Meremac River, St. Louis County, MO: Smallie was a biggie!

Put the Kayak in at the Route 66 SP boat ramp just south of Hwy 44 in St. Louis County, MO. Got out about 11:30 a.m. and fished until about 5:30 p.m. Fishing today was excellent!! Water temp is running about 62 degrees. This part of the Meremac River runs about 10-14 feet deep in most spots and is nice an wide. We paddled probably about 1.5 miles upstream.

Caught several drum on bottom rigs....they were on today! Too bad drum do not make very good table fare, or I would have taken some home to eat. Figured out how to kayak w/ cooler temperatures and cooler water...hip waders. Felt a little cumbersome at first, but once you get used to wearing them while kayaking, it is not a problem.

Ancored up in a nice and rocky area with good vegetation. Caught a nice eating sized channel catfish, but chose to throw it back. Caught another really weird looking catfish. Had the head of a flathead, but with black splotches all over it.....I will have to look this one up to see what kind of a catfish it was. The weird thing was when I caught these catfish (bottom rig with nightcrawler), I actually brought up some huge shells. This is proof that their is a shell bed under that water at the bend...perfect for catfish (they like to lay in shell beds)....I will have to keep this spot in my memory.

The smallie is the real story....measured out at 15"...which is very large for a small mouth. What a pig! He was huge! Caught him on a white spinner w/white grub trailer in about 6 feet of water, pushing the spinnner bait upstream right next to the vegetation line. This is the biggest smallmouth bass I have caught so far. I caught one on the James River near Springfield, MO. that was similar in length, but it was not nearly as fat as this one....what a rush!!

Fish ON!

MLT

Mark Twain Lake, Monroe County, MO, Sept. 27th: Front moves in, Fishing a little slow- very windy

The water temperature is starting to go down in the lakes across Missouri. The temperature was around 65 degrees (it was at around 72 the week before). Put the kayak out off Hwy J, Lick Creek access.

Was only out about 4 hours or so....Mark Twain Lake gets real choppy when the wind comes out. Caught a little drum on a nightcrawler bottom rig. Thinking back, probably should have thrown different crank baits, etc. Was throwing Texas rigged worms, as well as Rattle traps w/ no success.....

Fish ON!

MLT

whetstone Creek CA, Callaway County, MO.: Black Culprit worms hit again!

A front was supposed to move in Friday, but the day ended up being incredible! I got a chance to head up to Whetstone CA in Callaway County, MO. to fish one of my favorite spots, Big Lake. The water temp is still real warm (75 degrees) so there is a lot of cooling down to do before fall.

This lake is so serene....it reminds me of going up north when I was a kid and fishing for Pike in Canada.

Started up by using the go-to bait for 2009, the Gulp Alive! watermelon worm. Did not have a lot of success with it, so as the shade spots started to form later in the day, I switched over to a 7" black Culprit Worm...boom! First cast caught a nice slot bass and threw him back in. I also had a spinning rod rigged with a barrel rig, leader and a circle hook w/ nightcrawler. Caught several nice bluegill with this method. I was surprised I did not catch any channel cats.

Decided to go ahead and harvest my catch...there is nothing better than fresh catch in the frying pan!....it is how God intended it for all of us!

Fish ON!

Mark Twain Lake, Monroe County, Mo: Huge Flathead caught on black Culprit Worm from Kayak

Fished Mark Twain Lake Saturday, September 19th. I have not had my Kayak on a large body of water yet, so I thought this would be a good experience. I was kayaking/fishing the Elk Fork of Mark Twain. Started to kayak upstream so I could float back with the current. I think the lesson learned is that when rivers stop at large lakes, the current really becomes a non-factor. The wind and cloud bank was more of a factor than the current. Before I put in, I originally went down the elk to the Sante Fe access. The water on the lake appears to be about 4-5 feet low, so this was not a viable option for this day.

Started off throwing texas rigged Gulp Alive watermelon worms and Jig/Chomper hula grub combos along with the traditional slip bobber and night crawler combo.

