one) that were over 9 pounds, one close to 10, according to the little hand scale we brought. Now, after that trip, I remember seeing that the record largemouth in the US was about 17 pounds. So, while 10 pounds was big, it didn't seem special. But according to the Ontario MNR website, Quetico is basically the northern limit of largemouth bass. And the largest largemouth caught in Ontario was only 10.2 pounds. So, holy crap, we had near-record size fish? Like, just a few ounces short of it? Multiple of them?!?! Have other people fished for largemouth in the park, accidentally or intentionally? How big were they? And how the heck did I stumble upon an apparent school of record-size largies in Quetico of all places??? I realize this sounds like chest-thumping, but I'm being completely honest here, and I think I even have a picture of one of them somewhere. I would have taken more pictures, including the scale, if I knew at the time how big these really were. Is Quetico a secret bass heaven or something?