lunkertrout

Was at Table Rock this weekend fishing an amateur tourney...didn't see to much of the FLW guys. Brent wasn't kidding...the lake was as muddy as I've seen it. We weighed a limit yesterday with all under 4lbs. Stuck to Aunts Creek and James River arm. Overall hell of a weekend to be on the water.

I prefer a personal pontoon over a kayak. It's more stable and easy to fish from IMO. I put a trolling motor on mine to make it easy to get up the river then float back down to your car. I'm sure it works fine in a lake as well but I use it for my river trips. They fit in a bag and you blow up the pontoons when you get the the river. Easy to transport. Takes me about 15 minutes to assemble. Last summer I hit the upper JF after the canoe rentals stop putting floaters in that part of the river and had it all to myself. Great day of smallmouth fishing.

That's a monster. I believe the Missouri record is just over 7lb out of Stockton.

Ron - I couldn't agree more. Some of my most memorable trips have been wading/floating small streams without another angler in site. The middle fork of the Black and upper Jack's Fork come to mind

You may be thinking Kentucky bass (spots). Similar habitat and feeding patterns to smallmouth but definitely not native to the majority of Missouri streams...you'll catch them like crazy in the Meramec river system.

Nice read...can't beat a nice smallie on a Friday in February. Unfortunately there's more than a handful of streams in similar duress as the one you describe.