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

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Kayak fishing Whetstone CA, Callaway County, MO June 8, 2013: High and muddy= slow fishing!

Bit of a slow fishing trip.  The Big Lake on Whetstone CA was high and had a "chocolate milk" consistency about it.  Threw a lot of different lures to try and roust up some bass.  Had a slip bobber/night crawler set up that yielded a nice sized bluegill, but other than that, not many bites to speak of for the day.....maybe next time

Fish ON

Mike

 

Kayak fishing Whetstone CA, Callaway County ,MO

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Greers Ferry Lake Arkansas, Choctaw Access, May 29th, 2013: This lake is beautiful!

Choctaw Access boat launch

Greers Ferry Lake is a lake in Arkansas that has some amazing views!  I put in at the corps run Choctaw Access point right off Hwy 65 on the west side of the lake.  It was a warm day with some chance of thunderstorms, with a bit of wind.

I first fished some reed/brush areas with some drop offs using spinners, wiggle warts ,and senko worms.  I then started to work my way around the rock bluff narrows, right before you start to face the boat docks on the other side.  The fishing was slow, but got a nice hit on a watermelon Zoom trick worm , texas rigged.  I was not able to land it, but it jumped about 3' out of the water, which made the connection all the worth it. 
What was really spectacular was witnessing a whole school of white bass going gonzo on a shad ball close to shore.  I paddled over and started throwing a minnow topwater plug, but got there just a few seconds too late.

Incredible sunset on Greers Ferry Lake, AR

This is an outstanding lake worth a trip to.  It is beautiful like Table Rock, but has some cool "mountain islands" which are unlike anything I have seen in Missouri.

Fish ON!

Mike

Greers Ferry Lake, Choctaw Access, Arkansas- fine place to do some kayak fishing!

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Several days of Memorial Day kayak bass fishing- Early morning is the time!

Had an incredible opportunity to hit my favorite lake, Table Rock Lake in Southern Missouri.  I would consider this lake my home water.  We keep our camper popped up during the season, so it is water that is easy access for myself.
The water has been up (I was hitting it last year during all the rain) so the water is still a tad murky, especially up in the arms.  The two trips I took out were not very productive in regards to catching fish, but the third and final one was.  I finally figured out that to get up on fish, I needed to get out before the sun rose (this was based on the feedback I got from a couple of other anglers I spoke with in the campground)
On the last trip, I got out early, and went to the cove across the lake from the access point.  I was throwing a minnow popper.  Caught a nice smallmouth right off the git go!  The shad balls were pretty incredible as well, and I had several hits on the top water throwing right on top of the shad balls.

True to the coaching I received, as soon as the sun got up over the tree line, the fish cut off.  We shall be back!

Fish ON!

Mike

 

 Table Rock Lake, Aunts Creek Access- early morning bass fishing

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 Table Rock Lake- Hot day of kayak bass fishing with limited action

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Kayak fishing Aunts Creek

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