Five Pound Problem

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by C-RIDE on May 20, 2009 at 11:15am

I am shocked that you havent caught one over 5 lbs! I have caught so many over 5lbs that I couldnt even tell you how many. I honestly think your fishing the wrong areas. I have found that for the most part, Smallies will be in groups of the same sizes. There are exceptions to this but for the most part when you catch a 2 lb fish there is a good chance that the next one in that area is gonna be around the same size. You also need to really look at the structure and the area around the structure. I always look for something that hidden or that is different than anything alse around it. Often times that is where the big one is gonna be. Pay close attn to the smallest details with you graph. This time of year I would look for the obvious and go bed fishing for the big females. I also would throw a smaller swimbait. I think I have caught more big fish on a swimbait than any other bait. Mid summer I would throw a dropshot on deeper docks and rock piles. (15-35 feet deep). Hit the flats and any humps or drop offs with a football head and drop shot. Maybe you should just come out with a few of us sometime and we will put you on some pigs. I'm pretty good at doing that as long as its not a tournament lol. I always jinks myself with a good prefish.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Grimes on May 20, 2009 at 11:16am

This year was off for me, but the last 6 years in a row, I have had at least one over 6. Looking at my log book......I have had 9 under 6 but over 5......and 7 over 6 lbs. biggest was 6 lbs 11 oz. I usually catch mine way early on the River. Last year, I caught a 5 lb 9 oz in the Moses Tournament, but had 4 others over 5 in pre fishing in one day. I spend too much time Largemouth fishing. I caught a 4.lb 11 oz SM in the back of the Dunes at Potholes last year......I figure it was a culled fish from Matkowski and Marcantonio.

I haven't done it yet, but I have talked to a few guys that know the River well in the Fall....and they catch more big ones in the Fall.

Don't worry you will get yours. Just don't catch 5 of them in the June NW tournament !
lol

Jeff

Permalink Reply by Josh Potter on May 20, 2009 at 11:26am

Ben,

I would gladly trade you your 100 4 pounders for the 5's I have caught. I can count them on one hand.

Permalink Reply by Brian Walters on May 20, 2009 at 1:07pm

Come see me today!! We will go out and find you a 5

Brian Walters

Permalink Reply by Zackery Shaff on May 20, 2009 at 1:37pm

On the Columbia, I have always had much more sucess finding concentrations of large fish before April and in the fall. During the summer I have never been able to find the big ones and just end up weeding through the 2lbers or less until I eventually get a decent fish. Obviously they are there somewhere since anglers keep bringing up good bags then, but I think it is much harder to locate them. Although I don't catch a ton of big fish, mostly they come all at the same time/location/pattern so there is a way to only target quality fish, and I'm sure you'll stumble onto it soon.

Permalink Reply by Abbottola on May 20, 2009 at 1:52pm

Ben, it took me five years before I got my first five pounder. Once that thresh hold is broken its like they come more often. My advice is to stick with big fish baits. Now Ryan Brown and his 7.88 on a sniper snub may beg to differ, and my only 7 came on a lipless crank. But most of my other fish have come of 6 and 7 inch plastics, and 4-6 inch swimbaits.
Also most of my biggest smallmouth aren't as gregarious smaller fish, and don't rely on schooling behavior for feeding. Personally I believe they are ambush predators, so search out ambush points.

Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on May 20, 2009 at 1:54pm

Dude Im sorry but thats like saying can someone "help I am having the hardest time scoring a date with a playmate"...come on mannnn!

Permalink Reply by Ben Hanes on May 20, 2009 at 2:10pm

Joel,
I know, it's bad. Truthfully, I'd rather catch a five pounder than score a date with a playmate. No offense to the playmates.....

I wanted to know if it was my curse, this five pounder thing. I am not kidding, I have caught close to 100 over 4 pounds, tons of 4.5's. It's really weird. But seriously, is there something about a smallmouth over 5 pounds that is so different? I've caught many Largies over 7 lbs., and it wasn't that big of a deal.

If you were to ask me, I'd say less than a tenth of one percent of smallmouth are over 5lbs. At least on the Eastside.

Permalink Reply by Ben Hanes on May 20, 2009 at 2:21pm

Jeff,
Have you caught 5+ lb smallies on swimbaits? Just at Lake Washington? Do you fish them in the middle of the water column?

Permalink Reply by Mike Matkowski on May 20, 2009 at 9:06pm

Ben, I wouldn't beat yourself over the head about it, I don't think they're as prevalent as some might believe. Those are very old fish and I don't believe they are as prevalent on our home water as they were years ago. We may have seen 1 or 2 at the NW bass tourney last weekend at Washington (Hobbs and Wolsky probably had both), that's 184 better than average fisherman at the best time of the year for big fish, on a healthy lake, that has plenty of forage, and relatively little pressure (compared with other Wa locals). I've fished maybe 15 days this year, had two one day, Marc had one another day that made a great photo, and these were from the same lake-where your chances of catching one over 5 have already very substantially diminshed until next year. You may not be spending enough time on the right bodies of water for trophies. You have to put yourself on trophy waters at the right time of year, and these aren't necessarily the normal tourney locations. Most of my over 5's haven't come on reaction baits, most were caught prespawn, in a staging area (I have never even seen a 5 lb smallie on a bed-but most waters we fish are too dirty and my eyes aren't what they used to be); and I don't think I have ever caught more than 2 in the same day. For sure stay the hell of Banks-I don't think one swims in there. You might want to plan a trip to Lake Erie during the fall or try Hood River, now.

Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on May 20, 2009 at 9:55pm

Ben, I agree with Mike on all he said. I would also suggest that you may not be fishing as much as you need to be during certain times of the year to improve your chances. Fish the hell out of the early prespawn period (often April in WA), and again in the fall. As Mike said, these are old fish, which also means they are well-educated. Be stealthy, use natural baits that represent what those big bass eat (crawfish or big baitfish), and make everything perfect. Again, fish a lot in April and October. Otherwise in the summer fish a lot of big topwaters, buzzbaits, and crankbaits/jerkbaits early in the river. In the lakes fish deep weedlines with dropshot rigs on light line and be stealthy.

And make sure you have a quality set of scales like the CulMRite so that you can verify the bass is really over 5 pounds! (And take photos).

ciao,
Marc

Permalink Reply by Damon Hollandsworth on May 20, 2009 at 9:59pm

I caught my biggest smallmouth ever in july and it was a 6-14 on a drop shotted tiny brush hog in about 10 ft. off of a dike on the columbia river. So i would never count out a big one the middle of the summer.

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