Why Smallmouth Bass Are More Fun Than Largemouth Bass
Over at Everything Smallmouth’s Facebook page, we asked our readers the following question:
Hey all, I’m writing an article about why smallmouth bass are more fun to catch than largemouth. ”
If you agree or disagree, please include your comments below:
John Vojacek: Smallmouth are on mine & my 9yr old son’s bucket list. We’ve never caught one. We’re going to fish for them this summer. Heard they fight like heck, can’t wait.
Andrew Baribault: No Smallies are way more fun becuz they put up a better fight … 2lb smallie feels like a 4lb larry.
Michael W Houston Whatever fish I’m catching at the moment is my favorite lol
Jason Boothe: Pound for pound a smallie will fight twice as hard as a largemouth! I would rather catch a 3lbs smallie over a 6lbs largemouth!!!
Kyle VanDyke: A 1 pound smallie could drag a 6 pound largie around any lake multiple times!! I LOVE smallies!
Robert Drake: I like that most smallmouth come from the rivers and streams flowing through mountains and valleys that the rest of the world rarely sees. If the rest of the fishing world got to experience fishing from a raft or jet boat chasing smallies, it would be commercialized bass fishing is now. I’d like to see the boys on bass boats go with me to throw a casting net or flip rocks for the sane net. I guess my smallie fishing is a bit more masculine and I don’t use have to burn up gas or have a $50K rig to get ’em!!!!!!!
Barb Elliott: more fun cause they NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!!!! they are fast, aggressive, competitive- when they hit a lure – they will ’bout rip your arm off!!! They will rip into a top water lure – again and again – leaping thru the air – over that bait again and again – they want it SO bad!!!! It’ll break your heart every time when that 4+ pounder misses it!!! Hang onto that rod and reel, cause it will feel like someone dropped a cinder block off a cliff – if you’re not paying attention, you might lose that set-up!! My lic plate says “FISH4SMB” – once you fish for them – you’ll realize what you’ve been missing!!!
Carson Clark: -4 points if it has a stripe down its side.
Kelly Flinn: I’ve caught 12 in smallies that fight like they are 10 pounds. I also like fishing for smallies because they are in the rivers more than the largemouths and I’m a river guy.
Jonathan Lynn: Witt Smallies all the way. They are the Kings of Battle!
Bob Adkins: Stream smallies love rocks which is much more enjoyable in which to wade.
Tim Darnell: More aggressive, more fight, more fun
Christopher J Windover: I like bucket mouths better only because they seem more likely to take top water baits which I love!
Mike Dial: They fight and never give up ,They jump and never give up ,The hit a bait hard and do not mouth the bait like a large jaw does, They are more of a challenge!!! Did I say they never give up.
Joseph Wayne Heath: I like the ones that are biting
Steve Petersons: They r both a blast to catch.
John Sickert: Smallies are a fish with an attitude. They never give up.
Brandon Biby: I love all fishing
Michael Stafford: like em both the same
Paul Russell: Smallies never stop fighting . Pound for pound the hardest fighting fish
Arley Cope: Small large spotted. If you are catching bass are you going to complain about any bass? Cmon! Its bass man!
Scott Chapman: smallies are a little more challenging to catch than largemouth. Plus smallies are fighters. not to say largemouth don’t fight, they do. It’s just that smallies will fight harder and longer.
Nick Carroll: 2 words…the fight!!!
Jeff Neels: When you set the hook on a river smallmouth bass that spends most of it’s life in current your at the mercy of the fish.
Dennis Jay Jones Jr: My dream is to catch some Pickwick smallies, but I have caught a lot of Coosa River Spotted Bass which most pros say is the toughest ombré out there. I can’t say because I haven’t caught any smallies, well that’s my two cents!
Buzz Ansley: I like my bass big, dumb and hungry. Largemouth fit the bill, smallies are too smart for me.
Dallas Miller: I like catching all bass kentuckys spots fight hard to
Kyle Grosvenor: Both. Smallmouth are harder to find you gotta go wade out and hunt them down. Largemouth are fun to tho easier to catch and find. A lot depends on weather location and time of year. I personally love catching both species.
Derrick Lederle: harder strike, smaller fish put up just as much of a fight as big large mouth do
Donald Bubba Burrow: They don’t play dead
Anthony Scott: It’s because they would fight till they die!
