Best of fishing and kayaking- 2012

What an incredible year 2012 was!  We suffered a drought across the Ozarks, but the fishing was outstanding!  I fell a little short on the smallmouth fishing and trout fishing this year, however, I think we will be able to make up for that in 2013.

Here is to an incredible 2013 in angling and kayaking to you and your family!  Enjoy the video :)

Fish ON!

Mike

July kayak fishing at Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO: Heat does not always stop fish

This is a combined report from (2) trips I took to the always wonderful Lake Sherwood, MO.  Sherwood is a private, gated community with several lakes.  I prefer to fish the main lake for bass and monster bluegill.  Both times I fished the lake, the temperatures were about 100 degrees, with very warm water temps.
The first trip I had a ton of success on Largemouth bass (which is what I was fishing for).  I had a fire tiger bright colored Rapala medium diving crank bait.  There were a lot of casts involved, but caught over (8) that day, as well as a catfish that I was unable to land (I knew if was a catfish due to the fight and the slime left all over the line when he spit the lure out).  Most people I spoke with that are familiar with the waters said that the fishing was slow, but I think I figured out what the deal was.  The bass were laying at the bottom of the lake, in the middle of the arms in about 15' of water in the heavy vegetation.  When that lure when by, they jumped up to hit it (hence having to cast a ton of times before a bite).

The second trip the conditions seemed very similar, but no such luck.  A storm front was getting ready to move in, and I started to throw a Rebel topwater plug.  What was interesting was the fact that no bass were caught, however, I caught several good sized bluegills off my efforts.  Makes me think I should come back with a fly rod and a bunch of smaller sized poppers....hmm.....

Fish ON!

Mike

Best of July kayak bass fishing: Stockton, Beaver, Dardenelle, Sherwood

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, Missouri April 8th 2012: Panfish are now ON!



Huge Green Sunfish from Lake Sherwood

I had had so much success at Lake DiSalvo in St. Francois County the day before, I decided to hit it again on Sunday.  Like I may have said in the previous post, about the only thing I like as much as bass fishing is panfish fishing.  Lake Sherwood is, in my opinion, one of the better sunfish lakes in the entire state when they are on, especially in regards to the redear sunfish variety.

Something I like about my fishing kayak is the fish finder I am able to use with it.  I fished for about an hour without much success, and then noticed on the finder that they were about 10' from shore in about 14-19' of water, suspended about 1/2 way down.   I went ahead and made the adjustment on the slip bobbers (my favorite rig in the spring) and then they started to turn on.  Came back with an entire stringer of really nice panfish, which I proceeded to clean when I got back home.....great trip at Lake Sherwood.  I am glad I was able to catch the adjustments!

Fish ON!

Mike

Nice Lake Sherwood string on the Miss Bossy Flossy!

Kayak fishing Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO, Sunday, March 25th: Lake temps starting to warm

Got the Feelfree Moken Fishing kayak out for the first time this year up at Lake Sherwood in Warren County, MO.  This lake is really known for it's panfish (killer sized Redears and bluegills).  I did not know if it was too early yet or not.  I went out the week before for a few hours without much success.  Caught a couple of nice sized bluegill towards the dam, but was not able to put together a stringer.  My brother in law and nephew did really well out by the marina.

The temperature towards 4 p.m was around 67 degrees surface, so the rest of the water should be changing real soon if the temps keep staying in the 70's and 80's....should be an early spawn this year!

I am thinking I will have some better success stories in upcoming posts real soon

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

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO, April 20th, 2011: Panfish are starting to warm up.....

Lake Sherwood is probably like most lakes in east central Missouri right now....high with water!  I did not know how the fishing would be after we had that massive cold front move through yesterday.  It was colder than I expected when I got out there.  I am glad I keep my gore-tex jacket stored in the kayak just in case.

