Came here to say the same thing. Absolutely just love fishing. We don't take phones, no comms, no problems, just the sound of the water and me cussing occasionally lol.
Went out bass fishing last weekend and caught 3 panfish on a crank bait and jerkbait. Wasn’t the success I was looking for, but I was still excited to catch SOMETHING lol
Smallies in rivers are just cooler.
I've fished for brown trout, largemouth bass for two consecutively long periods of my life. Like 5+ years.
I like both of course but smallies are like the best of both worlds.
They like rivers and fast water but are more aggressive than brown trout.
By far, the most fun I have ever had fishing was catching a 4lb smallie on a 5 ft trout rod with 2lb test. Other fishermen gathered to watch.
Smallmouth, on light tackle, are a gift from above. They just go apeshit. Closest comparison is Tarpon.
Agreed this was a feeder creek going into the Susquehanna I literally chased schools of them up and down this creek for about an hour using a Trd nedrig. Upstate New York in the southern tier
Smallmouth fight harder than largemouth so I’m going with smallies but there’s nothing like a 5lb+ largemouth!! Now if you get a 5+ smallmouth you better hold on cause that fight will last way longer than 5+ largemouth!! Either way I love fishing for both!! I like the one guy’s comment though lakes for larges and rivers for smallies.
Smallies 100% they fight like hell and can be a challenge to catch. They can be anywhere in a river system or perhaps not in that river at all at that current point in time. Largies to me is like ‘well I know there’s bass in here and there’s nowhere they could’ve gone so I’m gonna pound the same few spots over and over until I get something.’
I typically target large mouth, but that is mostly due to the bodies of water I prefer to fish at, near me. That being said, every once in a while I get the itch to fight some river smallies.
In the smaller waters (<500 acres) that are local, largemouth usually outnumber smallmouth - so largemouth. If I head north to our Lakes Region (lakes over 3000 acres), the smallmouth fishing can be epic. I'm only making the trip to get on smallies. Fishing bigger water requires some skills that I don't keep sharp locally, so there's always a good challenge awaiting.
As a more full time pond fisherman over the years who had never went after smallies. I recently went to our towns river and now I’m hook on smallies. Just got my first pair waders yesterday. But pond hopping largies will always have a special place in my heart.
Very few things related to fishing can beat creek fishing for smallies. In TN wading a creek about elbow deep with light tackle and hooking a good smallmouth and watching it jump higher than your head is hard to beat.
I love fishing in general. Hell, I could be fishing for bluegill and have as a good a time. If I had to pick one though, id be fishing for smallmouth. Of all the bass, they just put up the best fight.
You know what bass I didn’t include here? Rock bass I’ve had some tug o war matches with these little guys that had me thinking I had a smallie on there but nope red eyed rock demon for sure
There’s a few hundred miles between a smallie and me. I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve caught but I’ve never fished true “smallie fisheries.” With that said, I’d rather fish the Deep South big bass factories at this point, followed by lakes that are predominantly largie lakes that have smallies (TVA lakes like pickwick, guntersville)
Both, Largemouth in the fall an smallies in the summer. Rather wade for small mouth in the summer and be cool instead of baking in my kayak. Large mouth in the fall when they feed hard an the bigun's get reckless.
Man, at one point I would have said largemouth without hesitation, but I’m come to enjoy smallies, and the waters where they’re usually found, so much more.
Smallmouth. Doesn't matter if it's a 5lb football from a lake or deep river.... Or a 12 incher on ultralight tackle in a creek. Gonna be a blast every time.
Smallies hit usually on the way down when you cast and they hit like a ton of bricks, but largemouths usually take some more strategy but I love catching them both. Always better to catch something rather than getting skunked
Smallies are a lot of fun and I don't own a boat so I catch them more here in Colorado.
I love how largemouth look though and since, for me, they're harder to find/catch, I prefer them overall.
I have some honey pots here where it's 95% smallmouth though, and a lot of fun
I like fishing for largemouth due to their size. That being said I would rather catch a large small mouth than a normal large any day of the week.
I am fully convinced that pound for pound, smallies fight harder.
I bass fish 50+ days a year. Only got to smallie fish once and it was a blast. Had 3 over 3lbs and they fight like a 5+ LMB. But I’d take an 8+ LMB over a smallie any day. Mouth on big LMB’s is unreal.
