Smalliebigs

Very correct

MOsmallies and his Father in law Bill with a nice 18 1/2 inchSmallie

Hahahaha he's my wife's cousin. ...I have know John since he was about 5 and love him he's family....he will tell you what kind of freak I am....more beautiful fish just not giants

John Gallia????.....I'm still just nailing little quality 14 to 16 inch fish on topwater sorry about the shItty pics I'm all by myself ...other than the 19+ fatty I nailed not many hawgs

Catching so many 14 to 16 inch fish...this river seems healthy to me...topwater explosive fun butt shiot

Lots and lots of Smallies today from 14 to 16 inches all on topwater for the most part and all fought like demons....Matt Hammack did catch a 19 .5 though

Yep sorry Phil...hahahaha. .....trying to post from the fishing trip in the middle of nowhere but yes Black River

Sorry about all the side shots as I am in a cabin and am having a hard time editing

We have been doing pretty good so far on topwater I have caught 6 fish 15 inches and better so far and have only been here since Sunday at noon....topwater bonanza as long as you can identify the right water Here is an extremely fat 19 incher taken on a large topwater bait....and my brother from another mother Justin with a fat 17 on topwater...I set him up with MB giant dog-x and he took right to it.....we also fished for some carp with BRL pancakes floating because of their grease laden goodness on a circle hook and it is game on...8 to 10 pounder after another Stay tuned as I will update from the river as we catch

Just past GW on the left side as you exit the lake hole is a ripple where I have caught them and down stream from there about a half mile above Hwy 30 bridge on the right side is a steep rocky bank where boulders have fallen in the water I caught an 18 incher there. The river runs into a wall a half mile above hwy 55 bridge.....where it hits that wall is a decent hole with some sort of debris under the water.....if you are driving south on hwy 55 look to your right upstream and you can see it....I have caught them there as well.

Killer post Al....you converted me to dawg baits just by reading your posts on here about 4 or 5 years ago and like you I have one tied on whenever the water is above 60. I love the explosive strikes and yeah you might miss a few but, the show is worth all the effort to get out on the water and the money I paid for the baits. Al you are responsible for me being an absolute topwater freak.....so thanks and Tackle Warehouse probably appreciates it also :)......sweet post man

the key is enough slack in your line that it lays on the surface of the water......then it's twitch pause twitch pause twitch pause.....all the while retrieving just enough line to maintain the same amount of line on the water......and that's why mono works soo good on WTD baits. Trust me Seth that Damiki has caught a shiot ton of big fish and is one of the better WTD baits in moving water, that is where it shines my friend......some WTD baits don't even work in moving water at all Here are a few Damiki fish..... by the way did you ever use the customwart I gave you???

Hahahaha well that's good to hear...I wanted to show you a new edition to my Coosa....I picked up an Alec Lansing Bluetooth speaker that is waterproof to 50ft, shockproof and it floats, it also attaches with any Gopro mount to my yak....I know it's gay but you have have fun with this stuff

Saaaaweeeet!!!!

man I'm glad you are taking care of yourself and very glad you had some sort of warning sign to help you in the right direction.....I just lost a good friend and it was big surprise and eye opener for me. My yaks are 75lbs and I can throw them in my truck pretty dang easy, I would think you would be able to do the same. I did own a Diablo Paddle sports Chupacabra at one time http://diablopaddlesports.com/store?cat=boats and I liked it.....that was back when I thought it was important to stand on these things. I sold it to a dude from Indiana on Craigslist...it didn't perform in moving water like I wanted but was pretty comfortable no doubt. I know you said you didn't want to consider a Coosa but, for the overall money especially if you can get a discounted price like I DID I you get a lot.....some would laugh but let me show you. http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/kayak/coosa-hd/ your rig comes with tracking systems all over the rails, with gimball and rodholder, a killer seat with a thermarest pad, a Buck Knife tool that is badass, water bottles, storage bags, gopro attachments galore, lure boxes ect,ect,. The one caveat to the Coosa is I only use them in moving water.....no lakes, you can but if I did fish lakes from a yak I would have two Big Rigs http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/kayak/big-rig/ I was lucky Ronnie and was able to pick my HD's up for $1350.....some would laugh at me but, it happens all the time I'm very used to it. I have multiple boat and multiple canoes with trailers.....my Coosa HD's are some funnest pieces of equipment in my ridiculous arsenal. Like Ham said once you go over to the darkside it can get ugly. There are a ton of great yaks out there and all have more of a niche than others......like I said you just get a lot for your buck with the HD even though it's a lot of bucks for the record I am a canoe guy and a kayak guy.....I love them both

hahahahahaha.......we fished the hell out of that bank......you are very astute as it is a killer hole here is another from that day of a historic bridge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV1A7UIiEXg