Picked up some nightcrawlers and had one of the rods set up for a bottom rig, but due to the wind and the fact that my sea kayak does not have an anchor, I went back to mini spinning rigs (silver or gold spinner, jig head and mini grub).  Caught a couple of nice bluegill and a small slot size bass (the slot at Sherwood is 12-15"). Really enjoyed my time out in the water.
If you watch the video, I get the jig stuck in my hand about 2/3rd through it.  I like how I just tried to shake it off.

The thing to remember about sea kayaks and fishing is that there are some limitations.  I bought a rod leash and some foam rod floats.....leash D hook was cheap, fell off, and actually lost it in the water.  Rod fell in water and turned kayak around to find in floating.  Rod leash= FAIL  Rod Float= thumbs up!  Keep that in mind if you are fishing from a sea kayak.  I will be breaking the SOT fishing kayak out very soon.

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO, April 17th 2011: Fishing a little Slow, great day for a kayak fishing trip!

Lake Sherwood- kayaking and fishing

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Lake Sherwood, Warren County July 25th, 2010: Catfish hitting on bass worms!

Needed the net for this one!

I decided to come back to Lake Sherwood after a great day of fishing yesterday (even with the heat).  A front moved through, so it was cooler than yesterday by a little, with more overcast than sunny skies.  This time I launched at the dam and fished the first cove by the lakes largest (and only) island.  I figured I would leave the bottom rig at home and just go for bass, so I had (1) spinning rod and (2) bait caster rods on the kayak.

Two Nice Lake Sherwood Channel Cats

  Tried a lot of different things....started with yesterdays "go to" the red jelly worm with no success.  I brought a tin of Berkly Gulp Alive worms, 7" watermelon and started to cast those.  I caught one very small bass, but did not set the hook hard enough to get into the boat.  About an hour into fishing the shore lines I got a mighty hit.  This happened the minute the worm went about 6" into the water by a log.  This was the first and largest channel catfish. I am glad I had my net in the kayak...this was the first time I have had to use it on a fish.  The water temperature is so warm right now, it really does not surprise me that they are hitting like this.  I have caught many a catfish in the spring on rooster  tails fishing for other species.  I continued around the cove and about 40 min later, caught the second catfish, in the same manner.  I am really glad I came back for round two on Sunday!

fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, July 24th, 2010: Panfish off, but Largmouth On!

I got out to the main lake at Sherwood around 1:30 or so.  The story of the day really was the heat....the index was up over 100 degrees!  However, I know that sometimes the best fishing is during high light, high heat days, especially for panfish....so that is what I was targeting on this day.  I got a new kayak wheel set and so I wanted to try it out.  It is going to take a little getting used to....my kayak is a little heavier, coming in at around 75# (much like a canoe in that respect).  So I decided to park at the Lake Sherwood marina, unload it from the top of the car, and "wheel it" over to the boat launch.

  Paddled out of the cove and went to the beach area of the lake to get all the rods set up and ready to go and fished that cove.  Got absolutely no interest in the nightcrawler/ bottom rig set up that traditionally works so well on Lake Sherwood.  I got bored so I started to throw a texas rigged red Manns Jelly worm (6") towards the shore...started to receive some taps, but was not able to set on any....after about an hour or so fishing the shale banks, I paddled past the swim beach into another cover that has a lot of hydrilla and moss cover.  As I was speaking with another fellow Kayaker, a hit....16" Largemouth!

  I then paddled toward the marina and decided to use the canoe/kayak landing. (very dangerous, might I add....straight drop off w/ concrete and wire).  I knew my brother in law, Rob, was getting ready for a tournament that night and spotted him at the boat launch, so we had a quick convo....As I was packing up, I decided to fish just a couple more times towards the dock and BAM!  An even larger Largemouth Bass...hit on exact same set up.  As you can see from the photo, he is probably about 18" or so....overall, great day on the lake!  Finished up around 6:00 p.m. and headed home.

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, July 13th, 2010: Main lake home to huge Bluegills!

I had an opportunity to go to Lake Sherwood in Warren County after work, and I am glad I did. Very rarely will I fish the main lake and not have success fishing, especially for large Bluegill and Red ear Sunfish. This day was not exception.

