Smallieguy87

That sounds about right. The biggest i've landed there was around 15. I did hook into one that went 18 or better and went to lip him and right as i did he came unbuttoned. I was throwing an olive and orange jig with a green pumpkin craw trailer on an old busted up low water bridge. At the time a friend of mine owned the access to the land and i wish he still did. Huzzah i fished last July during the middle of the week. I just waded up stream from the actual huzzah camp ground and fished for about 3 hours and managed to catch about 25 smallies and 1 largemouth. A friend i took with caught about a dozen smallmouth and some sunfish. The bite seemed best on 4 inch pumpkin grubs and 3.5inch tubes.

Yes it is! Even the hybrid soft is pretty strong and works great on spinning setups. I found 600 yard spools on sale for around 8 bucks and bought several.

That's understandable. This forum is a gem to me. Lots of great advice and great members so I intend to stick around a long time. It is true waters like that can change drastically over the course of one season. I've seen it happen on many of the smaller creeks and streams I frequent. I'm more after any general info and anyone's experiences. I'll be sure to give a report a long with pictures (just bought a new go pro;) thanks for posting a reply Joe

I agree. The lightest rod I've used for my river fishing so far has been a medium light and most all my spinning setups are #8 with the exception of 1 that i have spooled with #6 yozuri hybrid. I've yet to loose a fish due to cover or simply weak line so i guess i'm doing something right.

I have considered going to shorter and lighter rods( recently was looking at a mag light 6'3 spinning rod) but i most soft plastic and jig fish and i have a good hook ups and control over fish with my current set ups so i figured its not broke so don't fix it. Seeing as this is the first season that ill be doing fishing from a kayak some new things may come into perspective and my selections may change.

Very nice rig! I just purchased my first kayak this past month and was really wanting a coosa but had a hard time finding one in my price range so i settled on a 2014 ride 115 high seat that was marked down to around $789. I dig the garmin GPS i think thats something i should look into.

Mineral fork is where i started fishing smallmouth. Welcome to the forums! Huzzah can be good fishing if you go during the week to avoid the crowds as well as courtois. I've got some time on the big as well it can be difficult to fish at times but there's some big smallies there.

I figured id better get all the intel people are willing to offer especially since i'm new to the river and kayak fishing in general

I fish some pretty skinny waters and never had trouble using spinning rods from 6'8-7+

Welcome to the forum!

Can't wait to get it out on the water. It should be in tomorrow evening. If anyone is shopping online I highly recommend Appomattox river company. I called them and spoke with them prior to ordering since I had question about shipping and kayak selection and they were more then helpful and very friendly.

it should not matter when i ask for advice on a given trip. good grief.

well i placed an order last night for a new 2014 ride 115 high seat that was marked down to 798 on Appomattox River Company webpage. in total including a bending branches 240cm angler paddle and a chinook pfd for around $1100 shipped so i think i made out ok.

Awesome! I found a ride 115x 2014 model for 850 new and I'm thinking that's what I'll go for. I can't seem to Find a coosa for a reasonable price.

I started as a wade fisherman so i carry what i take a long. My pack weighs some where along the lines of 20lbs which i have no problem with in my current age and health condition. Over the years I've trimmed the fat a great deal when it comes to what i carry with me starting with colors. I used to take several different colors of the same lure now i have my colors down to a few basic colors sticking mostly with greens, browns, black etc. Just doing that has freed up a lot of space for me to either add in or simply enjoy loosing the extra carry weight. My pack currently has 2 plano 3600 boxes. One of them has all my Terminal tackle (jig heads, tube jigs, hooks, ect) the other contains my football jigs and the small assortment of crankbaits. My plastics which are what i seem to fish 98% of time are stored in there original bag put inside of a larger freezer bag and are then labeled. I have 1 freezer bag for 4-6inch finesse worms, 1 freezer bag for grubs, and 1 for tubes and craws. I don't shop much for anything outside of what i already carry since i feel i've developed a working system but i did recently add some buzzbaits and keitech impacts.

Thanks Al. I was thinking of putting in somewhere near 19 bridge if that's possible and floating down to 2 rivers canoe.

That i'm a little unsure on. we will be staying at shadylane cabins right there in Eminence. I'm not opposed to traveling away from where we are staying for the best fishing though.

Awesome thanks for the advice. I've always waded rivers like that but I'm looking forward to trying things from a kayak.

Title says it all guys. Ill be down there from the 1st-5th and want to get as much fishing in as possible. This will be my first time not only fishing jack fork but fishing from a kayak period so all advice is welcome. Any tips for the river that time of the year? I planned the trip to be during the week as opposed to the weekend to try and stay away from most of the crowd.

ok ill check out some of temple forks offerings as well. It might seem odd but i prefer the fj over the Ci4 its something about the feel i guess.

I've been eyeing this rod for awhile but before I take the plunge I was wondering if anyone here had experience with it. It's and 6'3 Mag-Light rod (i'm some what familiar with this rating...what i understand it a tip similar to a ultra light but a stronger butt section then normal?) I normally at a minimum fish a medium light rod and no lower then #6 line. If i bought the rod i'd have it paired with a stradic fj 1000 and would ideally use #6 line and it would be used for light jigs around 1/8oz and small grubs possibly small tube baits.

thanks for all the help and suggestions guys i should be making the purchase in 2-3 weeks and ill let you all know what i decided on!

I did have a look at OMTC web page. A friend of mine referred me to river Jim. I also got a recommendation to take a look at some of old towns offerings.

I'd mostly be using the craft on small Rives like Jack fork, huzzah, black river, occasionally on big river, the Meramec. Does anyone have a recommended dealer they go through on their canoe or kayaks in Missouri? I don't mind to drive to say Springfield to pick one up if that where the good deals are.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Al I will be checking out Wenonah tonight. I don't think I'll be doing much standing on the kayak for awhile should that be what I get. Is there a reason why most manufacturers stopped making royalex Al?