Every Single State Smallmouth Bass Record, Listed
Smallmouth bass are hands down my favorite fish to target. Their looks, curiosity, habitat and ferociousness are a few reasons why they top my list. To put it simply, they’re just bad to the bone. Growing up, I mainly fished small creeks and rivers for bronzebacks. Anything over 16 inches was a dandy in my eyes and a new personal smallmouth bass record. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to fish throughout the upper midwest chasing smalljaws in some truly world class fisheries.
Here’s a full breakdown of all of the word class smallmouth bass fisheries in the country, and the records they’ve produced. Here are all of the smallmouth bass records by state. Which are you going to try and break this season?
| State | Weight | Location | Angler | Date |
| Tennessee | 11 lbs 15 oz | Dale Hollow Lake | David L. Hayes | 1955 |
| Kentucky | 11 lbs 15 oz | Dale Hollow Lake | David L. Hayes | 1955 |
| Alabama | 10 lbs 8 oz | Wheeler Dam tailwater | Owen F. Smith | 1950 |
| North Carolina | 10 lbs 0 oz | Hiwassee Reservoir | Archie Lampkin | 1951 |
| Ohio | 9 lbs 8 oz | Lake Erie | Randy Van Dam | 1993 |
| South Carolina | 9 lbs 7 oz | LakeJocassee | Terry Dodson | 2001 |
| California | 9 lbs 13 oz | Pardee Reservoir (Amador) | Harold Hardin | 2007 |
| West Virginia | 9 lbs 12 oz | South Branch | David Lindsay | 1971 |
| Idaho | 9 lbs 11.5 oz | Dworshak Reservoir | Dan Steigers | 2006 |
| Michigan | 9 Lbs 15 oz | Indian River | Robert Bruce | 2016 |
| Wisconsin | 9 lbs 1 oz | Indian Lake | unknown | 1950 |
| Washington | 8 lbs 12 oz | Columbia River – Hanford Reach | Ray Wonacott | 1966 |
| Nevada | 8 lbs 11 oz | Sheep Creek Reservoir | Curtis Ockerman | 2010 |
| Pennsylvania | 8 lbs 8 oz | Scotts Run Lake | Robert T. Steelman | 1997 |
| Maryland | 8 lbs 4 oz | Liberty Reservoir | Gary Peters | 1974 |
| New York | 8 lbs 4 oz | Lake Erie+ Lake Ontario | Andrew C. Kartesz + Patrick Hildenbrand | 1995 + 2016 |
| Oklahoma | 8 lbs 3 oz | Lake Eufaula | Steve McLarty | 2006 |
| Massachusetts | 8 lbs 2 oz | Wachusett Reservoir | Barbara Sasen | 1991 |
| Virginia | 8 lbs 1 oz | New River | Donald S. Eaton, Jr | 2003 |
| Maine | 8 lbs 0 oz | Thompson Lake | George Dyer | 1970 |
| Minnesota | 8 lbs 0 oz | West Battle Lake | John Creighton | 1948 |
| Utah | 7 lbs 6 oz | Midview Reservoir (Lake Borham) | Alan Iorg | 1996 |
| Arkansas | 7 lbs 5 oz | Bull Shoals Lake | Acie Dickerson | 1969 |
| Indiana | 7 lbs 4 oz | Twin Lake | Dana Yoder | 1992 |
| New Jersey | 7 lbs 2 oz | Round Valley Reservoir | Carol Marciniak | 1990 |
| Georgia | 7 lbs 2 oz | Lake Chatuge | Jack Hall | 1973 |
| Missouri | 7 lbs 2 oz | Stockton Lake | Kevin S. Clingan | 1994 |
| Mississippi | 7 lbs 15 oz | Pickwick Lake – Yellow Creek Arm | Thomas Wilbanks | 1987 |
| Texas | 7 lbs 14.88 oz | Lake Meredith | Timothy Teague | 1998 |
| New Hampshire | 7 lbs 14.5 oz | Goose Pond | Francis H. Lord | 1970 |
| Oregon | 7 lbs 14 oz | Henry Hagg Lake | Kevin Silver | 2000 |
| Connecticut | 7 lbs 12 oz | Shenipsit Lake | Joseph Mankauskas Jr. | 1980 |
| Iowa | 7 lbs 12 oz | West Okoboji Lake | Rick Gray | 1990 |
| Nebraska | 7 lbs. 4 oz | Missouri River | Dennis Swanson | 2000 |
| Arizona | 7 lbs 0.96 oz | Roosevelt Lake | Dennis K. Barnhall | 1988 |
| New Mexico | 7 lb 3 oz | Canadian Reservoir | Cale Sanders | 2006 |
| North Dakota | 6 lbs 13 oz | Lake Darling | Bruce Elberg | 2007 |
| Vermont | 6 lbs 12.96 oz | Lake Eden | Issac Spaulding | 2003 |
| South Dakota | 7 lbs 3 oz | Horseshoe Lake | Lyal Held | 2016 |
| Kansas | 6 lbs 8.8 oz | Milford Reservoir | Frank Evans Jr. | 2010 |
| Colorado | 6 lbs 11 oz | Aurora Reservoir | Raymond Ong | 2011 |
| Illinois | 6 lbs 7 oz | strip mine lake | Mark Samp | 1985 |
| Montana | 6 lbs 6.6 oz | Fort Peck Reservoir | Mike Otten | 2002 |
| Rhode Island | 6 lbs 4 oz | Wash Pond | B. Ferris | 1977 |
| Wyoming | 5 lbs .94 oz | Flaming Gorge Reservoir | Bubba O’Neil | 2003 |
| Hawaii | 4 lbs 15.68 oz | Secret Location | Chad Boteilho | 2004 |
| Delaware | 4 lbs 15 oz | Brandywine River | Jerry Proffitt | 1989 |
| Louisiana | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Florida | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Alaska | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |