Very nice Bill! I noticed that big tail on some of the larger smallie's I've caught out of Long lake too. Probably what makes them such a powerful fighter.

Things that I have heard about fish like that is overpopulation. When it looks like their backs are caved in (Like both fish in your post), over population and lack of food to sustain the population is at hand. As much as it pains me to say it, there may need to be some harvesting from this lake to help. Like pulling some 12-14" fish out of the population to help the bigger fish.

The state would prefer if we harvested some SMB for sure. With a limit of 10 under 14", it would seem that they are pretty serious.

I don't know Deer, but, well I would be eating SMB tonight if it were me.

Yeah as much as love having 100 bass afternoons I really love catching big SMB & Deer has some of this areas biggest. But it's getting harder to weed through the little ones. Also the Deer lake Association is trying to exterminate the Lake Trout when they need to be way more concerned with the Smallmouth population. They seem to think it's all the mackinaw's fault that the glory days of silver fishing @Deer is gone. They're pretty near sighted if you ask me: Loon lake is less than 5 miles away & it has & has sustained good Kokanee & Mackinaw populations over the last 50 years. They need to look into the low lake levels that seem to have got a lot worse since one of the lakes well meaning property owners was dredging & punched a hole in the bed rock.

I have a cabin on Deer Lake and have fished it quite a bit.The Deer Lake Association had nothing to do with the idea of the Macks being the problem. It was the Fish and Game people who came up with this. The Mack population has declined in the last 5 years. IMO it has to do with two things. #1 is when we started having net pens for Kokanee, the state quit stocking the 400,00 to 500,000 kokanee fry that were food for all the fish. As their survival rate was only in the low digits, it did make sense that the net pens were a better way to go as the survival rate of a 6" fish is way higher. Without those fry all the other fish are eating whatever they can. #2 is the Smallmouth. They eat everything and as Bill said there are way to many of them. The property owners association wanted to have a SMB contest with money and prizes. The only rule they wanted in place was the SMB had to be retained. The bass fisherman did not seem to want any part of that rule and the tournament did not work. I would like to see all the SMB kept and eaten (they are a great tasting fish) and encourage people to do so to help the Deer Lake fishery out.

nice report guys and a great conversation. I have never fishing deer and i love bassin it up, i want to head down there at day brake tomorrow. May i ask what you were using or what may work well there? Thanks and nice fish by the way. You are right that fish is very long. Weard fish.

Tubes , Football Jigs w/craw trailer & drop shots for the Smallmouth. Lizards & Yum dingers for the Largemouth. Hit me up Bazzdude & we'll go sometime. I have a boat docked at Deer for the summer. (509) 844-1214- Bill