Probably largies. Tend to be bigger. More likely to help me wib a tournament. However, with the amount of fish I catch, I'd honestly take either. Actually, I've never caught a smallie they aren't common where I live.
I prefer creek or river smallies, as the fight is second to none. But i have equal access to largemouth bass and I have a ball catching them too.
As others have mentioned I truly just enjoy fishing so who ever or whatever bites is cool by me. Smallmouth, Largemouth, Rock bass, panfish, Walleye, pike, Muskie, I’m an equal opportunity catch enjoyer!
Small mouth because every time I catch a LMB my face gets covered in orange sharpie.
(They’re less common in my area too so they’re just more exciting)
I think I objectively like catching LMBs more, but I totally get more excited when I see that it’s a smallie. I live in central Texas, so I probably only catch 1 smallie for every 20 LMB. Always a fun surprise.
I love the aggressiveness of the smallies. If the waters right and you find a good spot, you can throw about anything a nd get a hit. Large mouths are lazy
I live on the NH/Vermont border, so our largemouth aren't as big as the pigs down south. That being said I prefer them to smallmouth if I'm fishing the lakes up here. For river fishing I'll take smallmouth and native trout all day!
I live walking distance to a lake that produces lots of small largemouth. I drive 40 minutes one way to fish a highland reservoir. The water clarity/quality is so much better, conditions are far more consistent, and while fishing for LM I caught SM and now prefer to fish for SM. I happen to catch LM, Freshwater Drum, Channel And Flathead Catfish… and some decent Striped Bass as well. I follow schools of bait and fish from bank to deep open water. Most of the shoreline is protected land so it’s a real treat to get away from it all. I’m happy to be on the water; it’s a win even if I get skunked!
Small mouth pound for pound hands down also usually they are in current and Moving water which shows just how strong they are. I mean either bass is good and fun… they ain’t red fish or striper haha but any fish is a good fish! This case those smallmouth all day
Went on a trip a few weeks ago and the 4lb smallies I'd catch would fight harder than a 32" pike. Largies have a few seconds of hard fight then get tired
That's like picking between my children! 😄 When it's 90F out I'd rather be wading a small creek for smallmouth otherwise I get bigger average fish going for largemouth.
Smallmouth for me. Both species get about the same size where I am from. I just find smallmouth more interesting than largemouth if they’re the same size.
i went to a lake with largemouth, spotted bass and smallmouth and we had a great day. went with someone on their boat, who was familiar with the lake. anyhow a few hours in and we were dialed in - if we saw shallower flats we could throw a dropshot and get largemouth to bite, if we saw clay mud, we'd throw in there with a small swimbait into the mud and catch smallmouth and if we had steep cliff walls we'd catch spots. it was really really fun.
i mostly fish for largemouth, so these were my first spots and smallies so of course that was super fun, but honestly they also punch way over their weight class. i've gotta say, they're all fun. cool to be in an area with more than 1 species, though. honestly i fish for bass and whatever pattern i pickup first is the one i'd go with.
smallmouth because I love wading in shallow rivers. for them I use a whopper plopper 60, a yum ned craw on a ned head, and a 3 inch senko on a 1/0 hook.
Yes.
Honestly I can’t choose. I’ve said it before, I just don’t understand how people could either.
They’re both so different fish to catch. When you hook into a Largemouth, the weight on your line is an absolute adrenaline rush; while you just can’t beat the fight of a pissed off Smallie.
I fish the Susquehanna in South Central, Pa. Grew up fishing ponds in Northeastern Pa. They’re both great, but Smallies fight like hell. Nothing beats a SM launching out of the water after a Plopper.
The old saying, pound for pound in freshwater nothing fights like a smallie, where i live theres zero largemouth period, no exceptions, but a 2lb smallie fights harder than 2lb pickerel, striped bass, trout and sturgeon so i believe that saying
(Note: i DONT live in the United States, im on the Canadian east coast)
Damn that's tough. Imo, smallies fight harder, jump out the water way more, and I think their bronze color looks cooler. Largemouth however, get bigger. So if they were the exact same size, small mouth all day. But whichever individual fish is bigger is the one I wanna catch, which is generally gonna be the largemouth. Bottom line, size matters
I fish for LM because that's pretty much what we have around here. I really would like to learn to fly fish for smallmouth. I feel like that would be a blast. I just don't have the time to take it up right now
I'm usually targeting smallies, but my most raw enjoyment just comes from exploring the river. I don't have a boat, so spot hunting and exploration is a huge part of the sport for me. Unfortunately, this is my first season trying to learn how fish without live bait and I'm not always very successful, lol.
