You know how it feels when that beautiful moment presents itself. Whether it was in the woods or on the water, we all have less than a handful of moments where we thought to ourselves, "This is it." Hours spent in sitting in the woods only to see nothing, casting countless times without yielding any results and missed opportunities that did present themselves all make the payoff that much sweeter.
When it does happen, though, it's hard to bring yourself back down to reality. You've become so accustomed to failing, mastering only the art of patience, that it's hard to comprehend it actually happening.
In this case, however, we don't see a Boone & Crockett buck or a record-setting blue marlin. Instead, we something on a smaller scale that will pump your adrenaline just as hard. Here, professional angler Joe Ford puts the smackdown on a 7-pound, 15-ounce smallmouth bass, which just so happens to be his new personal best.
Watch the video below:
All of you largemouth enthusiasts may not realize how incredible of a catch this truly is, but those of us who fish the clearer water up north dream of setting into a smallie of this caliber. Not only can I relate the excitement this guy exuded throughout the entirety of the video, but I've had that reaction after netting smallies half as big.
This toad of a fish was an ounce shy of 8 pounds, which is more weight than just about any smallmouth angler will ever feel on the end of his or her rod. Additionally, according to the video description, it was also almost 22 inches long, and he apparently reeled it in on an Enigma HPT 7-foot medium-heavy rod rigged with 8-pound braid tied to 8-pound fluorocarbon. So, if you're thinking of trying to recreate this once-in-a-lifetime sequence, you can use take this exact setup and make your way to Lake Simcoe in the Durham region of Ontario, Canada, where Ford found success.
Congrats on one heck of a fish, Joe!
