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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Palarm Creek/Arkansas River and Maumelle River/Arkansas river- first kayak fishing trips of the year

Palarm Creek close to the Arkansas River near Little Rock

Here are the first (2) kayak fishing trips of the year. Did not have a lot of success, the kayaking was excellent. Was using the Feelfree 14' Atlantis sea kayak (yes, you can fish off it!) First stop of Palarm Creek/Arkansas river. This is the water that comes from Lake Conway and drains in to the Arkansas. The current is fairly swift with a lot of "shubbery" in the water. Bummer thing happened on this trip- my rudder snapped in two! Ended up cutting it of, stowing it away, and kayaking the rest of the trip. Have to debate if the get a new kit to install or not. Fishing was not good, but the weather (85 degrees) was way better than STL (43 degrees) Second trip was the Maumelle River at the confluence of the Arkansas River. I did manage to catch a small bass on a small spinner outfit. Slow fishing, but we had just had a cold front move through, and it still had a ton of wind behind it

Kayak the Maumelle River by the Arkansas River confluence

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Arkansas River-Palarm Creek Arkansas

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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

Loutre River, Montgomery County, Missouri Sept 5th, 2011: lots of fish in shallow pools- but you have to get to them!

This was a challenging kayak fishing trip on the Loutre River, Missouri.  The word "river" really should be replaced with "stream".  I ended up going about 4.5 miles total, but I think half of that time was spent portaging with my kayak cart (really glad I decided to bring it along!).  No complaints, however.  It was a really nice day to be out, cooler than normal, and windy. 

As I looked at the water on this stream, I really started to wonder if there were any fish.  Some spots had quite a bit of bright algea growth (I bet some of it had to do with some agricultural run off- some was probably natural). 

About half way through the trip, I caught the shadow under the kayak of a huge Gar..big fish, small pool!.

As you watch the film , you will see the typical catch on this stream.  No smallmouths, but all Largemouths.  I also caught quite a few really small sunfish as well.  I had a gold mini spinner, with a red jig head and a plastic minnow.  This seemed to really tear them up.  Almost all of them were laying deep in structure or in grass next to shore with heavy rocks...structure is key in a small stream. 
Now here is what is great about small stream fishing- you are probably the first fisher they have seen!  I could tell that this is a spot that a lot of people do not fish.  Probably due to the fact that the fish are typically smaller and the effort to get to some of these spots is intense at times.  It is a lot of fun to see what you will pull from a stream in Missouri!

fish ON!

Mike

Kings River, Arkansas June 8th, 2011: Smallies really were turned on, fishing excellent!

It is kind of funny how it works sometimes.  The weekend before I was fishing a kayak fishing tournament in Faytteville, Arkansas on the Illinois River and just could not get up on any kind of substantial fish (did catch one smallie that was about 9")

The table turned on the Kings River on this day.  The river is still really up, due to the fact the Table Rock Lake is up.  The first fish I started to catch were Largemouth Bass.  As I started to paddle in, that is when the Smallmouth Bass started to hit, and they hit strong.  Caught a nice 16" beauty that really made my day!  I ended up paddling about 6 miles that day (3 in against the current, and 3 back in drift fish mode)  Incredible day of fishing, will be back sometime soon.

It seems like the best success I have had this year in the Ozarks has been from about 4:00-7:30 p.m. in the evening (seems like this pattern was even true in March).

Flow(cfs): 880
Guage Height: 4.5'

Fish ON!

Mike

Table Rock Lake, Aunts Creek Access, Stone County, MO: Lake still real high, got a little action in the trees

I got a chance to get a nice kayak paddle in on Table Rock Lake, Aunts Creek area.  I did about 5.5 miles to end of the Aunts Creek arm and back.  The first half was all about getting to the mark with the kayak, the second half was about the fishing.  Was a little slow, but got a couple of hits and a small smallmouth on a zoom finesse worm, Texas rigged.  Was throwing right in the trees.
The second video below was from kayaking a couple of nights before, right as the sun was going down....no fish pictures in this video, but there are some really gorgeous shots, and if you have not been down here, it gives you a visual of how high the water is.  Good news is that Beaver Lake, Arkansas is down, so Table Rock Lake should be next...enjoy!

Fish ON!

Mike

Kayaking 5.5 miles on Table Rock Lake, Missouri

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Lake Kincaid, Jackson County, Illinois May 29th 2011: Lake and small creek fishing all in one trip!

Windy kayaking adventure at Lake Kincaid, Illinois

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This was a fun fishing trip on a really hot day.  Launched the kayak on the north part of the lake, but was really having to fight off the wind and the boat traffic.  Decided to paddle to my right and go about 3/4 of a mile into a small creek that empties into Lake Kincaid.  Was catching some Largemouth Bass on a roadrunner with black/yellow grub.  I almost forgot how much fun it is to fish smaller flowing waters.  Due to water levels, it has been real difficult getting out on the streams and rivers this year.
I look forward to coming back to this lake....it is a lake know for it's Muskie fishing.  That would be a real trip catching one on a kayak sometime!



Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Ft. Smith, Arkansas, April 8th, 2011: Some success with Crappies!

What an incredible lake!  I only had a few hours to kayak and check this lake out, but I made sure to bring my fishing pole along.  Caught a few small Largemouth Bass, and then hit a log with a bunch of "bigger than your hand" crappies.  What a fun spell of fishing!

It seems like right now the roadrunner/white grub is the lure of choice with all the fishing I am doing.  Started throwing a small beetle spin and then switched to the roadrunner.  I was using 6# test, which I think helped with this lake.  Seems almost as clear as Table Rock Lake.

The lake has expanded....according to my GPS, I was on land the beginning of the paddle trip.  Lake Shepard Springs had the dam breached and it merged with Lake Ft. Smith.  Nice, large lake in NW Arkansas.  Really looking forward to going back.

Fish ON!

MLT

Table Rock Lake, Stone County, Missouri March 25th 2011: Dogwood trees start to bloom, monster pig bass come out to play in the ozarks!

I got a chance to get the kayak out for a few hours and decided to paddle and fish Table Rock Lake.  This is the largest bass I have caught in a really long time (maybe ever).  I was fishing a cove with a white roadrunner with a small white mister twister grub attached, kind of bouncing off the bottom.  When she bit, I thought it was a snag, but then the line started moving the other direction.  It was a real challenge landing on a sea kayak.  She had me running around the cove for a little bit.

I was really concerned because I was using a spinning rod with 8# test. I was thinking "this water is so clear, I should have packed the rod that had 6# loaded"...glad I did not!  I did not have a measuring tool, however I got it laid up against my rod and it went past the Shakespeare ugly stik logo.  When I get back I will get it measured out.

I am almost thinking this is a spotted bass.  I know the second smaller one is.  The lateral line on the fish would leave me to believe that it is....

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Lincoln, Lincoln County, MO, November 26th, 2010: Great winter paddle across Lake Lincoln

It was a windy, 45 degree day however sometimes those can be the best days when you want to just get out and paddle.  The trip did not disappoint at all.  I just picked up a really cool spray skirt for the kayak, and it was worth every penny....what a difference a good spray skirt makes in a touring kayak!  I am ready for some even bigger trips this year.

MLT