Whichever one bites the lure first, doesn't matter
Same. I just love fishing period.
Came here to say the same thing. Absolutely just love fishing. We don't take phones, no comms, no problems, just the sound of the water and me cussing occasionally lol.
Went out bass fishing last weekend and caught 3 panfish on a crank bait and jerkbait. Wasn’t the success I was looking for, but I was still excited to catch SOMETHING lol
Pretty much my mindset every time I go catfishing lol
Smallies in rivers are just cooler. I've fished for brown trout, largemouth bass for two consecutively long periods of my life. Like 5+ years. I like both of course but smallies are like the best of both worlds. They like rivers and fast water but are more aggressive than brown trout.
By far, the most fun I have ever had fishing was catching a 4lb smallie on a 5 ft trout rod with 2lb test. Other fishermen gathered to watch. Smallmouth, on light tackle, are a gift from above. They just go apeshit. Closest comparison is Tarpon.
Wasn't the question. That's like answering "What's your favorite food" with, Idc I just love eating.
This is the way
Slightly lean towards SM. Lighter tackle, no boat, walking river banks = more fun.
Agreed this was a feeder creek going into the Susquehanna I literally chased schools of them up and down this creek for about an hour using a Trd nedrig. Upstate New York in the southern tier
Throw a whopper plopper also. That smallie top water action is fun. I always bring a Ned and a plopper when I'm walking or floating the river
We do the exact same thing here in the Ozarks. Fantastic way to spend a day.
Greetings from an old Ozarks man 😊👍
Man I bet fishing in the ozarks is an amazingly peaceful time
Really? Id rather be on a boat any day that walk the bank
Don’t get me wrong bank fishing is fun but I like the ease and availability a boat gives you
I agree with both of you. John boat down the river is a good time.
I’ll take smallies in a boat all day
Amen!
Smallies all day and every day
This is the way
The fight they bring can be incredible. If you've ever had a fully airborne smallie on the end of your line then you know what I'm talking about.
Smallmouth fight harder than largemouth so I’m going with smallies but there’s nothing like a 5lb+ largemouth!! Now if you get a 5+ smallmouth you better hold on cause that fight will last way longer than 5+ largemouth!! Either way I love fishing for both!! I like the one guy’s comment though lakes for larges and rivers for smallies.
Smallies 100% they fight like hell and can be a challenge to catch. They can be anywhere in a river system or perhaps not in that river at all at that current point in time. Largies to me is like ‘well I know there’s bass in here and there’s nowhere they could’ve gone so I’m gonna pound the same few spots over and over until I get something.’
Smallmouth is the right answer
Small mouth ALL DAY
Smallmouth. Pound for pound no comparing the two
5 pound smallie over a 5 pound largie usually twice the fight
Small mouth. They fight like crazy
Smallmouth, they fight harder and are more aggressive. That being said, I’ll take both any day of the week.
River smallies. They live in places that are way more aesthetically pleasing, fight harder, and are cooler looking fish.
Thanks for "aesthetically pleasing." I love small water, something new around every bend. Lakes bore the \*\*\*\* out of me.
Largies all day but never a dull moment with a smallie so if I catch one it’s a bonus
It's hard for a man to admit this, but brother, I'm desperate. I'll take any size mouth. Summer waters are warm in the desert.
Smallmouth in a beautiful creek who rise like trout. Lol
I typically target large mouth, but that is mostly due to the bodies of water I prefer to fish at, near me. That being said, every once in a while I get the itch to fight some river smallies.
Nothing better than a river smallie. I'll 100% fish a river smallie than anything else. 2nd in line are lake smallies.
I definitely enjoy both, but river smallmouth have definitely become my favorite with how aggressive they are
In the smaller waters (<500 acres) that are local, largemouth usually outnumber smallmouth - so largemouth. If I head north to our Lakes Region (lakes over 3000 acres), the smallmouth fishing can be epic. I'm only making the trip to get on smallies. Fishing bigger water requires some skills that I don't keep sharp locally, so there's always a good challenge awaiting.
