Amistad has a growing population!

I know that, but not everyone else...I guess.

I as well have never caught a smallmouth, and its 100% my goal fish to catch

I went to Belton for a week a few summers ago and it was a mistake. It was In almost in the 90s even at night!

The worst part was:
I hooked a smallmouth on a crawfish rattle trap late in the evening on a deep dropoff. I saw him jump out of the water and about [censored] my pants that I was reeling in a smallmouth. He got about 5ft from the boat and got off.

I still have PTSD about that to this day

It is not what it once was, but there are still small mouth in there. I've caught in the last 4 years some out of there on the bluffs mid lake.

Bridgeport has some decent ones in it now. Have had one over 6lbs and a lot in the 3-5lb range.

I’ve seen several pictures but have also seen a confirmed smallmouth weighed in by burleson bass club out of Whitney. Also there is a guide who catches them regularly behind Whitney dam in the Brazos. I caught smallmouth at wheeler branch Sunday.Belton is loaded and you can fish anywhere near the dam and catch them without knowing the lake.

Wheeler branch stocked some Dale Hollow smallmouth before it opened, those are a different class of fish and get much larger than usual not unlike the Coosa spotted bass.

Broken Bow is as close as Stillhouse and Belton and has lots of them. Spring time has been best for me.

Right in the corner of the mouth!

I watched a dude lose a toad at the boat in May of 2018 while I was striper fishin. There were about 5 bay boats on a school and we all stopped to watched this guy fight this fish after it jumped 2 or 3 times and everyone saw how big it was. Everyone at the same time gave a "daaaaamn" haha it was funny. Not for him obviously. It was a freakin football. Looked like it was on a shakey head. It was deep where he was fishing, too.

1)Texoma
2)Belton
3)Broken Bow

1&2 for size, 3 for numbers

I'm not saying they are not there, just not very many, I fish there often and the last one I caught had to be 20 years ago. At least not one over 2 lbs, it possible I've caught some dinks and not noticed. We also always fish the biggest tournament of the year there for boat #'s the Bohemian and I cannot recall one coming across the stage in the last 5 years. I do think they are growing in population so more than a few years ago, I know a nice one was weighed in at a Media tournament within the last year, and think one may have been weighed in at the last south 40 event there.

Caught some nice ones at O.H. Ivie up in the clearer water by the damn. Crankbaits and Yellow Magics. They are trying to make a comeback up here at Meredith but rarely see one over a couple pounds. My personal best is 6.97 out of Meredith but that was back in 1998.

I catch them all the time on minnows by the dam on Belton. One early spring day I hooked 9 of them sitting in one spot. 5 of them were about 3 pounds. My PB was about 6 pounds caught on a warm November morning. The last time I fished from a boat was at Still House Hollow. The guy I was fishing with was throwing a fluke in 2" of water in about 90 degree heat and we must've caught about 20 that day. None over 2 pounds, but they were sure fun to catch. One stormy day, my son caught a monster on Still House Hollow on a minnow right at the bank. So if you fish rocky banks with deep water nearby on either of those lakes you should catch a smallie.