Yesterday I managed to catch an 18" trout on a local stream and compared to a 14" Smallie; the trout was a joke!
Don't get me wrong I love to fish for coldwater species, but smallmouth fishing appeals to me more. The flies are generally larger , and neatness seems to count less, so my amateuerish tying is less of a concern, and splashy, noisy, casts actually seem to help sometimes. You gotta love a species where a 10 inch specimen has no problem trying to eat a three inch fly, then promptly launches itself 18 inches out of the water, and does a three foot tail walk as soon as it finds itself hooked.