Kayak fishing for smallies on the Meremac/Bourbouse River confluence June 15th, 2013

I had an opportunity to fish one of my favorite rivers, the Meremac and Bourbouse Rivers.  I put in at the confluence point and set to paddling.  It is interesting how much more challenging my S.O.T. kayak is opposed to the sea kayak in regards to paddling upstream.  I like to go up river, and then drift fish down.  Some rivers have too much current (thinking Spring River in Oklahoma- almost had a kayak "incident" in regards to current).  The current on the Meremac is not too incredibly sporty at this point.  The Bourbouse is much more docile than the Meremac.

Nice Meremac Smallmouth Bass!!!

I took it about as far as the train bridge close to Moselle, and found a nice "seam" (where the current hits still water).  It had a lot of rocks, and some nice cabbage close to shore, so I thought it would be a good spot.  It was!
I was fishing a zoom watermelon trick worm with a Texas rig when the smallie picked it up and went under the boat.  I was using a Gamakatsu 2/0 hook (I have had some problems this year losing some fish, so I scaled down the hook with the smaller worm.)  It was a beauty!  Fought her for a little over (5) minutes, and it was all fight, as smallmouths like to provide!  I made a video to share a little bit how I landed this one.  Measured out a little over 15" and was released.
A little later I stared to hear thunder, so I decided to get closer to the ramp.  I got caught out on the Meremac once a few years ago during a thunderstorm, and it was a bad experience, so I wanted to ensure that I was not too far from the launch point.  Glad I did!  As soon as I started to loaded it on the top of the car, the torrential rain started....lucky day!

Fish ON!

Mike

Kayak fishing for smallies on the Meremac and Bourbouse Rivers

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Missouri

Beaver Lake, Prarie Creek Access, Benton County, Arkansas: Water low, clear, and productive!

I got a chance to kayak fish Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas.  This was about the 3rd time I have fished this lake, and the experience was awesome.  The lake reminds me of my "home water" lake of Table Rock.  Nice rocky bottom with deep drop offs and clear water.

My strategy was to take (4) rods...(2) spinner rods with a topwater plug on one, and a Wiggle Wart on the other, with the two baitcasters rigged with a texas rig and a white spinner.  I got out about 5:00 pm., but the bite did not really start until 6:30 or so.  I got a little interest on the plug, but I started to catch them on my "go to" bait for summer: texas rigged with watermelon Zoom trick worm on the end.  I was catching them about 6' off shore. 

Before I headed in (I saw lightning in the distance.....time to get off the water!) I fished the cliffs that were right across the put in point.  These deep cliffs are really, really productive.  The bass like to lay towards the bottom against the cliff waiting for either things to go past or things to drop.  I dropped the worm in a couple of times, and the third cast I caught the pig.  I could have fished another couple of hours, but I really need to rig my kayak with some lights and night fishing stuff....maybe that will be what I work on for the rest of the weekend :)
I cannot wait to get back to Beaver Lake to do some more bass fishing.  It is an incredible lake with some awesome angling opportunities!

Fish ON!

Mike

Kayak fishing Beaver Lake, Arkansas

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area

Whetstone CA, Callaway County, MO April 22nd, 2012: Rainy but got on some fish anyhow

Whetstone CA in Callaway County, MO (between Columbia and St. Louis) has some great fishing opportunites not only in the big lake, but also in Whetstone Creek and the other smaller lakes surrounding the bigger lake.
The weather was not the best, but I decided to take my chances and get a day of fishing in anyhow.  I was throwing slip bobber and texas rigged Zoom trick worms.  The slip-bobber/nightcrawler rig was not working out to well, however, the trick worms were doing the trick.  I would not say this was the worlds best day of fishing, but I got enough action to make it entertaining.  What was interesting was the bass were not hitting the worm very hard at all.  It seemed like when I would pull my rod tip up, that is when I would know I had one on the other end....like they were putting it in their mouths like a cigar, or something.

Water temp was around 68 degrees, and it was windy and raining on again/off again.  Good news was I had the entire lake to myself....always a plus!

fish ON!

Mike

Kayak Fishing Whetstone CA, Missouri

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Missouri

Des Arc Lake, Des Arc CA, Prairie County, Arkansas, April 10th, 2012: Bass in the spawn!

The is an outstanding lake in the central/eastern part of northern Arkansas to kayak fish, and especially kayak fish for bass.  I got out to the lake around 3:00 p.m. after work and headed out.  This was the first time fishing this lake, so I spoke with a couple of anglers out there before I set off.  Des Arc is also known for really nice sized crappie, and that is what the person I spoke with was fishing for.
I really though in setting out after a few hours of throwing just about everything and not getting one tap I was going to get skunked.  There was an older gentleman who had a little jon boat with a trolling motor catching a few nice bass by accident on his crappie rig.  I noticed that he was using some bright chartreuse colors so I switch the spinners to that.

Here is what happened that caused me to catch the bass for this day.  I had a texas rigged Zoom watermelon/red trick worm (6").  It got snagged and I lost the rig so I had to re-tie it.  The second time around I switched the bullet weight to a smaller size.....within (2) cast BOOM!  It must have had something to do with the way the bait was presenting itself to the bass.  Caught 4-5 before we needed to get back to the boat launch.

