The (Smalll) Mouth From The South
IT HAPPENS EVERY year: The Bassmaster Elite Series heads North and thoughts turn to smallmouth bass. True, Northern waters tend to boast greater numbers of the bulbous freaks we tend to associate with smallmouth fishing, but several Southern fisheries hold plenty of respectable bronzebacks, with a smattering of straight-up difference-makers in the mix.
How big? Well, the International Game Fish Association currently recognizes the 11-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth that David Hayes wrestled out of Dale Hollow in 1955 as the all-tackle world record. Following years would see this Obey River reservoir straddling the Kentucky/Tennessee border yield several 10-plus-pounders, while a fine assortment of Southern and lower Midwest gems like Pickwick, Texoma, Table Rock and Cherokee continue to kick out big brown beasts.
Here’s where we pump the brakes. Genetically speaking, comparing Southern smallmouth to those of upper latitudes is not exactly an apples-to-apples deal. As we’ll address later (see: BROWN TOWN), the smallmouth family tree has multiple branches. Sometimes, you have to look pretty closely for variations, but the North/South thing is usually pretty clear.
“You can tell by pictures; they’re just shaped differently down here,” said Elite Series pro Brock Mosley, of Collinsville, Miss. “Up North, they’re like footballs; they go up and out and back around. Down here, they’re similar in shape to a largemouth — they’re just long.”
B.A.S.S. Conservation
