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

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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Truman Lake, Benton County, April 14th 2010: Bass starting to come up closer to shore

Had the rare opportunity to fish Truman Lake on Wednesday on my way up from Pittsburg, KS. It is great having a proper Kayak rack this year on the car.....a lot more quick fishing opportunities are presenting themselves to me this year- very cool!

Launched off at the State Park marina boat launch. I was able to get about 2 hours in before it was time to go due to sunlight. The water temp is still a little cool. Note to self- received the Missouri fishing forecast a day later that said the lake was high- I think that is old news. It looks like they have been drawing down at the dam big time- looked very low.

Had some success on little mini spins w/ a jig and Tree Top black/magenta grub. I figured I might get on some crappie. Just bass on this trip. The spinners I like to use this time of the year are kind of like Beetle Spins, except instead of attaching a "beetle" I attach a small jig and whatever small soft plastic that I think will look good (I usually let sunlight, wind, and water clarity effect my color choice). This is my "go-to" rig this time of year....excellent on a kayak and spinning rod.

Fish ON!

MLT