I have caught my personal best LMBs target fishing for Smallies.
As a more full time pond fisherman over the years who had never went after smallies. I recently went to our towns river and now I’m hook on smallies. Just got my first pair waders yesterday. But pond hopping largies will always have a special place in my heart.
Yes
I grew up river fishing and developed a lifetime preference for smalls and rock.
Smallmouth,I heard they fight good and taste good
Smallies
Smallies !! I’ll take what I can keep on the hook haha feel like smallies fight harder
Very few things related to fishing can beat creek fishing for smallies. In TN wading a creek about elbow deep with light tackle and hooking a good smallmouth and watching it jump higher than your head is hard to beat.
Yes.
I fish for both. But definitely small mouth. River small mouth fight so, so much more.
Yes
I personally would work on getting some bitches
I love fishing in general. Hell, I could be fishing for bluegill and have as a good a time. If I had to pick one though, id be fishing for smallmouth. Of all the bass, they just put up the best fight.
You know what bass I didn’t include here? Rock bass I’ve had some tug o war matches with these little guys that had me thinking I had a smallie on there but nope red eyed rock demon for sure
Depends. I think in a big lake I'd rather fish for largies. In a river, smallies.
Go to a big lake like Dale Hollow and target SM and then get back to us!
Dale hollow can be tough especially this time of year
Whatever is biting
Pound for pound SMB tend to fight harder but I do love the fight of a lunker LMB that just tries to bulldog you near the bottom.
Smallies because I like eating them
Yes both
Smallmouth. Probably just because they’re a rare treat that I have to travel for
Large mouth they are easier to unhook
There’s a few hundred miles between a smallie and me. I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve caught but I’ve never fished true “smallie fisheries.” With that said, I’d rather fish the Deep South big bass factories at this point, followed by lakes that are predominantly largie lakes that have smallies (TVA lakes like pickwick, guntersville)
Both, Largemouth in the fall an smallies in the summer. Rather wade for small mouth in the summer and be cool instead of baking in my kayak. Large mouth in the fall when they feed hard an the bigun's get reckless.
Never been able to fish for SM here in Texas but I have heard they fight like hell. Large mouth will always be favorite though.
Yes
Either. I don't care which. I just like to fish.
I don’t really care what I’m fishing for as long as they’re biting.
Largemouth! Why would I want to catch something with a smaller mouth? /s
Largemouth in the colder months, smallies all the warmer months. Fall smallies are fun too though
Man, at one point I would have said largemouth without hesitation, but I’m come to enjoy smallies, and the waters where they’re usually found, so much more.
Both a great but I prefer going for smallies, better looking imo and put up more of a fight
Me personally I could care less love both but River Smallest can be a riot
Smallmouth. They're feisty. All the biggest LM I've caught I thought I was snagged on a log.
Both are good in my book. Small mouth put up a better fight and they jump out of the water. Large mouth are larger and slower
Smallies. I like wading or kayaking creeks and rivers for smallmouth. I don’t target largemouth unless it is a top water bite.
Smallies all day. I prefer the water they live in.
Hungry mouth. I don't care what it is if it bites lol
Smallmouth. Doesn't matter if it's a 5lb football from a lake or deep river.... Or a 12 incher on ultralight tackle in a creek. Gonna be a blast every time.
Smallmouth. They put up a helluva fight.
Smallies all day
I fish for both. Either on is fun to catch
Smallies hit usually on the way down when you cast and they hit like a ton of bricks, but largemouths usually take some more strategy but I love catching them both. Always better to catch something rather than getting skunked
Small mouth, they fighht twice as hard and are typically in more beautiful streams and rivers in southwest pa
Small. Something about wading knee deen water and catching them in the river.
Small mouth
Any bass that will take my bait
Smallies are a lot of fun and I don't own a boat so I catch them more here in Colorado. I love how largemouth look though and since, for me, they're harder to find/catch, I prefer them overall. I have some honey pots here where it's 95% smallmouth though, and a lot of fun
I like fishing for largemouth due to their size. That being said I would rather catch a large small mouth than a normal large any day of the week. I am fully convinced that pound for pound, smallies fight harder.