Anthony Taffie: I think large mouth are more fun to catch cause that what im catchin out here in western oklahoma bro
Billy Suhre Kimbrell: I say large mouth because of the range. From Mexico to Canada, I don’t even know how far I’d have to go to find smallies.
Jimmy Blair: The fight is on big or small
Joshua Woods: I like largemouth better. Smallies are pound for pound better fighters and big ones are individually more fun. But I’m more likely to have a day of multiple larger LMB’s than a day of multiple large SMB’s. I’ll take an 8 or 9 pound LMB over a 5 or 6 pound smallie anytime.
Vic Pennell: Ya need to come into my bait shop. I’ve got a few customers that’ll tell you why fishin for smallies is the most fun. They spend a lot of time and effort chasing them
Phong Chang: Pound for pound hardest fighting fish on the planet!!
Chris Sittman: Early morning and late evening top water for bronze backs, there is NOTHING that compares! I personally like fishing for Smallies better than Largies as they just fight different, and probably because i have an easier time catching Smallies! Great Columbia River fishery right here couple miles out our front door!
Jarred Thorkelson: I can not agree or disagree! It all depends on the situation!
Richard Taft: a small mouth on a lite tackle rod is almost the best there is!! I said almost because a small mouth on a lite TROUT fly rod IS THE BEST. if You aint tried it you should.
Crystal Berryhill: Smallies are the best I agree they r a better fight!
Randy Thomas: In Oregon many lakes a cooler and smallmouth seem more comfortable .And they fight harder pound for pound .And rocks are almost everywhere in lakes and rivers
Gary A. Lange: Waded the rivers of Illinois outside Chicago for years and caught thousands of Smallmouths. They are by far the hardest fighting of the Bass.
Brian Kafka: Smallmouth,large mouth love them both
Donald E Hock: Smallmouth Bass are more fun than large mouth because of the aggressive nature of them.They pull harder,fight harder than ol’bucket mouth.And there is a mystique to catching a big smallie as well! There is just something about the leopard spotted beauties exploding out of the water,especially when it’s a top water bite!
Steve Miller: Smallies fight harder and are more acrobatic I love seeing a smallie taking to air like a nuclear missile
John H. Millspaugh: They don’t know the meaning of quit!
Jamie Lanning: I enjoy catching both and a 4lbs smallie will out fight a 6lbs large mouth no doubt but im still a largemouth pursuer but also aint gonna pass up and toad smallie either!! But i do enjoy a smallie strike more though reminds u of a super jacked spot on feedN frenky
Dennis Kurczek: Smallies are a freshwater bone fish
Joe Jacobowitz: Smallmouth spend more time in the air and river smallmouth will always pull more line than a largemouth even a few pounds heavier. Smallies pound for pound are the most fun fish I’ve ever caught
Nick Harrington: I live in Nebraska and in eastern Nebraska there really are no other options for bass except largemouth. I go to south Dakota for walleye fishing and will catch smallies up there. But I haven’t caught enough to do a fair judgment on the fight, they have fought really hard I will say. But I love smallies because for me I really have to go out of state to get them, so for me they are special because it’s not a fish I can catch at home.
Jeffery J. Boyer: I have fished all over this country and pound for pound, the smallmouth is the scrappiest, most acrobatic fish on the end of a line . Even the smallest smallie thinks he is the biggest, badest fish in the water.
Paul Lopreato: Way more fun. That’s why I travel 700 miles to Canada every year.
Paul Hagans: Smallmouth bass can pull a largemouth backwards.
Nelson Jones: non-stop fight! Even a one pound smally thinks its a 10 lb fat head!
Christian Chestney: Smallmouth by far. They have twice the shoulder strength than a largemouth, therefore putting up twice the fight.
James Dobie: SMB fight way harder!!!!
Jeremy Dirstine: i agree largemouth hit hard.but smallmouth fight to the death.
Sean Cummings: very close call but i have to say, i love a smallie fight theyre like lil mike tysons..pack alot of punch !
Bill Montgomery: If sharks were as aggressive as smallies, no one would swim in the ocean.
Bruce Hunt: I’m for smallmouth…..and the best quote I ever heard….not sure from who but not original to me—–Smallmouth bass just seem to be mad at the world!
