mounting smallmouth

[troutmaster]

How big would a smallmouth have to get to be worthy of mounting?

Because i just got my biggest to date 18 inches but i don't think he's quite big enough for the wall.

[Eskimoman]

Somwhere around 21 inches depends who you are and where you get it.

[Bass Whacker]

im shooting for 23 if your looking for 21's hit up the croix and you put in some time. there are alot of big smallies prowling that river

[Mark Christianson]

A 23 incher?? About as likely as da thirty point buck.

Much less a 21. Thats a horse of many lifetimes.

That is, IF you measure them mouth closed and tail pinched.

Mouth open and tail pinched, then a 21 is much more possible.

[Central Bassman]

I guess it depends on where i'm fishing and stuff like that, I almost 100% sure i wouldn't mount any fish anymore, I would just get a glass replica made instead

[croixflats]

Ive caught a couple 23 inchers out of the croix quite a few 21''. And those arnt fish stories. Those 23 inchers were like boulders I had a heck of time getting them of the bottom.

[Bass Whacker]

yeah i have many pics of me holding 21s and many with no pics and im getting close i got a 22" last fall i just cant get my phone to email the pic o well even if i never get it it gives me something to keep me out there fishing for

[Deitz Dittrich]

Like CB said, at this point I think replicas look better.. however, I dont have a fish mounted yet... I do have a wall of fame... I much prefer picts.. its tells so mcuh more of the story... get a decent camera and then blow them up into 8/10's and hang the pict..

thats just how I feel.

[MSRiverdog]

I've had one fish mounted in my life, about 15/16 years ago, 4#11oz's, certified scale never knew what the length was. If it were a replica it wouldn't have been trashed over the years, broken fins. CPR is the only way to go.

[Cicada]

I always used to go by North Dakota's Whopper Club standards. That's only 3lbs for a smallmouth, though. It really depends on the body of water and the story behind it. In our neck of the woods a 20 inch smallie is big, you don't usuallly see much bigger. I've never liked the look of the glass and they do cost quite a bit more. I haven't had a mount done for 10 years now. Photos are all I can afford. I do like the wall of fame idea.

[RK]

Hiya -

Actually there isn't as much of a price difference between graphite and a skin mount as there used to be a few years ago. More guys doing graphite now and the competition is bringing the price down a lot.

Personally, fish mounts have never turned my crank, whether it's a skin mount or graphite. They just don't do it for me. Like a few others have said, I much prefer photos.

To the original question - to me, any time you're talking a crooked number in front (20 inches or bigger) you're talking a pretty serious smallie. But - it's all in the eye of the beholder.

Cicada - funny that 3 lbs is a whopper by the ND standards. From what I hear, if you headed back to your old hometown, you could join the whopper club several times over in one day if you put your mind to it

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[SledNeck]

Troutmaster, come up fishing with me...we'll get you a bigger fish than that every other cast.

[Jim Uran]

Like CB said, at this point I think replicas look better.. however, I dont have a fish mounted yet... I do have a wall of fame... I much prefer picts.. its tells so mcuh more of the story... get a decent camera and then blow them up into 8/10's and hang the pict..

thats just how I feel.

I like that idea!!!!!!

[Fluker]

Before I moved to MN, I always said a fish would have to be 8lbs before I had a replica / mount made. Smallie or Largie. This past year I caught a 7-6 Largie and took the needed measurements just in case. I didn't have a mount, so I decided this was close enough (especially considering the MN State record is < 9 lbs).

I agree on the comments of a replica. No need to get a skin mount these days.

I look at it as decoration more than anything. Like others said, photos are just as good (and a LOT cheaper) to reflect and for story telling. But a replica or 2 is nice for decoration of an office or cabin, and the main reason I did it.

