It’s been a strange spring as cold weather and an unpredictable spawn kept anglers on their heels. We hoped Mackintosh would cure our springtime blues. It did, producing limits across the top 10 on a beautiful day with a great turnout.
May is setting up to be a great month. With the Kayak Adventure Series at nearby Buggs Island, the Carolina Classic and the CKA 20 for $25 series in full bloom, it feels like springtime fishing has finally arrived!
Lake Mackintosh
We all know Mack is a good bass fishery. And while it did not produce big bags across the board, it did produce one huge limit for one angler.
CKA competitors found an unusual mix of patterns. For one, shad were spawning in some areas of the lake (but not others). Additionally, some anglers still saw Largemouth Bass on beds. Finally, some anglers even saw the season’s first schooling bass chasing bait.
As one might expect in such conditions, anglers caught fish on a mix of lures. But the dept of their catches was consistent.
Joey Sullivan placed third, and he told us that he found a “scattered bite, a catch rate of about one fish per hour, all in the 2’-6’ depth range.” Sullivan landed fish on wacky rig, a shaky head and a jerk bait.
Event champion Will Lambert landed his fish from a point, casting out into deeper water.
“The bass were feeding hard. They had crayfish in their craws, and they were regurgitating shad. I caught fish on a popper, a square bill and a wacky worm, all in the 1’-6’ range.”
Lambert’s win has created a three-way tie at the top of the all time CKA standings. He now joins Bryan Tsiolkas and Ricky Rowland as the only anglers with seven all time victories. Will one of them reach eight wins this season?
Carolina Classic / Lake James
CKA has not visited Lake James for a stand-alone event in ten years. The last time was August of 2015, and that tournament was won by Vinny Ferreri. For perspective, CKA anglers were competing that season for spots in the top 10 in order to qualify for the first ever Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship on Kentucky Lake.
CKA was the only well established club at that time. Jump ahead ten years, and there are clubs and trails from end-to-end of North Carolina. In 2023, those clubs decided to hold an annual event to celebrate kayak fishing clubs from the Old North State. The first event was hosted by CKA on lake Hickory. In 2024, CCKF hosted the event on Falls Lake. This year, Foothills Kayak Anglers is hosting the event, and it will take place on Lake James.
In keeping with the tradition of fellowship and camaraderie, the event rules are modified for this event. Foothills Kayak Anglers will allow motorized kayaks to compete (they normally do not) and CKA will allow pre-fishing during the week of the event (we normally don’t). In this way, we can focus on having fun and fishing one of the state’s most entertaining lakes.
So get your tackle ready to catch some Smallmouth Bass, and get signed up today for the 2025 Carolina Classic on Fishing Chaos!
Register here for the event: https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/lknYGwIIyIgBYmxcLAuH
Additional Info
For complete Mackintosh standings, see https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/SDJvkAKC8z3bocsb73Tv
CKA thanks Four Seven Lures, YakAttack, Hobie Eyewear and Dakota Lithium for event prizes.
If you have questions, reach out to CKA through our email address.
All content and photos © Carolina Kayak Anglers LLC, 2025.
First Published April 29, 2025.