Zach Phelps: I personally love catching a big slab smallies. I throw a custom pepper jig with a P.T.L. diesel craw trailer under road bridges they can’t resist a food craw imitation. When you hook up.the fight and the air show they put on is mind blowing I thought I was gonnafreak when my p.b smallie 4.9lbs. Came flying 3 feet out of the water did a flip all while trying to shake the hooks. If your looking for some good fights and amazing acrobatic action go chase river smallies on light to medium tackle your mind will.be blown and you will be hooked for life.#fishingismyhustle#waterismystadium#backwoodsbassin
James Gerrity: i like catching both but the smallies fight harder a 3 pound smallie could pull a 6lb largemouth backwards all day
Wyatt Jacobson: Never caught me a bigmouth bass before but I do love hooking into a big smallie
Brian Pentecost: They fight like bulldogs until the last amount of energy..they never give up….so much that they need a little care when releasing. My hands down favorite freshwater fish…..Caught my first two years ago
Curtis Burton: No explanation needed!
Shane Eckloff: catching smallmouth in the rapids is quite fun nothing like it fishing the potomac and the shenandoah almost heaven but catching the big stripers out in the chesapeake bay is heaven
Austin Janssen: Smallmouth is way more exciting cuz they r fighters. They r so aggressive. Fun to catch
James Krysiak: smallmouth are better fighters than largemouth and they just don’t quit like a largemouth will when they tired love those smallmouth
Andrew Harbath: They fight harder, pose more of s challenge for anglers and its been proven smallmouth are smarter than large mouth. Also its awesome when smallies jump completely out of the water during the fight
Brian Mcguire: more jumps per inch
Michael Allison: Smallies! Absolutely fearless fish and as stout as they come. It also kinda gives you a feeling of exclusivity since you cant just go to the local park or pond and catch em. I think the smallmouth crowd is as die hard as it gets. We require a fish that fits the bill and the smallmouth does it well. Hands down the best sport fish you can catch.
Michael K Malak: No comparison, Smallmouth fishing over Large mouth any day.
Jay Jackson: Agree fight never stops and they taste good too.
Michael DiNardo: Jb, largemouth and smouth bass are from the sunfish family too. You might have an argument if Rock Bass grew to 20″.
Mike Dial: Michael, If Rock Bass Grew to 20 inches we would never get them out from under the Rocks. They are the hardest pullers in the creek pound for pound!!!
Mark R. Bethel: Smallies are better looking fish, but the reason they’re more fun is because the fight hard and longer. If bluegill came in the 3+pound range we’d all be fishing for them cause of the fight !
Bobby Swain: Wouldn’t trade u one 5 pound smallmouth for 30 keeper largemouth!Best fighter on the planet!
Gerath Bradley: I love going into a wait inn with a bag of brown fish and takeing the money from the sad green fisher men..
Confluence Outfitters VA: Fishing for smallmouth is always an adventure. There is always new ground to cover on the river. Where I am from large mouth can only be caught in private ponds and over fished lakes. I will take the river and the adventure of chasing smallmouth over most anything
Ed Pettry: River fish fight way better plus current adds to the fun
Joshua Pidgeon: I have been hooking smallmouths all day today at the hudson river, new york till i ran out of the bait.
James Landis: I love all fresh water fishing, but smallies do have a somewhat mean streak in the,,lol that think an act like kings of their area, kinda like a badger, not the biggest, but all the other animals even the bears stay away from them, lol,,
Jake Bassmaster Barker: Smally take longer runs largemouth the bigger the more lazy and piggish they get I once caught a little 1 pounder and next thing I noticed my line started bending when I already seen the fish knowing it was not capable of doing this I reeled in a 12 pound hawg that grabbed the slug go I was using and I looked down its throat large mouth I hooked 7 pound smallies by 3 mile island that fought like a tarpon.
Craig Coffman: Smallmouth are better fighter than largemouth and lots of actions from jumping out of the water
Trevor Ochs: Damn fight
Trevor Ochs: Smallies fight better and look cooler
Jb Sprague: Rock Bass fight as hard as any small mouth or large mouth bass and they are from the sunfish family and better eating!
Derek Farnham: Smallies bc of the fight! i catch both ALL summer long trust me i know this! even when you fight a smallie for 5 mins you can hold him out of the water and sometimes he will still twitch so fast and hard there he goes back into the water lol and on top of that smallies are like shooting projectiles out of the water no matter what size i caught a smallie this year that was just over 5 pounds and he jumped almost 3 feet out of the water!
Michael Leclercq: Smallmouth by far fight harder then largemouth but I do fish both. Much more excitment in the boat when a 4 pound smalie is hookeg then a 6 poung large. When you get em near the boat they don’t quit.
