ToddC Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Last Thursday while fishing a northern stretch of the WI River I caught what may be my heaviest smallie to date. The prespawn female was 19.25" long and had a girth of 15.5". One web site I went to had an estimate of 5.78lbs. I don't know if the fish was that heavy but I can say with pretty good certainty that she was for sure over five. Any ideas what a fish of those dimensions would weigh? The fish was caught on a 1/8 oz jig tipped with a fathead in the middle of the river on a hard gravel bar in six feet of water. My 13 year old daughter caught her personal best there last June in the same spot which went 18". I hope the pics turn out OK as I left my digital camera at home. Thanks in advance for the replies and good fishing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ferguson Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 It's very hard to estimate a fishes weight and none of the forumlas I've seen can be used accurately on every fish. When weighed on an accurate scale, to weigh 5 pounds, a smallmouth usually has to be nearly 21". A thick 19' fish will be at or a little over 4 pounds. For one of 19.25 inches to go 5 pounds would be a very unusual bass. If you didn't get to weigh the bass before you let her go, you'll never know exactly how much she weighed. Maybe it was 5 pounds, in the end does it really matter? I hope you got a good picture that you can hang on the wall so you can look at it and remember a special day on the river. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Wow. That fish was a pig. 19 1/4 inches is a big one allright. There are formulas for estimating weight but I can't remember what they are. Best bet are probably those caliper scales. They are kinda costly but I hear they are accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 Wow...nice fish regardless of the weight! It's funny, but I never even consider weight when considering a smallies size. I think that might be a typical river thing while lake guys go by weight. ( If I ever caught one with that girth, though, I might wish I had a scale with me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted May 7, 2006 Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 I got 4.7 lbs. on various calculators. Sounds about right to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddC Posted May 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2006 She was a nice fish and the best thing is that she is still swimming and will pass along those genes again in the near future. There were two fish officially weighed in at the local bait shop in the last week that were six pounds or better. One was just under 22" and weighed 6lbs 6ozs and was released and the other was right at 6lbs but I did not get the length, nor do I know if it was released. Those river fish up there seem to weigh more than average to begin with and when you figure in the eggs I think they could weigh more than the calculations. All I know is with girth like that she was a quality fish for sure. A couple years ago the shop mounted a "nice one" that a walleye angler brought in that weighed 7-3!!! I think it was 22-23 inches long. Dave, the owner of the shop said the guy wasn't all that excited about it but knew it was a decent fish and wanted to get it mounted. Can you imagine netting a 7-3 and not being all that excited? That would be the smallie of my dreams. Maybe someday that dream will turn into reality. Until then I'll just keep on fishin' my spots up there on the river and keep looking for new ones............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank Posted May 8, 2006 Report Share Posted May 8, 2006 Totally agreed. A nice fatso nevertheless. And she still swims. Funny you should mention walleye. In a few days I'll be heading north for the Michigan walleye opener and we have caught many nice smallies while searching for walleyes. Seems they are kind of like birds of a feather, because whenever there is a good bite on there is usually one nice smallie in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick D. Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Last Thursday while fishing a northern stretch of the WI River I caught what may be my heaviest smallie to date. The prespawn female was 19.25" long and had a girth of 15.5". One web site I went to had an estimate of 5.78lbs. I don't know if the fish was that heavy but I can say with pretty good certainty that she was for sure over five. Any ideas what a fish of those dimensions would weigh? The fish was caught on a 1/8 oz jig tipped with a fathead in the middle of the river on a hard gravel bar in six feet of water. My 13 year old daughter caught her personal best there last June in the same spot which went 18". I hope the pics turn out OK as I left my digital camera at home. Thanks in advance for the replies and good fishing!! There is an article by past TOSA presibent Al. Bach, "How much dose that smallie weigh" at www.theohiosmallmouthalliance.org that show offer some indications. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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