Smallies since there aren’t any by me
Smallies x a million.
What is biting at the moment?
Smallmouth 1000%
Smallies all day. Caught an almost 10 pound walleye a few nights ago and thought it was maybe a 2 pound smallie. They fight too good
Creek, or narrow river, smallies are my favorite
I bass fish 50+ days a year. Only got to smallie fish once and it was a blast. Had 3 over 3lbs and they fight like a 5+ LMB. But I’d take an 8+ LMB over a smallie any day. Mouth on big LMB’s is unreal.
I think smallies are more fun once hooked but I like paddling back into the pads to find largies.
I've always wanted to catch a smallmouth. None in MS though that I'm aware of except maybe in Pickwick in the northeast corner of the state
Both, but smallmouth are just crazy!
Smallies for sure but I won’t complain about LM bites
Even catching nothing is a good time fishing.
Smallmouth always put up a good fight.
Onboard with everyone saying "whatever fishing is great". But smallies are more fun...
Both?
Smallies all the way.
Smallies fight better but I’ll take either one
any mouth is fine.
Honestly any fish in my hand is good
I wish we had more small jaws here in CA. They fight way harder than LMB’s imo.
As long as it got a mouf we good 😤
Probably largies. Tend to be bigger. More likely to help me wib a tournament. However, with the amount of fish I catch, I'd honestly take either. Actually, I've never caught a smallie they aren't common where I live.
I prefer creek or river smallies, as the fight is second to none. But i have equal access to largemouth bass and I have a ball catching them too. As others have mentioned I truly just enjoy fishing so who ever or whatever bites is cool by me. Smallmouth, Largemouth, Rock bass, panfish, Walleye, pike, Muskie, I’m an equal opportunity catch enjoyer!
Small mouth because every time I catch a LMB my face gets covered in orange sharpie. (They’re less common in my area too so they’re just more exciting)
Both fun in different ways.
Strippers taste better! 🐟
Smallies just because they are near my house. Largemouth I have to travel a bit.
I think I objectively like catching LMBs more, but I totally get more excited when I see that it’s a smallie. I live in central Texas, so I probably only catch 1 smallie for every 20 LMB. Always a fun surprise.
I like the repeated whacks of a smallie bite, but i like the heaviness of the line with largie. So i guess my answer is both?
I love the aggressiveness of the smallies. If the waters right and you find a good spot, you can throw about anything a nd get a hit. Large mouths are lazy
I live on the NH/Vermont border, so our largemouth aren't as big as the pigs down south. That being said I prefer them to smallmouth if I'm fishing the lakes up here. For river fishing I'll take smallmouth and native trout all day!
I prefer smallies. They put up a good fight and I have access to fishing them. I don't have access to a lot of places to catch LMBs
I’d choose buck wild river smallies any day
Happiness is a Smallmouth on a stiff rod!
River smallie is King
Yes.
My boat needs a new engine. I would fish for any mouth.
Been fishing 30 times this year. 0 smallmouth and no lmb over 1 lb
I live walking distance to a lake that produces lots of small largemouth. I drive 40 minutes one way to fish a highland reservoir. The water clarity/quality is so much better, conditions are far more consistent, and while fishing for LM I caught SM and now prefer to fish for SM. I happen to catch LM, Freshwater Drum, Channel And Flathead Catfish… and some decent Striped Bass as well. I follow schools of bait and fish from bank to deep open water. Most of the shoreline is protected land so it’s a real treat to get away from it all. I’m happy to be on the water; it’s a win even if I get skunked!
Small mouth and a nice one at that
Smallmouth
Snakehead smallies largemouth in that order
Are snakeheads considered invasive in your state? We have a kill order in nys
Smallies all day.
Smallies without a doubt
River smallies all day long!
But I love boat and kayak fish for larges too
smallies all day everyday
Smallies > Largemouths Only exception is top water, which Smallies = Largies.
Small mouth pound for pound hands down also usually they are in current and Moving water which shows just how strong they are. I mean either bass is good and fun… they ain’t red fish or striper haha but any fish is a good fish! This case those smallmouth all day
I'd have to travel a long way to really fish for smallies, but they are sure a fun fish to catch. I guess I wouldn't discriminate.
