Dresser Island, Brickhouse Slough, Mississippi River, August 30th: Water real, real low- found pool and has some success!

This has been the most unusual August weather I think I have ever seen. Usually it is around 100 degrees and all the grass is dead. Was very cool most of the day. Towards the end I went ahead and put my sweater on (glad I had it in the boat bag!) Felt like I was living up in Wisconsin again! Got out around 11:30 and kayaked until about 4:00 pm. A couple of the places I had considered putting in were so low, I decided against due to the mud. They must have all the gates open at Melvin Price Lock and Dam.

Most of this slough is very shallow. My depth finder said it was around 1-3 ft. deep in most places. Was able to find a nice pool with another slough draining into it (due to the low water). This spot looked to be around 5-6 ft. deep. The minute I cast a black Rooster Tail (murky waters + overcast sky= black rooster tail) boom! instant hit on the white bass. Caught a smaller largemouth right after. Also caught several very, very small Channel Catfish on slip bobbers and nightcrawlers as well as a small drum.

Lots of white Egrets and Blue Herons as well.....great day to be out on the kayak!

Fish ON!

MLT

Robertsville SP, Meremac River, Franklin County, MO Aug 29th: Small amount of action, but no smallies!

Launched from the state park boat launch around 11:00 or so....water was at normal level. Got about 1/2 mile upstream when I came upon a bend/riffle that was all current. The kayak I have is great on most things, but really bad on anything past class I. Paddled it and thought I was going to win it, but looked to the side and realized I was going back wards...good opportunity to hit downed tree, tip kayak, and trap gear and myself undewater, so after two attempts, turned it around and drifted back. Had plenty of shore upstream from the launch to fish, plus the water downstream from the put in was fairly calm (no riffles) so we went ahead and fished it that way.

Caught a small Largemouth on a Chomper hula grub and stand up jig in structure. Got some other bites as well on Gulp Alive! watermelon worms w/ texas rig. Bites were smaller in the day...should have gone with smaller baits probably.

Lots of boaters...I was suprised. Also, I do not quite get the thrill of taking a 95-150 HP boat and running up and down the river at full throttle....just do not get it.

Fish ON!

MLT

whetstone Creek CA, Callaway County, MO. Aug. 23rd, 2009: Bass a little slow but some success

Got the kayak loaded on the car the night before and headed out to Whetstone Creek CA early in the morning....got out on the lake by about 9:00 a.m. There was one person on a boat w/ a trolling motor fishing, but they left a little after I put in. After that had most of the lake to myself for the rest of the day.

Was using some of the watermelon Gulp Alive! baits...these work pretty good sometimes compared to traditional plastic worms. Used them texas rigged on baitcaster rods. Tried some other things (spinner rod w/ minnows on shiner rig, hula grup on stand up jig, etc) but this seemed to be the only thing that worked fairly well for the day. Bite seemed on early, then it slowed down a little. Expected a late bite around 4:00 p.m. or so like last time, but it just never turned on so I headed back.

One item of note: There are some HUGE grass carps in this lake. I was on the south side and I casted out in some hydrilla...it spooked about 5-6 of them and it was like a shark attack! The commotion caught me off guard so bad I almost jumped out of the kayak!

Fish ON!

MLT

Roaring River, Cassville, MO. August 19th, 2009: Trout hitting on Dry Flies

Hit Roaring River Wednesday around 4:30 p.m with my friend Jeff Bain, our newest chapter president of BNI Branson's Power Team. Fly fishing is a great way to have relaxed business conversations...I understand how people who golf get things done....fly fishing can do the same thing for you and your business!

We went to the Fly only, catch and release section of the park...I have always had a good amount of luck on this stretch. The trout parks seem to be clearing out now the kids are back to school. I started out throwing a zebra nymph with a strike indicator, with no luck. They were pooled up big time, so they should have took. Jeff got a dry on and started to get some strikes. I was watching him and decided to tie on an Adams and see what went down. Caught one and got several bites as well. The pictures above are before I tried to horse the fish in (totally knobbed out- grabbed the leader instead of my net--lost the trout and my fly (only one in box). Just goes to show.....great time!

Fish ON!

MLT

Might I make a suggestion?Life is better from a kayak- check out a great place to get one for yourself!

As some of you are aware, I was able to get a kayak this summer....after going out with my good friend Ray several times to fish, and then renting an Ocean Kayak out in the Outer Banks, NC for a week, I decided to finally get one.

This has been one of the best decisions I have made in a long time....if you are considering getting one, or just want to rent one for a couple of hours, I have just the person for you. My friend Rodney (shown above shaking hands with me) has the coolest outfit in Branson. He is located right across from Table Rock Lake State Park. If you are in the St. Louis area or beyond, take my advice: It is worth the drive!

He has several different fishing kayaks in stock. One brand is Crow Wings and the other is feelfree (that is the type I purchased). You can tell Rodney is passionate about what he does...he can outfit you with everything you need to get started.

Here is his web site:
http://www.kayakbranson.com/

If it is something you are interested in, give him a call and mention my name....I would love to refer as many people to him as possible--It would be excellent to see him grow his Kayak business this year!

Fish ON!

MLT

Big Lake, Whetstone Creek CA, Callaway County, Mo. August 9th: Deadsticking is the way to go in August!

Big lake was awesome today on the kayak. This is a nice, large, deep lake. Water quality excellent, not a lot of negative plant growth (that is something to be said for August). Paddled to the back and worked my way back toward the boat launch. Caught my first Largmouth on Berkley Gulp! minnow on a shiner rig w/ slip bobber. Was getting hits on Gulp Power Worm (recieved two of these for re-upping with B.A.S.S.).

Caught Channel Catfish on the slip bobber rig with a night crawler. Also caught a nice size Bluegill on a bottom rig....this was towards the south side of the lake around 2:00 or so. Ate lunch on the south side of the lake and started to paddle back (had the wind on my back). Got a little slow, so I started to think about the things that have worked in years past. You really have to retrieve slow in August. So I took a Gamakatsu 5/0 hook and a very, very light bullet weight (texas rig) and put a Wave Worm (Senko) Sweet Potato Pie colored and cast towards shore. These were the "hot" item a few years ago at Lake Sherwood, but have not caught anything on these in awhile. Success!! Caught about 6 or so right between 4:00-5:00 p.m. Got a lot of other bites as well....so much fun.

Life is better on a Kayak!!

Fish ON!

MLT

Bennett Spring, Laclede County, MO Aug 7th 2009- Park still real crowded. luck with Zebra Nymph

Was able to get to park around 2:00. I was suprised how crowded the park still is...should start to settle down in a couple of weeks once the kids start to get back to school. I have been having some real challenges with fly fishing lately...have been "0-fering" a lot. Went to backcountry outfitters in Springfield (one of my favorite fly shops) and had them re-load my fly line. The rod I have is a good White River rod from Bass Pro, but I think the line had finally served it's purpose. I noticed an improvement in casting right off the bat.

Was trying a lot of different things in the beginning....started off by the spring and worked my way down. Tried some white jigs and different types of nymphs...probably should consider a San Juan worm next time--did not try it here.

Past the falls caught a nice one in the grass on a silver Zebra nymph....my slump is officially over! Please dig the cool underwater photos taken of trout from my underwater camera as well

Fish ON!

MLT