Kayak Angler Scores Massive Smallmouth On “Lake Of Giants” (Video)

Kayak angler Josh Howard of NW Trail Series was out fishing with his friend on a lake in the Pacific Northwest when he hooked into a massive cold water smallmouth. The lake, which the friends referred to as a “lake of giants”, was home to the largest fish of the KFNW season-long tournament the previous year.

Cold water fishing for bass

“We are on the lake where the biggest bass was caught last year and we’re going to see if we can catch the biggest bass this year as well,” said Howard. “This lake has put up some freaking giants. If you know which lake it is, you know which lake it is.”

As the pair of anglers began, water temperatures were around 35 degrees Fahrenheit, with Howard predicting the waters warm toward 50 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day. On the hunt for largemouth bass, Howard noted that it was tough to say for sure if the fish would be in shallower water yet with the water temperatures but warming from the sun was likely to make a difference. Bass, in colder water temperatures, are likely to lurk deeper in the water column.

“Whether or not it has warmed up the shallows enough in the last week or so to kind of let these bass think that spring is here and then to start moving up shallow,” explained Howard. “Or there’s a chance that it has not warmed up enough for that to have happened.

The pair went on to test the waters and Howard quickly hooked into a smallmouth.

“Heck yeah,” narrated Howard. “Okay that was a little crazy… we’ve got the biggest fish of the season so far.”

With no luck on largemouth, the duo scores a second smallmouth

Howard logged a smallmouth at about 17 inches for his first fish of the tournament, submitting the catch online. This submission put Howard at third place, making for a good start to the season.

From here, the pair of anglers began to note trout action in the topwater. The lake eventually warmed to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, and with no luck for four hours in shallow water the duo eventually made their way back to where Howard had caught the first fish of the day.

At this point Howard shared that they were buckling down with a new strategy: the duo decided to lock into a location with potential for a full hour.

Before long, Howard hooked into a big fish on a blade bait, scoring a 20-inch, 4.10 pound smallmouth. Howard snapped a photo before releasing the bass.