I used the traditional bottom rig with a nightcrawler and paddled around the main island. I was fishing off the main "channel" of the lake. You can do this on a week day, but on the weekend there are too many skiiers and tubers who make it almost like ocean fishing (kind of like Lake of the Ozarks, except not nearly as bad). Only had a couple of people in powerboats, and it got real calm after 6:00 (that may be when no wake regulations come into place.

Finished around 7:00 p.m. and headed back home.

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO. June 26th 2010: Tore it up on large Bluegill and Red-Ear Sunfish- Big time!!

I have fished Lake Sherwood in Warren County many times in the past from shore, but this is the first time I have kayak fished the main lake at Sherwood. My opinion is that Lake Sherwood in Franklin County is the best Red Ear Sunfish lake in the state of Missouri, and is one of the top large Bluegill lakes in the state as well....what an incredible fishery!

I put in near the island on the main dam and paddled into the first cove past the island. The day started off with a couple of large bluegills. Started with a slip bobber, but soon moved to a bottom rig with a nightcrawler...that was the trick!

When I paddled back, I anchored up at a point and started to cast out...BOOM! I must have hit a whole school of large redears! We ended up with a nice stringer at the end of the day, big time. Ended up cooking the filets baked over cajun rice...yum!

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Franklin County, May 30th, 2010: Fish moving into summer patterns

Got out on the pontoon boat with Rob and Tammy and Hunter. The weather could not have been better....seemed to get up to 90 degrees or so. We were catching them on bottom rigs with nightcrawlers. I caught the bass on a small spinner w/ jig and plastic minnow. Came out with quite a stringer of fish...took me a few hours to clean. This is an OUTSTANDING red ear and bluegill lake.

fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Franklin County, MO, April 25th, 2010: Huge Redear Sunfish and Bluegill harvested, despite rain and wind

We got a chance Sunday to head out to Lake Sherwood for some fishing. I just had a feeling that the fishing would really be on. The weather was not very encouraging. It seems the best time to fish would have been on Saturday morning before all the really big storms moved in. On Sunday, the cold front had already passed and it was windy with intermittent showers, some were fairly heavy at times. That forecast usually spells for bad fishing. However, I do believe that the spawn is on, so sometimes, especially with panfish, that rule is not always applicable. In this case it was not.

We started out with slip bobbers down about 10', but soon found that the bigger fish were closer to shore. My nephew Hunter came out with Rob, and he tore them up...very, very large Redear Sunfish and Bluegill. The most productive rig was the rig that is always productive at sherwood- bottom rig with nightcrawlers.

We got out around noon and left around 4:00 p.m. or so....Rob and Hunter had 30# worth of fish, we came close to 10#....great day at the lake despite the weather!

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, June 17th: Water really high, but bluegill bigger than your hand

Here is a great photo of some of the panfish you can expect to catch at Lake Sherwood....caught these on a bottom rig w/ nightcrawler. Fished near clubhouse...water almost to volleyball court. This was taken a couple of weeks ago, so the water should be down by now. Great summer time fishing spot....just wait until the redears turn on!

Fish ON!

MLT

May Fishing 2009: Missouri River a little slow, Lake Sherwood (Warren County) starting to turn on with Red Ear Sunfish

Was a little lazy in regards to posting on this web site..........a few highlights from May. Charlie caught a Sturgeon on the Missouri River, and we all went out to Lake Sherwood in Warren County and loaded up on Red Ear Sunfish....would have more details if I could remember...will post more in the future:)

Fish ON!

MLT

Lake Sherwood, Franklin County, MO, October 2008- Largest Red Ears of the Year!

Here are some great pictures from late October at Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO. We caught these on nightcrawlers with rods strung up with barrel weights, swivel stops and about 10" leaders.....look at the size of these! The one I was holding measured out at around 15". The hits were not as fast as the summer, but they pounded these when they hit and were of larger size.

Fish ON!

MLT