5LB Tenkiller Smallmouth Bass

A fun smallmouth bass story from Darris Smith, Fort Smith, AR:

I caught this smallmouth bass on Lake Tenkiller last summer. I didn’t have any scales or couldn’t find anyone with a set. Me and a few guys settled on a straight 5 pounder. I caught this one on a crankbait while searching a main lake point for largemouth. It felt like I hooked a buss going 50 mph! It rolled at the top of the water a few times away from the boat, each time it got close to the boat it would take off stripping line from my reel. I just figured I had hooked one of the few stripers that are still in the lake. I about had a heart attack when I finally saw the beautiful bronze color roll past me under the boat. It got real serious real quick! But after finding no set of scales anywhere on the lake, I rolled her back into the lake to catch another day. Darn, I love fishing!

Editor’s Note: Way to practice catch-n-release Darris — now I have a chance at catching your smallie the next time I’m at Lake Tenkiller! Looks like a 5LBer to me too although holding it out towards the camera always adds a few pounds 😉