Lesson learned:  If you are not having a lot of success, instead of always switching the bait out, consider switching the weight and/or presentation.

Fish ON!

Mike

Kayak fishing Des Arc Lake, Arkansas

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Arkansas

Lake Atkins, Pope County, Arkansas: Great lake with lots of structure

Kayak Fishing Lake Atkins, Arkansas

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Arkansas

Lake Atkins is located in central Arkansas between Little Rock and Ft. Smith.  I brought my SOT fishing kayak, "The Bossy Flossy" along for the trip.  I was able to get a couple of hours of fishing in before the sun started to go down (I figured the fishing would turn on towards sunset).  I paddled across the lake and drifted along shore.  This lake is chock-full of trees, stumps and structure.  I had read that it was drained in 2002 and restocked with Florida-strain Largemouth bass. 


It is a nice sized lake, and looks like one that does not receive as much pressure due to the stumps and the location.
I was throwing a lot of stuff out trying to get something to hit.  I have not had a lot of success the last couple of trips, so I was really hoping to catch something (It is funny how if you do not catch a bass after about the 3rd trip you start to wonder if you can remember how to fish!!). 

I put out some white spinners, mini spinners with minnow, stand up jig with hula grubs, texas rigged dark worms.  What I had success on was what my go to has been for 2011- watermelon zoom trick worm texas rigged on spinning rod.  And sure enough, caught it in some trees, right about sunset.

Fish ON!

Mike

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO September 10th, 2011: Some action heating up with the Largemouths!

This was a kayak fishing trip that I had set out to harvest some fish for an evening dinner.  The day was cool and beautiful.  I have had some incredible stringers and large catches in the month of September, so I was really looking forward to the fishing!

I was on the main lake and kayaked most of it.....cool temperatures after Labor Day are excellent for kayak fishing, due to the fact that you have most of the lake to yourself, without much motor traffic.
I had a spinning rod with a bottom rig/night crawler set up (which can be a great rig when the panfish really fire up) however, I did not have much luck with that rig.  Lake Sherwood has a "Under 12" take all you can Largmouth Bass" set up, so I figured I would try and take enough for a small meal for myself once I got home.  I accomplished the goal on this trip!

I had the most success on a texas rigged watermelon trick worm (6")....that has been my "go to" worm this year in regards to bass fishing...once again it delivered!

fish ON!

Mike

Coffeen Lake, Montgomery County, Illinois, August 14th, 2011: Incredible day of Largmouth fishing!

Coffeen Lake is one of 3 nice size lakes around Litchefield, IL. I fished this lake in May with my friend Ray off the kayaks, and we had a little success then, so I figured I would come back. I am glad I did....This lake has some really nice Largmouths in it!

The lake is still a little high- I was going to try and paddle the whole lake, but there is a railroad track levy half through it. Due to the high water, you cannot go through the tunnel (it is almost entirely under water.

I caught over (7) bass, a few in the 15-16" range. What I noticed about the ones I caught at this fishery were how fat they were. Little footballs! Also, I noticed what fight they had! I have caught a few bass in last months that have been like catching a branch, but not these. I really thought at first I had landed a smallmouth or something.

My success was based on a spinning rod, with a carolina rig, and a zoom trick worm. I think the secret today was the carolina rig. I think this rig causes action on the worm, but not as much horizontal movement. Could that be the secret to getting on large numbers of bass in the late summer? I am looking forward to trying this at Table Rock Lake in a few weeks as see if it holds true there as well.

Fish ON!

Mike

Table Rock Lake, Stone County, MO July 6th 2011: Very, Very light bite on Table Rock

Table Rock still is a little high, but it is much closer to normal pool than when I had kayaked it 4 weeks ago.  This weekend (the 4th) the boat traffic was incredible.  I am thinking it was good for the local economy, at least I am hoping it was.

I was using Zoom Pumpkin trick worms on a texas rig when I caught the bass in the video above.  I was getting a lot of taps, but it seemed eveytime I pulled back to set the hook....nothing.  I had debated going to a small set up on the spinning rod (maybe a small spinner) but decided to keep with what I had.  I also was throwing a Chomper Hula Grub on a stand up jig.  This time of the year, the smallmouths really seem to be prevalent when it gets warm, so I figured that would be a good strategy...not this time.

They are really deep so I was fishing 14' of the shore and points....sometimes it is just hard to figure them out.

Fish ON!

MLT

Busch Wildlife Area, St. Charles County, MO. Lake 35 July 27th: Some success on Lizards and Worms

Lake 35 was a little more productive than it has been in the last couple of weeks. Still getting some nice bites on Zoom Plastic Lizards with the Carolina Rig system. I noticed that the bass are moving into more of a traditional summer pattern. The larger bass was "laying in the salad" when he hit on the red 8" culprit worm, texas rigged. Barely felt the bite, thought it may have been a snag. Caught him in about 8' of water about 10' out from shore.

Fish ON!

MLT