Hahahahahahaha......I would have never thunk it!!!!!!! hahahahahaha These are $799 new and pretty good but, much better than the ascend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r0lhVn2jLM..... these are closer to your price range stated above but, I personally prefer the Moken Lure and its seat but, then you step up to about $1000 and with tax more like $1100. I own two Jackson Coosa HD's and like them very much but, since you said that is not an option I won't even go into them but they are very nice and very comfortable to paddle for extended periods.......that's why I bought them and don't give a crap about standing in them.....that is overated in a yak IMO.....I stand on the deck of my boats but sit in my yaks Others that are decent in your above stated price range are the Ocean Pescador 12http://www.austinkayak.com/products/19287/Perception-Pescador-Pro-120-Kayak.html these are not bad but still just about a$1000 Perception has a boat that is stripped down for $500 and you would have to buy a seat for it but, I have paddled one and it was a pretty good hull for rivershttp://www.austinkayak.com/products/15722/Perception-Striker-115-Kayak.html Then you are down to the Ascends and a few others .......the only thing I haven't liked about the Ascend's is the hull is very thin and my dad bought two and we wore holes in them in two seasons.....that's BS if you ask me but, it's BPS and they suck. I mean the Ascend looks great on paper but the ones we bought did not hold up to someone who actually used it on a river with gravel bottoms http://www.basspro.com/Ascend-FS12T-SitonTop-Kayak-Desert-Storm/product/1512140822/ if you do go with BPS DO NOT get the sit in version

Sorry this is going up stream in Hog Wally's boat and me being a stupid old guy with Gopro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0asU-ToAxI

My most vivid early memories of my dad and his commitment to take me fishing were creek fishing. He would take me to a couple of creeks and every trip was so interesting and cool to me as a very small boy, the trips seemed they would last week's even though it would only be a few hours. My dad and I did a lot of bank fishing on the Mississippi and Missouri river when I was younger. Those trips were absolutely the best.....camping out over night on the sand bar.....we would have rods out all night, the diversity of fish we would catch was nuts. We would go into the woods and dig up these night Crawlers that were like snakes or at least in seemed that way to a star stuck 6 or 7 year old overly enthusiastic boy. I think how patient my dad was with me on those blistering hot trips.....it had to fustrating as I was active beyond belief but, those memories are what are the most cherished things I have in this life. My dad still fishes but, just doesn't have the drive to do for more than 10 minutes if the fish aren't biting. He created a freak with his trips he took me on and I can't thank him enough

Awesome!!!!......priceless pic kudos to you

Sweet Largemouth Al!!!!.....I caught my biggest Smallie ever about 2 miles below Hwy Y in 1998....21 and chunky....screwing around with a spinnerbait

Me too

Congrats on the sled man!!!! Is is a modified version or a strait flat bottom??? With a modified v you can go 3 or 4 inches in that boat.....straight flat bottom possibly 1 inch less. If it gets too low it all depends on how much you care about hitting your hull....the hulls with the most lift and the operators with the most knowledge will go more shallow. The two most shallow running would be a RiverPro and then a stripped down 1652 with a 60/40 and one person in the boat.....after those two the rest are all about the same in regards to how shallow they can go. Balance and weight ratio to power and lift

Haris122 you should do the float I did yesterday and I am not joking at all. Go to Ozark outdoors at Leasburgh have them take you up to either Butts slab on the Courtois or to HWY 8 on the Huzzah. Both floats are approximately 9 miles but you end at your vehicle. They shuttle my yak for me for a special rate because of my business over the years with them. Yesterday was extremely hot and I gave up on fishing for stretches of the float because it was just too hot. I caught 3 Smallies in the 17 inch range and a hand full of 15's and 16's....no hawg 18+ like I did last year bUT if you can make accurate casts with the right topwater and fish the logs in current with soft plastics I don't see how you couldn't nail a 16 or 17. I am not trying to be an butt....just trying to put you on some fish because I know yer a good guy and hopefully CnR on the smallies but, they are the only two floats in Missouri I will use an outfitter because I can end at my truck and it's productive.....also go during the week NEVER go on a weekend....all the wildlife and fish a running scared on the weekends.