Joshua Pidgeon: It depends on which terrorrites you fishing in large mouths or small mouths and where, what water and how many you can catch within an hour. I have done both. Its hard to say which is better lol
Sam SouthCack: Pound for pound- Mike Tyson of fresh water!
Joe Rosenthal: I find the ratio or motto is half the size twice the fight lol example a 4lb smallmouth will give the fight of an 8lb largemouth lol
Brad McGinnis: I have caught a 22 inch small mouth and a 51 inch northern before in Canadian waters, hands down the small mouth gave me the most action.
Timothy Legg: There is no quit in a Smallie. They never give up!!
Ken Williams: Head shakes and the acrobatics of smallmouth is why i fish for them. Plus fishing river smallies can take you to some beautiful places
Nate Singer: Smallmouth all the way, i can tell you one thing. I’ve never looked a largemouth in the eye during battle!! Theres nothing like a bronzeback leaping!
Caleb Pierce: The fight is way better on a smallie hands down. Also I do enjoy fishing the rivers, cool and clear water and the current. The scenery seems to always be more beautiful where you are catching smallmouth!
Landen Krey: When Ur fighting a smallmouth it feel like you have a monster but when Ur fighting a largemouth u know how big it is.
Daron Savage: Smallies have a much better fight and aggressive when on the of a line . Absolutely fun to catch and a beautiful species of the bass family .But dont get me wrong nothing wrong with a nice 8lbs. largemouth bass or a 3.5 @ that .. But still smallies are hella fun to catch..
Richard Farquer: When a smallmouth hits,it is like hooking into a train. Any season. The impact of the strike is rarely subtle!
Greg J Liston: In my area (New Jersey) the smallies just grow bigger. Also, I agree that the same size smallmouth and largemouth do not put up equal fights. You know it when you have a smallmouth on the end of your line up here in NJ.
Daniel G De Vido: smallmouth they fight more but it wouldn’t break my heart to catch a big large mouth
Jared Gibbs: My biggest smallmouth was 4lbs smaller than my biggest largemouth and fought just as hard if not harder love smallmouth just wish had bigger ones where I live
Chris Mayes: If a smallmouth and largemouth were able to fistfight, the smallmouth would beat the crap out of the largemouth. Their aggression and strength cannot be matched by most North American freshwater fishes, let alone lazy largemouth.
Doyle Simmons: prettier and way much stronger
Jason Dworshak: Smallies way more fun and a much better fight. Not in every lake. Glad to be back in MN over TX. Fishing in MN much better.
Steve Brandt: Smallmouth’s have little fish complex and fight like a pitbull with rabies – that’s why they are my favorite fish to catch
Randy Kruger: They don’t give up.
Christopher Turner: I think they both present the thrill of catching a bass, but the smallmouth seems to be much more elusive and may be one of the best pound for pound fighters within lentic and lotic environments
Doug Sutherland: They never give up…… The Iconellis of the bass species
Paul Carter: Smallmouth, much better fight
KRend Ill: Inch for inch pound for pound champions!
Jimmy War: Because of the fight. Pound for pound, there’s no other fresh water fish that will fight like a smallie.
David Flowers: I agree. It’s all about the fight.
Jim Smith: I LIKE CATCHING BOTH BUT THE SMALLMOUTH PUTS UP A BETTER FIGHT
Joe Heitschmidt: 2 of my favorite bites are hookin a 4lb browny in 20’+ of water and flippin a big jig in milfoil mats and seein the mat jump knowing a giant largy just sucked ur bait in. Both fish are great to catch it all depends on what one wieghs more to put cash in my pocket
Mike Massetti: pound for pound smallies fight harder, longer, and are more aggressive than LMB. Especially here in Maine. That is why I favor them. Oh yeah, and the ones up here launch themselves out of the water like missiles!
Bobby Moates: Smallies are much better so much fun i cought one last week 7lbs i thought it was a catfish at first until it jumped out of the water..lol
Ryan Ortega: Smallies…..they fight harder and go airborne more.
Lee Moskey: Smallmouth bass are really aggressive. As largemouth bass dont really have any fight at all in them. Smallies are very active and there not picky eaters at all. If it looks like something good to eat. It will eat it.
Michael Keefe: Largemouth are great fishing but if you want a good battle small mouth is we’re its at period. Well I’m in north Idaho we have a bunch of both species and smallies are the shit. Smallies are so much fun to catch. I love largies but smallies are for fun to catch mainly because they fight so much harder it never gets old and is always surprising