The first "Kayak Fishing The Midwest" podcast featuring lifetime kayaker Ray Schroeder

This is our first podcast featuring life long kayaker Ray Schroeder out of Lake St. Louis, MO. Some great insights if you are just getting into kayak fishing. Click below to give it a listen

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Kayak fishing Table Rock Lake, Aunts Creek Access May 15-16th: Fishing slow with rain, but still managed to get up on one!

Had a chance to hit Table Rock Lake at the Aunts Creek Access point (just north of Kimberling City, MO) on May 15th & 16th.  We have been receiving a lot of rain and storms, so the lake is not necessarily high, but is more murky than I am used to (at least at this section of the lake).  The first day got a chance to only fish for about an hour or so.  Got back to shore just in time (heavy thunderstorm).  Would have really thought the fishing would have been better with the impending

storm coming in.  Was throwing Senkos, Wiggle Warts, spinners, and kitchen sink LOL.

Day 2 I had a little more time, so I got down to the ramp around 2:00 p.m.....then I waited for the rain to stop....and waited....and waited.  Finally I went back to the camper and took a nap, and then came back out around 5:00 or so.  I call the fish in the photo "the fish of a thousand casts" (I know that moniker belongs to muskies)

I did a TON of casting and throwing things out to try and figure what they were getting up on.  Once again, the Wiggle Wart came through for us!  I am really starting to enjoy fishing crank baits, especially on Table Rock.  Made a short video for you viewing pleasure...enjoy!

Fish ON!

Mike

Day 2 of Kayak fishing Table Rock Lake- Success in day 2!

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Missouri

Kayak Fishing Table Rock Lake- Rain and slow fishing for our first day

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Missouri

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

Mark Twain Lake, Monroe County, Missouri: fishing was so slow, just had to write about it

Kayaking Mark Twain Lake, Missouri

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Missouri

This is the path I took with the kayak on beautiful Mark Twain lake in northern Missouri.  I think this lake can be one of the more challenging lakes out there (I have caught nice sized bass in the past).  The lake is very low, just like all of the lakes in the Midwest.  I was throwing deep diving Wiggle Warts, 10" Mann's Jelly Worms, Chartreuse spinners, white spinners, Zoom trick worms, Red worms, almost everything I can imagine...it just goes to show, sometimes you "O-fer"...and that is alright.

I am looking forward to coming back in the fall to explore the lake even more....I love Mark Twain for its remote location.  It is chock full of structure, and reminds me of an undeveloped Lake of the Ozarks..

Fish ON!

Mike

Stockton Lake, Dade County, Missouri July 18th, 2012: Hot Temps and Big Pigs lurking off shore!

Stockton Lake is not a lake I have had an opportunity to fish all that often.  I think this trip may have been the second time I have ever fished this lake.  It is not really close to anywhere (It is north of Springfield, MO kind of between Springfield and Joplin.

The outside temp has been really high.  I put the kayak in around 3:30 or so.....It was 100 degrees when we put in at the Mutton Creek Access point.  My strategie starting off was to bring (2) spinning rods and (2) bait cast rods.  The (2) spinners had a wiggle wart and rebel popper, and the (2) bait cast had a white spinner and a texas rigged Zoom trick worm.

I caught the largest fish on this day off the main channel, in the rocks, about 8' from shore in about 10' of water.  I let the spinner sink all the way to the bottom and had a slow, inconsistant retrive.  It hit the spinner hard!  He was a nice, nice piggie bass!  After I released him, I got out of the kayak and took a quick swim (it was so hot outside).

The cove on the way back had some bass as well.  I caught a smaller one on the Wiggle Wart crank bait.  This has been a very productive lure this year for me in these Ozark reservoirs, big time.
Stockton Lake is a very interesting lake to me.  It is know as one of the top sailboat lakes, and it lived up to its reputation.  Everytime I have been here it is windy and choppy.  The bottom of the lake reminds me of Table Rock Lake...just not quite as clear.

Fish ON!

Mike

Stockton Lake, Kayak Fishing Mutton Creek Area

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Springfield, Missouri

Table Rock Lake, Aunts Creek area, Stone County, MO April 2012....nice bass on Wiggle Wart!