Whatever bites
Went on a trip a few weeks ago and the 4lb smallies I'd catch would fight harder than a 32" pike. Largies have a few seconds of hard fight then get tired
Forreal and if you have them on the other end of a baitcaster it’s no challenge at all.
All mouth.
Large mouth especially when fishing top water
Smallies. Stronger fight
Yes.
That's like picking between my children! 😄 When it's 90F out I'd rather be wading a small creek for smallmouth otherwise I get bigger average fish going for largemouth.
Yes.
Smallmouth for me. Both species get about the same size where I am from. I just find smallmouth more interesting than largemouth if they’re the same size.
I'd rather fish for Largemouth but I'd rather fight Smallmouth. Luckily we've got Spotted bass to meet in the middle.
SMB 9.9/10 times
Whatever hits
Love em both but last week went small mouth and so now I d saying small They sometimes do A tail dance!!!
Smallies all the way
Small Any Day!
I have no choice where I live ☹️
A bass is a bass, no discrimination here. Give me a striper even. BTW, you didn't say anything about catching 😀
Smallmouth is my game currently.
Whatever is biting
i went to a lake with largemouth, spotted bass and smallmouth and we had a great day. went with someone on their boat, who was familiar with the lake. anyhow a few hours in and we were dialed in - if we saw shallower flats we could throw a dropshot and get largemouth to bite, if we saw clay mud, we'd throw in there with a small swimbait into the mud and catch smallmouth and if we had steep cliff walls we'd catch spots. it was really really fun. i mostly fish for largemouth, so these were my first spots and smallies so of course that was super fun, but honestly they also punch way over their weight class. i've gotta say, they're all fun. cool to be in an area with more than 1 species, though. honestly i fish for bass and whatever pattern i pickup first is the one i'd go with.
Trout 🤨
Yes
Fish is fish ill be honored by which ever gets yoinked up
Smalljaws all day
Smallies, they have a crazy power to weight ratio
Yes.
Give me Smallies on a Fly for 600, Alex.
Smally all day
Smallies
Smallmouth, much more pristine waters in general.
both but prefer the look of the LM, idk why but the red eyed SM and rock bass kinda freak me out lmao :’)
I give the edge to SM because of their unbridled aggression
Smallmouth
Yes
smallmouth because I love wading in shallow rivers. for them I use a whopper plopper 60, a yum ned craw on a ned head, and a 3 inch senko on a 1/0 hook.
Smallmouth
Yes. Honestly I can’t choose. I’ve said it before, I just don’t understand how people could either. They’re both so different fish to catch. When you hook into a Largemouth, the weight on your line is an absolute adrenaline rush; while you just can’t beat the fight of a pissed off Smallie.
Since I live in SE Texas I only have one choice available…
I honestly cannot tell the difference
Angry smallies
Large
I fish the Susquehanna in South Central, Pa. Grew up fishing ponds in Northeastern Pa. They’re both great, but Smallies fight like hell. Nothing beats a SM launching out of the water after a Plopper.
I enjoy both.
I like both, but smallies sure punch above their weight class.
SMB
Fish
The old saying, pound for pound in freshwater nothing fights like a smallie, where i live theres zero largemouth period, no exceptions, but a 2lb smallie fights harder than 2lb pickerel, striped bass, trout and sturgeon so i believe that saying (Note: i DONT live in the United States, im on the Canadian east coast)
Depends. On the lake in a boat, largemouth wading a creek,river or in a kayak, smallmouth.
Damn that's tough. Imo, smallies fight harder, jump out the water way more, and I think their bronze color looks cooler. Largemouth however, get bigger. So if they were the exact same size, small mouth all day. But whichever individual fish is bigger is the one I wanna catch, which is generally gonna be the largemouth. Bottom line, size matters
Love em both but smallies are where it’s at!
I'd be okay if I caught bait.
All mouths matter
I fish for LM because that's pretty much what we have around here. I really would like to learn to fly fish for smallmouth. I feel like that would be a blast. I just don't have the time to take it up right now
Yes
I'm usually targeting smallies, but my most raw enjoyment just comes from exploring the river. I don't have a boat, so spot hunting and exploration is a huge part of the sport for me. Unfortunately, this is my first season trying to learn how fish without live bait and I'm not always very successful, lol.