This kinda goes back to Length vs. Weight as well. My 7-6 was only 21 1/2". Not a trophy length standard by many. However this fish was a beauty, with some neat markings, and FAT. If I had caught a 23 inch fish that weighed 6 lbs would I have had a replica made? If I had caught a 7-6 that wasn't unique would I have had a replica made? My guess is no on either case. So it is really personal subjection on the fish and what you want. Not necessarily what anyone (other than you) would condiser a trophy.

[Royce Aardahl]

call me sceptical I've released probably close to 2500 smallies in the last 6 years from the sippi. 6 of them were between 20 1/8 and 20 3/4. I did net one 21 1/2 for a friend in 2003. So when I hear somebody releases lots of 21's I have to wonder. Maybe the croix has bigger fish?

[Bass Whacker]

yeah i have fished the croix almost evey day in the summer for the last 6 or 7 years. eople pull more 21's out of the croix than you might guess in the hastings river town days tourny last year there was 3 weighed in in just that one tournament the key on the croix is to go deep. but i guess maybe ive just been lucky getting to keep my boat on the river all my life and spending every free minute on the water

[smallie_hawgin]

call me sceptical I've released probably close to 2500 smallies in the last 6 years from the sippi. 6 of them were between 20 1/8 and 20 3/4. I did net one 21 1/2 for a friend in 2003. So when I hear somebody releases lots of 21's I have to wonder. May br the croix has bigger fish?

Right on EG!!! I have also worked and caught at least that many in the last 10 years..... 5 over 20 in 05, the remainder have had at least one per year over 20" Even if you count electrofishing...... only a few over 20" my friend...

[Mr. Pike1]

Over my many years of fishing I have become very fasinated with small mouth fishing and would say at this moment in time is my favorite sport fish to catch. My small mouth fishing has been limited to two primary locations. Lake Vermillion which can be a small mouth and surprisingly a largemouth paradise. For me 25-50 fish day are not uncommon but to date I have not landed one there over 21. I have lost some that in my mind were 22 or 23 inch fish. The other area is the Mississippi river. I have got a few 20 plus inch fish and my best friend has touched the 22 inch mark. Reading about the larger fish on the St. Croix is getting me to thinking I might need to venture this area for a pig or two.

[joeyquicksand*]

Hey, don't let that guy near your fish, he said he wants to mount your smallmouth....

[Odonata]

Fishing walleyes last week I caught a 23.5 on the St. Louis River. That was with the tail pinched. It was a pig. I would have mounted it, but thought the season was not open yet. Wrong. The fish was released. Largest smallmouth I have ever caught and/or seen. No lie, say what you will.

[Mark Christianson]

Was the mouth closed? You mention tail pinched.

Lets see some pics of these fish that are 20+ on a ruler guys.

To me, its a bunch of [PoorWordUsage] without pics. Topics come and go on here with a lot of claims of these monster fish, but nobody has a pic to back any of the reports. Why is that?

[Central Bassman]

lol wow... A little venting BLB!!!! I do agree with you on this topic, I will be the first to admit that most of the time the camera is left at home!!

[croixflats]

Was the mouth closed? You mention tail pinched.

Lets see some pics of these fish that are 20+ on a ruler guys.

To me, its a bunch of [PoorWordUsage] without pics. Topics come and go on here with a lot of claims of these monster fish, but nobody has a pic to back any of the reports. Why is that?

Should I use the rubber ruler or the steele one with the rubber one i can make that 23 incher into a 26 incher. Thing is Believe what you want I know what has happend on my end and I see no reason to stretch the truth or lead someone on.

[SledNeck]

Was the mouth closed? You mention tail pinched.

Lets see some pics of these fish that are 20+ on a ruler guys.

To me, its a bunch of [PoorWordUsage] without pics. Topics come and go on here with a lot of claims of these monster fish, but nobody has a pic to back any of the reports. Why is that?

hey, I always include pics....just havent claimed anything to be over 23" yet.

[Royce Aardahl]

lol here we go again SN I think blb is mainly reffering to smallies on the river system.