MOsmallies

Like Conor said... I don't think its been consistently hot enough yet. They seem to need some sunlight right now

Headed on the yearly family/friends vacation to our favorite stream in Missouri at the end of June. Caught lots of fish and some decent size. Even caught the same 17.5" fish off the same spot on the kiddie pole on Monday and Thursday! Missed some big ones but that’s just part of it. Best week of the year, every year. It’s good for the soul!

That Arashi looks familiar Glad its caught fish for you!

I don't know that line is the issue. Spincasting reels just don't have great casting abilities. I would highly suggest stepping up to a spinning reel and practicing to get the hang of it. Shouldn't take long and it will allow you to do so much more. Pflueger President in the 35 size would be a great all around size. It's arguably the best reel in $60 price range. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Pflueger_President_Spinning_Reel/descpage-PPSS.html Throw some 8 lb P-Line CX Premium or 15/4 braid on it and you'll increase your casting distance greatly.

Is this a push button spincasting reel? Or a spinning reel?

No I sold these back in 2016/2017... Sorry man

Great read as always Al! Can't wait to see the pics! What a day!

I bet that was fun and a big surprise! I agree with the others though that I don’t think I would’ve released it. I guess it’s not too bad if the body of water can’t connect to a local river system. Anytime I catch/snag one of those I cut their gills and let them go for the turtles to enjoy. Never seen one that orangeish/yellow

I was supposed to head to Lake of the Ozarks this past weekend but a health emergency in the family changed our plans last minute. My wife and I wanted to stay close to home just in case anything changed with my Father-in-Law. Luckily, he is doing well! Even though we both agreed staying home was the right thing to do, my wife knew I was a little bummed to not be headed to the lake as I haven't fished since early December. When HogWally (Aaron) and SmallieBigs (Scott) reached out to me on Friday to see if I could fish with them Saturday morning, my wife told me I'd be crazy not to go 😉! We met at the ramp at 6:15 am on Saturday morning to the river being 5 feet high and off-color but not too bad. Visibility was about 1 foot. Aaron was a little worried as the river had risen about a foot overnight.... But if there is anyone who knows where the fish group up during these conditions it's Aaron! We took off in the fog and headed to the first spot. Water temps were 50 when we started and rose to 52 by mid-morning. Pulled up to the first spot and we really never had to leave. We snagged a couple gar right off the bat and then the Smallies started biting! A couple 13-14” fish and then I caught a nice 17” on a crankbait... I hooked another 14” on the crankbait and while I was getting it unhooked, Aaron leaned into 19.5” giant on the Tackle HD Hi-Def Craw. A brute of a pre-spawn fish! Got a couple pics and watched her swim off hard! A couple more 13-14” fish. Then I lucked into another BIG one! I was dragging the Hi-Def Craw down a current seem and she ate it. Rod doubled over on the hookset. Lots of hugs and high fives! She measured 20” and 4.4 lbs! Only my second 20” Smallmouth ever and I can’t think of many things that feel greater than that. Got some awesome pics while keeping her well hydrated between each shot. She thanked me with a tail slap of water to the face as she swam off! What a fish!!!! But we weren’t done yet. I quickly caught another 15” on the Craw. Then Aaron caught a thick 17.5” that we all thought was a hybrid. Mostly Smallmouth but seemed to have some Spotted Bass in her… I caught another 17.5” football. This thing looked like a northern Smallmouth. Tall and thick with a big ole tail! Bite slowed down on that spot so we headed to one more. Aaron caught another 17.5” and I had a 16” but that is all we could pull off that spot. We fished about another 30 minutes without a bite and had to call it quits so we could all get back to family duties. Off the water by 9:30 am. I love spending time in the boat with these two guys… The big Smallmouth were just icing on the cake!

Been watching this guys channel for a while now.... Be careful.... It causes extreme amounts of envy and jealousy!

Giant! Congrats man!

I own 3 of the 4 you ar looking at. The Finesse Jig Rod and Head Turner are my most used rods too. They are awesome!!! The Amistad is a great stick too. I mainly use it for flipping/pitching around heavy cover/docks and bigger jigs 5/8 oz and up. It would work well for the 130 plopper I think and you could probably throw an A-Rig on it as well. You won't be disappointed with Falcon.