Caught a nice Buffalo in about 10' of water (middle of the channel close to the boat ramp). The weather got changeable fast, so I paddled about 3/4 of a mile back towards the boat ramp earlier. After I fished the put in point for awhile, it looked like the weather was going to stay off, so I paddled toward the lake and went under the bridge into the waterfoul refuge area of the lake. It got real dark, so I went to a black Culprit worm. Spoke with a few boaters about the bass fishing....sounded like it was slow for everyone (very surprising with a front getting ready to move in).

Caught a really nice Flathead Catfish in about 4 feet of water laying close to shore. He struck on a Black Culprit Worm, texas rigged on a quantum rod and reel, 17# test. When I pulled up, I thought I had a snag, but the line started to move in the opposite direction...I knew at that point we had something good. I thought for a moment I was going to have to de-anchor the kayak to keep it from tipping over. As I was getting it towards the kayak, I still thought it was a large bass, but when it went to dive to the bottom, I knew I probably had a catfish. He was a good one!

Got back to the car soon after and headed back.....great day on the lake!

Fish ON!

MLT

Rocky Fork Lakes CA, Boone County, MO.: Main lake very healthy and productive!

I finally got a chance to fish Rocky Fork Lake at Rocky Fork Lakes CA in Boone County (about 6 miles north of Columbia, MO.) I have fished this very healthy lake before, but never was able to really explore it due to lack of transportation....my kayak has changed all of that!

A nice upgrade if you like to Kayak fish is the Eagle fish finder. I have used this over the years with rental boats from the Conservation department, but never really thought about attaching it to my kayak (goes on with a suction cup, runs on AAA batteries). It has been a big difference maker...not as much in finding the fish, but determining depth and water temperature

Caught a nice sized bass (about 15" or so) using Gulp Alive! watermelon power worms. I have had a lot of success with these this year. Also caught quite a few Bluegill and a couple of channel cats using the time tested and proven method of slip bobbers and nightcrawlers.

This is a healthy lake. The main channel runs about 12-14 feet deep, with an average depth of about 6-9 feet in most places. Lots of good cover for bass.

Fish ON!

MLT

Salt River, Marion County, MO: Excellent Kayak River, some success with nightcrawlers

I decided to go somewhere new, and really wanted to get some kind of a kayak-river experience in for the day. Weather was perfect- 80 degrees with a light wind. So I went up to the Salt River in Marion County (about 8 miles south of Hannibal, MO.). This is a good river to float. Flow seemed less....matter of fact, the wind from the east was so strong, seemed like I was paddling against a "reverse current". I do not know if that is a term, but it is what it seemed like.

Had some nightcrawlers on a bottom rig and caught the drum. Ran into a few other people fishing who said it had been slow. River seemed on the fall- banks were damp 5' up. Sometimes rivers are slower when they are on the fall. This is true especially when it has man-made regulations (Mark Twain Lake-Clarence Cannon dam). Used some Gulp Alive worms as well as Chompers Hula grubs on a stand up jig. Also caught a huge Gizzard Shad on a nightcrawler/slip bobber. I can see why there were so many kingfishers and hawks. I even got a chance to see an eagle flying parallel to 40/61 highway.

River varied between 2' and 12' with the average being 5-6' at this flow. I have a picture of the old bridge column before they built the 40/61 bridge- interesting!

Fish ON!

MLT

Nigangua River, Laclede County, MO, September 1st: In search of Browns-Found Chubs!

I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to fish some of the "White Ribbon" trout area located on the Niangua River (about 1/2 mile downstream from where Bennett Spring empties into it) for a couple of hours.

As you know, I am always trying to spot out areas to take my fishing Kayak, so I thought I would fish it with the fly rod and see what I could stir up. I was having a conversation with a local a couple of weeks ago. He said that the MO Dept of Conservation stocks this part of the river with Brown Trout. Seems like great habitat for Brownies and for Smallies. Waded in downstream from the boat launch....lots of structure and current and shade...great combo! The problem was the pool is too deep to get close. Did the best job I could to get near it. Caught several small chubs on a green crackleback w/ a real small piece of split shot attached. Cast out some wooley buggers as well with no success. Started with a nymph and yarn strike indicator, but did not have any success with that either.

I think next time I come back to this spot, I will go for smallmouths and bring my Kayak!

Fish ON!

MLT