Late in posting this one.....crazy business stuff going on that has kept me from updating.  This video pretty much says it all.  They were deep and not biting on a lot of soft plastics so I switched over to a Wiggle Wart and BOOM!
Table Rock is an interesting lake due to the fact that the water is generally more clear than other lakes, and the fact that it is so deep (mid channel on this arm is about 80' deep)
Great day of kayak fishing on the lake!

Fish ON!

Mike

DiSalvo Lake, Bismark CA, St. Francois County, Missouri: Hot and heavy panfish action

I got a chance to kayak fish Lake DiSalvo on April 7th, 2012.  I had been to this lake a few months prior, but the wind was so bad at the time (and water temperature so cold) I passed on kayaking this lake earlier this year.

Lake DiSalvo is located in the Bismark CA in St. Francois County, Missouri.  I have not had a lot of luck on bass using artificials to this point, so I was using basically nightcrawlers on a slip bobber set up.  I have to say, I love bass fishing, however, when the panfish are "ON" , I really believe there is nothing better.  On this day they were ON!  In the beginning, I was catching a lot of really small bluegill, but as I worked my way down the lake, the size started to improve.

By the time I got towards the dam end of the lake, the wind really started to pick up and whitecap.  I think that is why the fishing was so go, at least for all the bluegill and redear panfish.....I think the wind was working the forage in that direction.  I was only out for about 4 hours, but caught enough for a nice stringer to take back home.

What was funny about this trip was when I got back to my house (this is about 2 hours from where I live) I was SO tired, I took the lazy, east coast, saltwater method of cleaning fish:  I re-iced the fish on the stringers and went to bed...cleaned them in the morning.....and all was good!  Good tip if you get too tired to clean fish (or too intoxicated LOL).

Fish ON!

Mike

St. Francis River, Wayne County, Missouri October 14th, 2011: Got a little action before the front moved in

Kayak fishing St. Francis River, Missouri

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Missouri

I put the kayak in at the Greenville area (run by Corps of Engineers).  This is the point where the St. Francis River starts to turn into Lake Wappapello.  I decided to paddle up stream on the St. Francis River side.  The weather was interesting.  It started at about 80 degrees and sunny.  As I set out to paddle, it started to get real windy.  By the end of the trip, it was cloudy, cool, and I ended up putting on the sweater I had packed earlier.  I am really glad I brought it.  The high cirrus clouds looked like they were moving about 80 mph.  It was a cold front moving in for sure.

I really thought there would be a shot at some smallmouths, but they were quite.  I did catch a fairly nice sized Largemouth Bass on my standard- texas rigged Zoom trick worm.  I only caught one, but the fight was excellent with this guy.

It is interesting the difference in the experience kayaking in regards to comparing a SOT fishing kayak vs. a sea kayak.  I really enjoy fishing off of both, and can see now why both are excellent.  Soon I will probably be moving back to the sea kayak with the temperatures getting cold.  My intent is to kayak all year, including the winter time.  I know that I can navigate the SOT with a pair of waders and a rain jacket, but my hopes are to get a Kokatak wet suit this year.  The cold weather should not stop us from getting up on the water.

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

Niangua River, Laclede County, MO. June 28th: Beautiful Ozark river with some incredible smallie fishing!

I have always wanted to hit the Niangua River in the Missouri Ozarks, and finally got an opportunity to kayak and fish it.  The water is fairly swift, so kayaking upstream and drift fishing down was a challenge, but I was able to get it done.  Did a little over 2 miles, due to the fact that I had to portage quite a few times due to the depth and swiftness of the current. 
If you take a look at the film, I caught the first small Smallmouth on a Rattle Trap.  It then got a tad slow for about an hour, but really turned on right before I was getting ready to take out.  River bend + current in grass + Gene Larew Salt Craw= success!!

Felt so good getting up on these incredible bass....I have quite a new addiction now- Smallie Fishing!  Caught one at 16" and one at about 14" and then the small one before I headed out.  This strip had quite a bit of canoe traffic, so I do not know if it would be a good weekend river (maybe in the fall when people do not float as much).

Fish ON!

Mike